ST. LOUIS -- Keith Tkachuk, returning from a one-game suspension, scored two goals to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Tkachuk was suspended for slashing Chicago's Lyle Odelein during a fight in their game last Sunday. Tkachuk sat out Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the expansion Minnesota Wild. His two goals against Buffalo gave him 33 for the season and a team-leading 40 points (24 goals, 16 assists) at home.

Blues goalie Brent Johnson faced only 13 shots in starting his career-record 13th consecutive game. He lost the shutout late in the game when Miroslav Satan scored on the power play.

St. Louis is 31-2-3-3 when scoring three or more goals in a game, including 21-1-0-1 at home.

The Blues scored all four goals on nine shots in the second period. In the scoreless first period, St. Louis outshot Buffalo 11-6.

Cory Stillman got the St. Louis outburst going at 2:18 when he beat backup goaltender Mika Noronen. Defenseman Alexander Khavanov poked the puck to Reed Lowe, who passed to a streaking Stillman at the red line. Stillman staked in and hit a slap shot from the top of the left circle for his 19th goal.

A scramble in front of the net resulted in a goal by Tyson Nash at 6:29, giving the Blues a 2-0 lead. Mike Eastwood had the puck behind the net and tried to score on a wraparound. The puck hit the skate of Buffalo defenseman Jason Wooley and Eastwood got it and slid to Nash, stationed at the other side of the net. Nash slapped it in for his fifth goal.

Tkachuk scored on a rebound of a shot by Chris Pronger at 9:09. Tkachuk dropped a pass at the top of the slot to Pronger, who skated into the right faceoff circle and put a shot on goal. The puck hit the post but Tkachuk knocked it back in for a 3-0 St. Louis lead.

Tkachuk scored again at 12:47 when he skated down the left boards after being fed by Al McInnis. Tkachuk went to the goal, where he switched to his backhand and beat Noronen, who was bumped by Wooley. The play was reviewed but replays showed the puck clearly went over the goal line.

Buffalo changed goalies, sending in Martin Biron for Noronen, who faced 20 shots. The Sabres had just two shots on goal in the period.

Satan scored on the Sabres' 12th shot of the game with 2:27 left in the game.

AVALANCHE: Sixteen minutes. That's all the time Peter Forsberg needed to bolster Colorado's hopes of repeating as Stanley Cup champions.

Forsberg was expected to be out for four months after surgery to repair tendons in his left foot on Jan. 10. He returned to the ice ahead of schedule, skating with injured teammate Dan Hinote at Colorado's practice facility.

"It's great to be back on the ice - it's been a long time," Forsberg said. "There's been a lot of setbacks this year and I'm just happy to be on the ice again. I know it's not going to be tomorrow I'll be playing, but at least I was on the ice and it felt great."

Forsberg skated with relative ease his first time back on the ice. He made some soft cuts at first, then skated harder after a few minutes. Forsberg later took some laps around the rink, shot some pucks at the net and traded passes with Hinote up and down the ice for several minutes before heading off.

He wouldn't give a timetable for his return, but said he hopes to return for the playoffs.

ISLANDERS: Defenseman Eric Cairns was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL after punching Ottawa's Radek Bonk in a game on Wednesday night.

Cairns was penalized for roughing with 39 seconds remaining in the Islanders' 4-1 loss to the Senators. He will miss Thursday night's game at Toronto and Saturday's game at Washington, and will be eligible to return to the lineup on Monday night against New Jersey.

The suspension will cost Cairns $6,108.24, with the money going to the NHL players emergency assistance fund.

RANGERS:Defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre is expected to be sidelined for two weeks after tearing a ligament in his left knee Wednesday night against Philadelphia.

The Rangers said an MRI exam confirmed that Lefebvre tore the posterior cruciate ligament.

The 34-year-old defenseman has five assists and 23 penalty minutes in 41 games this season.

INJURED FAN:A 42-year-old man was released from a hospital Thursday after being hit in the head with a puck during a game between the Blackhawks and Predators.

Christopher Cioccio was evaluated and discharged from Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, hospital administrator Voncile Williams said.

Cioccio was struck by a puck that deflected into the stands Wednesday night.

-- From wire reports