The Blues hardly showed any offense in the 2:4 defeat against Utah

The Blues knew that losing key players to injury would change their style of play. To survive, however, they still need to generate some offense.

During a 4-2 loss to Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night, the Blues failed to provide much of a threat in the offensive zone. They had ten shots on goal in two periods. It took until after the first TV timeout of the night for them to put a puck in the net. The last 10:05 minutes of the second period went without a shot on goal. St. Louis finished with 15 shots.

Jordan Kyrou tied the game at 2-2 with 6:31 left in the third period, hitting a one-timer from the slot after a slick layup by Pavel Buchnevich, who stickhandled his way through the Utah defense. But Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning goal after a Kyrou turnover with 3:21 left in the third period for Utah.

It was the second time in the last four games that Kyrou's loss of the ball resulted in the game-winning goal for the opponent.

Matias Maccelli scored for Utah with 1:51 left in the second period with an unshielded shot from the top of the right circle to give Utah a 2-1 lead. Michael Kesselring and Jack McBain (empty net) also scored for Utah, which traveled to St. Louis for the first time since the Coyotes left Arizona.

Colton Parayko also scored for the Blues and Joel Hofer made 27 saves.

The Blues play the fourth game of a five-game homestand against Washington on Saturday.

When Parayko equalized with 1:19 left in the first period, he scored his fourth goal of the season. That tied him with Kyrou, Buchnevich, Jake Neighbors and Dylan Holloway for the team lead in goals. Colorado's Cale Makar was the only defenseman in the NHL with five goals as of Thursday.

Parayko capitalized on a Blues rush opportunity created by neighbors' work in the defensive zone, directing a pass into the corner and then leading the break through the neutral zone. Neighbors threw the puck to Buchnevich as he entered the zone, and Paryako filled the middle lane.

As Parayko moved the ball into the slot, Holloway opened up the ball for a one-timer in the right circle. That caught the attention of Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and opened up a shooting lane for Parayko. Parayko has scored ten goals in a season three times in his career, including last year, but never more.

The goal was also Parayko's ninth point of the season in the 14th game of the season. Last season it took him until the 28th game to reach that mark. His career high is 35, also three times, most recently in the 2021/22 season.

29 seconds into the second period, Utah defenseman Maveric Lamoureux hit Alexey Toropchenko on the left knee in a collision inside the Utah zone. Blues defender Pierre-Olivier Joseph immediately stepped in to fight Lamoureux in Joseph's first career fight.

Lamoureux was given a major penalty for kneeling and the automatic game misconduct, which carries a major penalty. He also received five minutes for fighting. Joseph, meanwhile, was fined twice for incitement, five for brawling and a 10-minute misbehavior. The 10-minute administrative offense occurs automatically upon request for incitement.

The Blues ended up with three minutes of power play but didn't have a shot on goal.

Due to the order, both teams were equipped with five defenders for most of the second third. Joseph was dismissed from the penalty area with less than two minutes remaining as Lamoureux's night was over.

After struggling in the first 11 games of the season, Joseph's was the Blues' third in the last three games. Brayden Schenn and Buchnevich each had a battle in the win over the Maple Leafs.

For the sixth straight game, the Blues allowed their opponent to score the game's first goal, and this time it happened 18 seconds into the game, the fastest goal in the NHL this season. Utah defenseman Kesselring joined the rush and managed to slip the puck between Joel Hofer's pads.

Kesselring beat Holloway to the Blues net and received a flip pass from the red line from Clayton Keller. Kesselring appeared to attempt a tackle on Hofer, but the puck instead bounced off the tip of his stick and into the net.

In 14 games this season, the Blues were first in 10 of them. On Thursday, only Seattle had allowed the first goal more often than St. Louis.

Holloway was back in the Blues' lineup two nights after being hospitalized when he was hit in the neck by a puck. He skated Thursday morning and was a game-time decision, according to Blues coach Drew Bannister.

The Blues honored former defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on Thursday night in his first visit to St. Louis since the team traded him last season. Bortuzzo played parts of 10 seasons with the Blues and was a healthy backup for Utah on Thursday.