Blues drop Carolina to a record loss

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The second-highest scoring team in the NHL needed every bit of its offense to hold off the desperate Carolina Hurricanes.

Scott Mellanby and Al MacInnis scored in the opening 9 1/2 minutes as the Blues beat Carolina 5-3 -- handing the Hurricanes a franchise-record seventh straight home loss Monday night.

"When they started getting the momentum they played hard in the third period," said St. Louis goalie Brent Johnson, who allowed three goals on 16 shots in the final 20 minutes. "They didn't quit, they still competed."

The win moved the Blues 13 games over .500 and past the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Central Division.

"The division is pretty much between us and Detroit for the taking so it's going to be back-and-forth," Johnson said.

Meanwhile, the defending Eastern Conference champions fell to 1-10-1-1 in their last 13.

"We've certainly turned over a lot of stones to find different ways," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said when asked if he's running out strategy options. "A big chunk of what we're doing is just the puck -- we're having a heck of a time just doing simple things -- and there's a nervousness to shoot."

The last time Carolina lost that many consecutively was in 1986 when the team played in Hartford, Conn. The previous worst home losing streaks lasted six games in 1983 and '85.

St. Louis took a 3-0 lead 27 minutes into the game and was on cruise control with a four-goal advantage until Ron Francis, Rod Brind'Amour and Jeff O'Neill scored in a 7 1/2-minute span to pull Carolina to 4-3 with 4:33 left.

But Mellanby scored into an empty net with 16.5 seconds left for his second of the game to seal it for the Blues.

"The bottom line is we didn't win. We've still got to find a way to win," Francis said when asked about Carolina's comeback. "The good news is we continued to battle and we didn't quit and continued to fight, but in this league it's tough to come back from a four-goal deficit."

After the two quick first-period goals, Keith Tkachuk beat Kevin Weekes early in the second off a beautiful pass from behind the net from Pavol Demitra, who had two assists.

Those left in the crowd gave the Hurricanes a standing ovation to start the third, realizing postseason hopes are slipping away for the club.

Maurice even replaced Weekes with Arturs Irbe to try to give his team any kind of spark. But Eric Boguniecki scored 2:11 into the period as Irbe was screened by defenseman Nic Wallin.

Like after most of the first periods during Carolina's recent home losing streak, the players left the ice to a chorus of boos after being outshot 13-7 and trailing by two.

Mellanby scored his first goal in 11 games after picking up Tkachuk's shot that was blocked by defenseman Aaron Ward and chopping it past Weekes.

"He's one of those guys who will find the net," St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville said of Mellanby. "He's had a little bit of a drought here, but we still like what he does for our team."

The goal came just shortly after the Hurricanes started the game with several good chances and a decent power play.

MacInnis, who leads NHL defensemen with 40 points, gave the Blues a two-goal lead on the power play about four minutes later, beating Weekes between the pads from the side boards.

Notes: Ten of Mellanby's 16 goals have come on the road. ... Carolina has led after the first period in just nine of 48 games. ... St. Louis improved to 10-1-1-2 against teams from the East. ... Opponents have outscored the Hurricanes 47-24 in the first period. ... St. Louis has scored three or more goals 28 times.