The Blues took a step forward Thursday night in San Jose. They earned a point against one of the hottest teams in the NHL.

And they did it by getting big help from some of the key pieces of the franchise’s future.

Sure, the Blues aren’t happy about losing a late lead, then falling in the shootout. But the Sharks are 8-0 at home this season, so you have to be realistic about the outcome.

Look at the positives:

• Rookie goaltender Ben Bishop battled hard during his second NHL start. With Chris Mason struggling and Manny Legace still recovering from his hip flexor injury, the Blues needed the kid to step up. And he did, despite allowing four goals.
• Winger Lee Stempniak finally broke out of his scoring slump. He buried one of his classic one-time goals. He also continued his strong work on the power play, which is missing injured winger Paul Kairya.
• Center Patrick Berglund set up Stempniak’s goal with a terrific pass from the right boards – after using his unusual strength and reach to ward off checks.
• David Backes swatted a puck out of mid-air for the Blues’ fourth goal of the game. This made him feel better after earning an earlier 10-minute misconduct.
• Rookie defenseman Alex Pietrangelo looked good on the power play, unlike the other Blues defensemen. Might this skill allow him to stay in the NHL this season? Could he provide some of what Erik Johnson was supposed to provide this season?

“When your team is out there competing the way we did, you like being the coach standing behind them,” coach Andy Murray said. “It’s very gratifying. At the same time, we had two chances to win in the shootout, and we just didn’t get the job done.”

AROUND THE RINKS: HockeyBuzz.com reports that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester could move sooner than later, as the Panthers attempt to retool. Many teams are looking for defensive help, including Buffalo and Philadelphia – two teams with some depth to spend up front . . . With the Devils missing Martin Brodeur for up to four months and with both Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft struggling in Colorado, the Blackhawks may yet find a taker for goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin . . . Remember when some experts wondered if Alex Tanguay was too sensitive to flourish in the high-pressure Montreal atmosphere? After 10 games, Tanguay had six goals and five assists and was plus-6. Linemate Sako Koivu had this take on that fast start: “When you get some goals, you’re more relaxed on the ice and then you get some confidence. Sometimes you don’t need a lot of games with a guy to get some chemistry and with Alex, I find he’s really easy to play with, with his vision and the way he can hold onto the puck an extra second to create time and room for me.”