Offense silent in home loss

The Sharks didn’t bring their passion and energy to the rink Thursday, and paid for it in the form of a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center.

San Jose was held to 20 shots on goal as one-time Sharks farmhand Carter Hutton backstopped the Blues to a sixth win in seven games.

“The execution wasn’t quite there,” Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. “We weren’t heavy enough on a few battles. At the end of the night that will cost you.”

The hosts’ two-game winning streak was snapped, but they remained seven points ahead of second-place Anaheim in the Pacific Division. The Sharks host the Ducks on Saturday to close a six-game homestand.

“We’ve got one more big game here before we head out on the road, and we’ll need to play our game,” Pavelski said.

After the Sharks and Blues each scored once in the first period, St. Louis took the lead for good with the only goal of the second.

Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester missed the net with a drive from the right circle, but the hard carom off the end boards went to an unmarked Zach Sanford, who banged home his third goal from the weakside at 5:49.

The Sharks struggled to produce any offensive pressure in the middle period. They managed only five shots on goal — three of which came during 5-on-4 skating — for a meager two-period total of 11 shots.

“We probably weren’t on the inside enough,” Pavelski said. “It’s hard to say. We’ll look at the video, but obviously that’s not us. We’re a lot better than that.”

Vladimir Tarasenko gave St. Louis breathing room in the third, gaining inside position on Sharks defenseman Justin Braun to tap a rebound of a Tomas Steen shot past goalie Aaron Dell at 8:34.

Tarasenko scored his second of the game, and team-leading 34th of the season, into an empty net at 18:10.

“It’s kind of how the whole game went for us,” Dell said. “The third one went off of Braun. The bounce on the empty-netter was right off of (Brent) Burns’ foot and right to them. It was the story of the night.”

The Sharks and Blues traded late goals to spice up an otherwise disjointed opening period.

Scottie Upshall picked off a cross-ice clear by Burns at center, entered the zone and cranked off a low drive from above the right circle that beat a screened Dell at 16:40.

The hosts struck back at 17:45, however, when defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s drive from the left point caromed off the skate of St. Louis’ Carl Gunnarson and past Hutton. Vlasic’s fifth goal of the season was his second since Nov. 12.

“They came out hard. I knew they were going to be pretty desperate,” Dell said. “I don’t think we matched their desperation level tonight.”