A long time has passed since the St. Louis Blues had a piece of a conference lead. Without doing the specific research, it seems around the time Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. And unfortunately, it will be longer still.

In one of the more meaningful games this ascending franchise has played in some time, the Blues couldn't hold off the offensively-talented Vancouver Canucks, losing 3-2 in overtime in front of 18,231 on Thursday at Scottrade Center.

The Blues entered with the opportunity to pull into a tie atop the Western Conference with the Canucks. Instead, the Blues fell to fourth, getting one point from the 2-2 regulation knot but losing ground when the Canucks captured two.

The Blues beat Vancouver twice earlier this season in games that took place before Ken Hitchcock was appointed as the Blues' coach Nov. 6. The Blues have been one of the NHL's best teams since that coaching change, riding a 19-5-5 run under silver-haired "Hitch." But the Canucks were a different team, too.

"They obviously showed why they're the top team in the West," T.J. Oshie said. "They play a full 60 minutes and then they play extra."

Oshie was involved in pivotal moments. A questionable penalty to David Backes with 19.9 seconds remaining in regulation carried over, giving Vancouver's league-leading power play a golden overtime opportunity. A 5-on-4 advantage changed to a more advantageous 4-on-3 during the extra frame. The situation became even more juicy for the Canucks when penalty-killer Roman Polak broke his stick.

Oshie handed Polak his stick and played without. But with the Blues bench beckoning him to change, Oshie made a dash for a replacement, turning the circumstances into a 4-on-2 for a moment. That's all it took. A second after Oshie departed, Daniel Sedin pounded his 19th goal past All-Star goalie Brian Elliott, ending the suspense 46 seconds into overtime.

"Right away I hesitated, because I didn't want to leave the two D-men out there by themselves," Oshie said. "I should have just stayed. I got to know that I can't leave those two guys, so I kind of take that on my shoulders."

Sorry, but Elliott wouldn't have it. The Blues' netminder insisted Sedin's decisive shot was one he could have had.

"It's a save I should have made," said Elliott, who was selected to the All-Star roster earlier in the day. "What can you do, We're out there trying to get a new stick. But I've got to make that last save to give us a chance.

"We'll just have to take the good things we did out of this game and know that if we play that way we'll get a win on most nights."

An energetic crowd didn't wait long for the action to heat up. The visitors struck first. Sedin engaged Alex Pietrangelo behind the Blues' net, while Elliott tried to anticipate the outcome. When Elliott looked over his right shoulder, the puck trickled out to his left. Alex Burrows was there to rip it home at 2:48 for his 17th goal.

The 1-0 deficit did not bode well for the Local Six. Vancouver leads the NHL with 50 first-period goals and has a 24-6-1 record when scoring first. Notwithstanding, the Blues responded a minute later.

Ian Cole fired into a huddle in front of Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo. Jamie Langenbrunner corralled the puck and slid it to Jason Arnott, who buried his 11th goal of the season. It is the third consecutive game in which Arnott has had a goal.

What's more, he wasn't done. With 13:33 to play in the second period, Arnott got credit for his second goal of the night, spotting the Blues a 2-1 lead. "Credit" is appropriate term because it actually was Luongo's goal. Arnott tested the veteran with a hard shot, then tried again with a backhander. Luongo made both saves but inadvertently knocked the puck into his own goal.

"I was a little upset that I didn't get much on the backhand," Arnott said. "He just squeezed it. I went around the net and he just spun around and it came out, from his arm or something, A little lucky goal."

After a stunted offensive start, the 37-year old Arnott has eight goals in the last 13 games and 14 points in his last 18 starts. But the Blues couldn't quite escape the period with the lead. With 2:08 to play, Burrows flashed in front of Elliott and tipped in Alex Edler's shot from the point.

Moments later, a scenario took place that would loom large afterward. With the Canucks on a late power play, Backes broke free and skated in alone. Luongo made a spectacular glove save. Incredibly, it happened again. With 40 seconds left to play, Oshie broke away. But after faking Luongo to one side, Oshie lost the handle.

"I had him beat, beat clean," Oshie said. "But the puck just rolled on me. It's tough, but those are situations you have to finish, especially when it's me and Backs."

As the period ended, Blues fans had to feel those opportunities might come back to haunt them. The Blues nearly took a lead less than two minutes into the third when Langenbrunner hit a post. But with a fraction under 20 seconds to play, Backes was leaning on Burrows when the Vancouver forward tumbled into the boards. The Blues' captain was nailed for boarding.

"I did not agree with the penalty at all, not one bit," Hitchcock said. "I saw what I saw. It was a hockey play. I don't agree with the call."

The regulation seconds extinguished, but 1:40 worth of power-play time carried into the overtime. That was enough for the Canucks to maintain their Western Conference lead.