NHL: St. Louis 3, Minnesota 1

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Chris Mason turned in his best outing of the season Friday, stopping 20 shots and carrying St. Louis to a 3-1 victory over Minnesota.

Mason had lost his previous four starts and had been allowing an average of 3.2 goals a game before his appearance Friday.

Minnesota has played seven games on the road in the young season and has lost them all.

Jay McClement gave the Blues the lead just 56 seconds into the game with a wrist shot that got past Niklas Backstrom, and David Perron made it 2-0 with a shorthanded goal 5:21 into the second.

Chuck Kobasew brought Minnesota within one with 1:18 to go in the second and the score remained 2-1 until Brad Boyes clinched it with an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. The goal by Boyes came on his seventh shot of the night.