ST. LOUIS -- Brian Elliott stopped 27 shots for his third shutout of the season and 28th of his career as the St. Louis Blues topped the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Saturday night.
After allowing three goals in each of his last two games, Elliott got back on track with his 19th shutout at home.
Alexander Steen extended his scoring streak to a career-high nine games with a goal and an assist, and Kevin Shattenkirk and T.J. Oshie also had goals for St. Louis. The win was No. 685 for Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who passed former Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn and moved into sole possession of fifth place on the career victories list.
St. Louis is 4-0-1 during its seven-game homestand and has earned a point in eight straight games. The Blues, who have not lost to Toronto since Jan. 29, 2008 (6-0-2), are 11-3-2 against Eastern Conference teams, best in the NHL.
David Backes added two assists for the Blues, extending his scoring streak to six games. Backes has 13 points in those six games (seven goals, six assists).
Jonathan Bernier made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs, who went 0-4 on their four-game road trip and were outscored 12-1, including being shut out three times. The Maple Leafs are 1-7 in January.
Toronto got the jump on the Blues, outshooting them 15-6 at the start. But the Blues got the first goal when Shattenkirk got the puck on the right boards, walked into the right circle and beat Bernier with a backhander at 16:40 of the first period.
It stayed that way until Steen beat Bernier with another backhander from in front 1:38 into the third period to make it 2-0.
Steen then set up Oshie on a 2-on-1 with 5 minutes left for the final margin.
NOTES: Defenseman Roman Polak, who spent eight seasons with the Blues before being traded to Toronto for fellow defenseman Carl Gunnarsson in the offseason, returned to St. Louis for the first time and received a big ovation when announced as a starter before the game. ... The Blues' line of Steen, Backes and Oshie has 49 points in the past 11 games. ... Toronto's Phil Kessel played in his 410th straight game, which is the fifth-longest current streak. ... St. Louis is 11-0-1 since Jaden Schwartz returned to the lineup.
