McMann sent a short-handed Maple Leaf spark past the Blues

Alexei Toropchenko scored and Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for the Blues (28-22-2), who have won two straight and seven of eight games.

“I think we didn't skate well enough and support each other enough, win the battle and take control early,” St.Louis captain Brayden Schenn said. “We know we have to be a lot better than we were tonight.

“We relied on our goalie to make some saves and he kept us in the game, but at the end of the day we just didn't have enough guys ready to play the right way. tonight.”

McMann gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 5:33 of the first period. He won the battle for the puck at the right backboard, cut to Schenn at the net, and passed Binnington's right-court shot past the edge of the crease.

“We just couldn't find a lot of energy in our game,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “We didn't move our feet, so we couldn't recover the puck. “We lost every puck contest, which forced us to defend more and we couldn't attack.”

Nylander made it 2-0 at 16:25 when his center pass deflected off the stick of Blues defenseman Matthew Kessel and past Binnington's blocker.

Toropchenko deflected Nathan Walker's shot past the right hash marks to make it 2-1 at 5:36 of the second period. The goal came after Binnington stopped Noah Gregor at 3:52.

At 8:02 of the third period, McMann took a 3-1 lead. TJ Brodie's initial shot was blocked by Kessel, but the puck slipped to the skate of McMann, who picked it up and covered the glove side of a shot from the bottom of the left circle.

“It's great to see a guy who works hard every night, anticipates, plays hard, gets rewarded,” Brody said.

Toronto outscored St. Louis 13-4 in the third period.

“I thought everybody played great,” Brody said. “We had a lot of energy. We got the puck, went up the hill and won.”

NOTES: Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews ended his nine-game point streak (nine goals, six assists). … It was Kessel who gave the second pass to Toropchenko's goal. It was his first NHL point in just 19 games. … Forward Alex Steves made his season debut for the Maple Leafs on Tuesday after being recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League. He had one shot and was minus-1 in 10:14 of ice time.