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The agony was measured in decimals; the disappointment, in shinpads.

When Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk deflected Sam Reinhart’s shot with 11.8 seconds remaining into the net, he handed his hometown team a 3-2 loss that erased whatever progress the Blues had built in pushing the defending Stanley Cup champions to the edge. The Blues were one shift away from forcing overtime for the second time against the Panthers this season, from picking up points in a third straight game.

Instead, zero.

“You’ve got to get a point out of it,� Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “That’s a team that’s won the Stanley Cup, went to the Stanley Cup Final, they know who they are. They know how they want to play. Pucks go to the goal line, they get in on the forecheck, they get heavy, and they’re just relentless. It’s over and over and over. Really good at it. We have to establish that kind of regularity with our identity.�

On the decisive shift of the game, it was Florida’s best against St. Louis’ best.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice loaded up a line with Aleksander Barkov, Tkachuk and Reinhart. Montgomery countered with Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich. If the game was going to be decided in regulation, it was going to be with each team’s most talented players on the ice.

Barkov won a neutral-zone faceoff. Gustav Forsling fired a shot wide of goalie Joel Hofer. Barkov shielded the puck from Thomas in the corner and eventually found Reinhart in the slot. Kyrou dipped into the circle from his position closer to the blue line to try and disrupt the pass, but it slipped through to Reinhart.

Reinhart’s initial shot glanced off Colton Parayko’s shinpad. Then off Cam Fowler’s. As Reinhart gathered for another chance, Parayko was sliding past having already blocked a shot and Kyrou was behind after trying to tie up his stick on the first shot. Reinhart collected the puck, and Tkachuk tipped it under Hofer’s right arm for his second goal of the night.

“We were in the right spots defensively,� Montgomery said. “The first shot hit the guy right in front of him. I would like Reinhart to be hit after that, but we turned and looked for the puck. He found it, and made us pay. It’s easy for me to say in the heat of the moment, but you always want to skin on the guy that’s shooting the puck so that he can’t get another opportunity or rebound.�

Hofer: “That was a tough play. Hit a couple shinpads and went to his stick, but I’ve got to make a save.�

The goal knifed any chances the Blues had at emerging with at least one point on Thursday. It was another chance that slipped past them.

On Tuesday, the Blues held a third-period lead vs. the Oilers, but Leon Draisaitl scored the game-tying goal with the extra attacker, and then Connor McDavid set up the game-winning goal in overtime. On Thursday, the Blues scored first courtesy of Zack Bolduc, and then tied the game at 2 thanks to an Oskar Sundqvist second-period, power-play goal. Despite mustering only three shots on goal in the third period, the Blues largely kept Florida to the perimeter in their own zone to limit dangerous chances.

In consecutive games, the Blues made arguments for two points vs. Edmonton, and one point vs. Florida. In both cases, the two Stanley Cup Finalists from last season denied their claims.

“We’re playing two of the best teams in the league, and I think we’re playing two good hockey games against them,� Sundqvist said. “If we come out of that second period a goal or two up, it can be a whole different game. We take with us that we were playing two really good hockey teams, and we’re right there. We just need that last percent to tip it over to wins.�

The Blues have been outscored in the final five minutes of the third period 25-15.

Thursday was the fourth time they allowed the game-winning goal in the final five minutes of regulation, and first since Montgomery’s Bruins broke Blues hearts on Nov. 12 with 1:47 remaining. The Blues have allowed four game-tying goals in that timeframe, including Draisaitl’s on Tuesday and Pavel Dorofeyev’s in Vegas almost three weeks ago. Ten of the goals allowed have been empty-netters that sealed St. Louis losses.

Of the Blues’ minus-18 goal margin, more than half of it can be chalked up to the final five minutes of the third period. Since Montgomery took over in late November, the Blues are the only team in the NHL that has a negative goal margin against an empty net (outscored 5-4).

They had the first three shots of the game (including Bolduc’s goal) but the Panthers responded with the next 10 shots on goal (including Mackie Samoskevich’s goal). Florida owned a 16-10 edge in shots in the first period, and took a 2-1 lead into first intermission.

But St. Louis — behind better puck management and more physicality, according to Montgomery — got itself back into the game in the second period. Buchnevich and Thomas created more chances, but couldn’t finish. Bolduc was turned away on a breakaway.

“We had our chances to score some goals and make the difference,� Bolduc said. “But sometimes, it’s like this.�

With Vancouver’s overtime win over San Jose on Thursday night, the Blues’ empty night moved them eight points back of the Canucks for the final wild- card playoff spot in the Western Conference, and St. Louis has played one more game than the Canucks.

By points percentage, the Blues have the eighth-worst record in the NHL, and are guaranteed to have a record below .500 at the 4 Nations tournament break. They hosts Chicago on Saturday night before entering the two-week break.

“I think we played a good game overall, especially in the second period,� Sundqvist said. “I feel like we should have come out of that period one or two goals up. That’s hockey. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.�

Panthers 3, Blues 2

Florida 2 0 1 — 3

St. Louis 1 1 0 — 2

First Period—1, St. Louis, Bolduc 6 (Toropchenko, Suter), 3:31. 2, Florida, Samoskevich 8 (Bennett, Tkachuk), 7:09. 3, Florida, Tkachuk 20 (Ekblad, Barkov), 16:54 (pp). ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—Neighbours, STL (Fighting), 0:02; Bennett, FLA (Fighting), 0:02; Buchnevich, STL (Holding), 16:30.

Second Period—4, St. Louis, Sundqvist 4 (Bolduc, Thomas), 5:18 (pp). ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—Luostarinen, FLA (Interference), 4:46; Bennett, FLA (Tripping), 14:07.

Third Period—5, Florida, Reinhart 32 (Forsling, Barkov), 19:48. ±Ê±ð²Ô²¹±ô³Ù¾±±ð²õ—None.

Shots on Goal—Florida 16-10-8—34. St. Louis 10-9-2—21.

Power-play opportunities—Florida 1 of 1; St. Louis 1 of 2.

³Ò´Ç²¹±ô¾±±ð²õ—Florida, Knight 11-8-1 (21 shots-20 saves). St. Louis, Hofer 10-7-1 (34-31).

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