BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Robin Lehner's pleas have been heard by the Buffalo Sabres, who find themselves in the thick of the wild-card race following a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

Lehner made 37 saves and Evander Kane had a goal and an assist as the Sabres (26-23-10) have won three in a row after Lehner went on a lengthy rant criticizing his teammates following a loss last Sunday.

"We've been a team that’s been up and down and win one, lose one, and not any of us have been happy with that kind of result and Robin was one of those guys," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said. "He's stepped up with his play in the last 6-7 games, stepped up with how he's been in the net for us and he's been a big reason why we are four (wins in) our last five."

The Sabres were one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Saturday night's games. Buffalo has played three more games than the final wild-card team, Toronto.

Nicholas Baptiste and Ryan O'Reilly also scored for the Sabres.

Buffalo jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but the Blues stormed back in the third and outshot the Sabres 17-7 in the third period.

Scottie Upshall cut the lead to 3-2 with 4:57 remaining on a shorthanded breakaway, but the Blues were unable to even the score despite a prime opportunity with 1:12 remaining after Lehner received a tripping penalty.

"They came at us pretty good," O'Reilly said. "It wasn't the perfect third, but when you can win the game that's all you can ask for."

Vladimir Tarasenko and Scottie Upshall scored for the Blues (31-23-5), who saw a six-game win streak come to a close. Jake Allen made 26

saves.

"Well, you know what, we were hoping to win the rest of the games the rest of the season, but not sure that was going to happen," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "Same attitude that we've had when we've won games, we come back to the rink, we figure out what we need tomorrow and then get ready for our next challenge."

Tarasenko opened the scoring 1:31 into the game during a delayed penalty call against the Sabres. The Blues' sniper was left all alone in the right circle before unleashing a wrist shot to the short side for his 28th goal of the season.

After being promoted from the AHL Saturday morning, Baptiste evened the score midway through the period following a great feed by Jack Eichel.

Eichel sped down the right side before cutting to the middle and flipping a soft backhand pass to Baptiste, who was in all alone and beat Allen with a backhand shot through Allen's legs. It was Baptiste's third goal of the season.

"It was a great play," Baptiste said. "(Eichel) does it all the time."

Kane made it 2-1 with 8:02 remaining in the second on a deflection in front of the net. It was Kane's 20th goal of the season and his sixth in his last six games.

O'Reilly increased Buffalo's lead to 3-1 on a power-play goal with 31.3 seconds left in the second period. With the Sabres on a 5-on-3 advantage due to penalties on Kenny Agostino and Upshall, O'Reilly placed a shot into the far side of the net from the right circle.

St. Louis turned up the pressure as Upshall's breakaway cut Buffalo's lead with 4:57 remaining. With Kevin Shattenkirk in the box for holding, Upshall took it the other way and placed a backhand shot through Lehner's legs.

Lehner made a key save with 1:18 remaining from close range and the Sabres did a good job of clearing the puck over the final few minutes.

"We saw the desperation at the end of the game," Blues center Kyle Brodziak said. "Guys want to keep this thing rolling. It's a good sign. Hopefully we can jump back on it Monday night and start another

little run."

NOTES: C Sam Reinhart, D Taylor Fedun and D Justin Falk were scratched for the Sabres. Reinhart was a surprise scratch because of an illness. ... Fedun was placed on waivers earlier Saturday. ... Buffalo called up Nicholas Baptiste from the AHL's Rochester Americans before the game. Baptiste is tied for eighth in the AHL with 19 goals. ... RW Dmitrij Jaskin, D Robert Bortuzzo and RW Nail Yakupov were scratched for the Blues. ... This was the second of two meetings between the two teams this season. St. Louis won the first meeting, 4-1, at home on Nov. 15. ... The Sabres have a quick turnaround with the Chicago Blackhawks in town for a 6 p.m. game on Sunday.