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Finally, the Blues lost a game.

After going 19-2-2 in their last 23 games and winning 12 in a row, the Blues hit a wall Monday night in Winnipeg. They fell 3-1 to the NHL-leading Jets to remain stuck at 93 points with three games left.

Pavel Buchnevich scored his fourth goal in his last five games for the Blues. Robert Thomas extended his point streak to nine games and earned his 16^th assist during that span.

But the Jets outshot the Blues 26-15 while tilting the ice against them for much of the game.

Hofer gets another hometown start

Goaltender Joel Hofer, who won his previous five starts, got another shot against his hometown Jets. He earned a 4-1 win at Winnipeg on Dec. 3 and suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Jets in Manitoba on Feb. 22.

Otherwise, Blues coach Jim Montgomery rolled with the same lineup that defeated the Colorado Avalanche Saturday. The team recalled rookie forward Dalibor Dvorsky from Springfield of the AHL, but he and defenseman Matt Kessel were healthy scratches.

The Jets came into this game with a 28-6-4 record at home and eight victories in their last 12 games overall. They are trying to hold off the Dallas Stars to win the Central Division title.

And they played with purpose.

Jets control first period

Other than one strong forechecking shift from the Radek Faska line early on, the Blues got very little done against the Jets during the first 20 minutes. On that one shift, Faksa walked out in front of the net for a jam shot that rolled wide on the far side.

The Jets won 68.8 percent of the faceoffs and controlled the puck for most of the period. They outshot the Blues 8-3 while running low-to-high plays over and over.

Winnipeg built a 31-8 advantage in shot attempts, but the Blues kept the game scoreless by blocking 14 shots. Hofer made two good saves, using his left pad to stop a redirection and then the follow shot.

Otherwise, the Blues kept the Jets mostly on the outside to survive the period.

Blues elevate play, pull even

The Blues earned a bit more ice in the second period as the two teams exchanged goals.

Winnipeg struck first when Morgan Barron broke up a give-and-go play between Mathieu Joseph and Cam Fowler at the left point.

Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey pushed the puck up the right wing to Barron, who turned the corner on Joseph to beat Hofer off the rush.

The Blues tied the game with Thomas and Buchnevich working down low. Twice Thomas fed Buchnevich with passes from behind the net and twice Buchnevich fired point-blank shots.

The second opportunity beat Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game 1-1.

Jets finish strong, pull ahead

The Blues passed on a couple of shot opportunities on their third-period power play, then their fourth line generated another opportunity with Alexey Toropchenko breaking in to set up Faksa's redirection.

But Hellebuyck held firm and the game remained tied.

Winnipeg moved ahead 2-1 after pinning the Blues in their own zone. Kyle Connor stole the puck from Buchnevich, sliced to the slot and fired a shot that set up Alex Iafallo's rebound conversion.

With Hofer off the ice for an extra attacker, Adam Lowry iced the game with an empty-netter.

The Jets kept the Blues in their zone for much of the period, outshooting them 10-4 while warding off any comeback.