NHL: St. Louis 3, Detroit 2

• Tweet

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- David Backes and Patrik Berglund scored third-period goals Tuesday and the St. Louis Blues held on for a 3-2 win over Detroit.

Backes broke a 1-1 tie 45 seconds into the final frame on a power-play goal, taking a cross-crease feed from T.J. Oshie and tipping it past Jimmy Howard. Berglund followed with the clincher less than 2 minutes later, unleashing a slap shot from the left circle on a 2-on-1 break.

Alex Steen also scored and Brian Elliott made 27 stops for the Blues, who improved to 9-2-3 since Ken Hitchcock was named coach.

Johan Franzen scored in the first period and Jiri Hudler made it close with a goal late in the third, but the Red Wings couldn't manage the equalizer.

Howard made 23 saves for Detroit, which lost a second straight contest following a season-high seven-game winning streak.