After back-to-back wins over Detroit in Sweden, the Blues had their welcome home party Thursday at Scottrade Center.

A date with the Atlanta Thrashers was supposed to be the perfect partner for the Blues' return, after having four days off. But this is a different group of Thrashers.

Ilya Kovalchuk, who appears to finally have a strong supporting cast, scored two goals to help Atlanta best the Blues 4-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,150.

A goal by Blues defenseman Roman Polak with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in regulation pulled the club to within one goal, but Kovalchuk added an empty-netter with 31 seconds remaining.

Keith Tkachuk scored the Blues' other goal and had an assist for a two-point night. But after the Blues scored nine goals in Sweden, two was all they could muster against goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who made 29 saves for the Thrashers, who are now 2-0.

"We didn't play good enough tonight," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "To be honest, I thought the effort was there. I just didn't think we were smart."

The Blues battled through slow starts in both games against Detroit in Sweden. On Thursday, they scored the first goal and even dictated the play after falling behind 2-1.

"What's the saying, 'Don't confuse activity with accomplishment?'" Murray said. "We were active, but we didn't get as much accomplished as we needed to get accomplished."

The Blues outshot Atlanta 14-6 in the second period, but fell behind 3-1 following a faulty line change.

The team had a lengthy shift in the offensive zone, but when the puck went the other direction, several players were late getting off the ice.

Rookie Evander Kane, who was the No. 4 overall pick in this year's draft, finished off a nifty passing sequence with a wrist shot over goalie Chris Mason's stick with 2:17 left in the period.

"We got caught in a terrible change because a couple guys tried to stay a little too long in the offensive side and we gave up a 3-on-2 and they capitalized," Murray said.

The Blues, who climbed back into both games against Detroit with power-play goals, didn't have that opportunity Thursday night. They had only three power-play chances against the Thrashers and were scoreless.

"It just feels like we didn't generate enough options," Blues winger Andy McDonald said. "We seemed to be doing a lot of breakouts, and when that's happening, you kill a large amount of the clock by going back and getting the puck. We need to have more options on the power play, generate more chances, keeping it in the zone instead of one option and out. Against Detroit, we did that." The Blues were four of nine on the power play against the Red Wings.

Atlanta, meanwhile, was 1-for-2 with the man-advantage, with Kovalchuk picking up the power-play goal. The 300th goal of Kovalchuk's career, on a beautiful move, handed his team a 2-1 lead midway through the first period.

With Polak in the penalty box for interference, Kovalchuk held the puck at the top of the faceoff circle. He danced around Blues center Jay McClement and then used defenseman Darryl Sydor as a screen while placing a wrist shot in the top of the net.

"I didn't see that one," Mason said. "Sometimes, you've got to give them credit. He's good at that. He's one of the best players in the league and it's a good shot, but I think most nights, we're not giving up that opportunity.

Murray bemoaned the approach of the penalty-kill unit, saying: "Our penalty kill has been tremendous. We played passive tonight and (No. 17) is pretty good."

Kovalchuk's goal came after Eric Boulton tied the score 1-1 for the Thrashers. Teammate Chris Thornburn played the puck behind the Blues' net, backhanding it by defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo. The puck went to Boulton in front, and with Mike Weaver out of position, Boulton buried a shot past Mason.

Mason finished with 18 saves, as he took his first loss of the season. "He was the least of my worries," Murray said.

The Blues' early goal came from Tkachuk, giving him three on the young season.

Tkachuk took a pass from Brad Boyes and zipped a shot past Pavelec for a 1-0 lead just 5:01 into the game. Tkachuk now has six points through three games.

"It's tough," Tkachuk said. "In a great atmosphere coming back home after (the trip to Sweden) ... to come away with nothing ... it's a disappointing night. We just didn't play the way we did over in Sweden."