ST. LOUIS -- When David Backes got to the St. Louis Blues' morning skate Monday, he learned coach Ken Hitchcock was giving him a different assignment for that night's game against the Winnipeg Jets.

His job Monday night, Backes found out, would be centering a line with right winger Vladimir Tarasenko and left winger Alexander Steen, the team's two leading scorers.

"Going into the game, I was wondering what it was going to look like," Backes said. "I think Vladi's been here three years, and I don't know if I've started a game with him or played a full game with him. You don't know what that's going to be like."

It turned out neither Backes nor the Blues had anything to worry about.

Backes scored two goals and assisted on a third as the Blues beat the Jets 3-2.

St. Louis snapping a two-game losing streak, tied for its longest of the season, and handed the Jets their sixth consecutive loss (0-5-1).

"(Tarasenko) makes a lot of time and space," Backes said. "Steener was fantastic tonight, creating plays and making plays happen, and I was the beneficiary of a few of them."

Tarasenko scored the other Blues' goal, his 11th of the season, and also added an assist as the Blues bounced back from a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

The three-point game was the 12th of Backes' career.

"(Backes) is a guy who's asked to do a lot of things," said Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who assisted on both of Backes' goals. "At any given moment, he's asked not to score goals and shut down the other team's top line. I think tonight was a reward for how hard he played Saturday night. He gets to play with two good guys who can get him the puck in good situations."

After Tarasenko gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with his fourth goal in the last three games 5:33 into the first period, the Blues went on a power play when Jets center Mathieu Perreault was called for delaying the game when he shot the puck over the glass.

Just 27 seconds into the penalty, Backes got his first goal of the night at 14:13. St. Louis' second power-play goal in 28 chances at home this season increased the lead to 2-0.

"I heard Dave screaming, 'net, net, net,' so I knew he was there, and fortunately it was right on his tape," Shattenkirk said.

That lead disappeared in the span of 36 seconds early in the second period, however, as the Jets rallied to tie the game on goals from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and center Bryan Little.

Byfuglien was credited with a goal when his slap shot hit the leg of Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester in front of the net and deflected past goalie Jake Allen 2:16 into the period.

Little scored the tying goal, his team-leading ninth of the season, at 2:52.

The Blues did not take long to respond, however, as Backes took a pass from Steen and flipped a backhander past goalie Michael Hutchinson 1:32 after the Jets' tying goal, 4:24 into the second period.

Allen made the one-goal lead stand up for the rest of the game, spoiling the Jets' attempt to end their losing streak, which included a 7-0 loss at Nashville on Saturday night. Allen finished with 16 saves.

"It was a better effort," Little said. "Doesn't make it easier to swallow that we lost again, but we skated much harder. We were competitive in the game. We were down, we stuck together as a team throughout the whole game. It doesn't feel better and make this trip better that we put in an effort; sometimes it's not enough."

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice had the same reaction.

"Based on the beating we took in Nashville, a lot of really good things (happened)," Maurice said about the loss to the Blues. "We made plays, we moved the puck, had some quickness, had some chances and played a damn good road game in here. That was a long way to come from that (Nashville) game, and it wasn't easy for them to do, so you've got to give those players credit.

"It was absolutely the bounce-back we needed ... a better result to feel good about it ... but certainly we know it's there."

NOTES: LW Jeremy Welsh was recalled by the Blues from Chicago of the AHL and inserted into the lineup for Monday night's game, his first game in the NHL since Dec. 14, 2013, when he was with Vancouver. Welsh replaced RW Ryan Reaves, who was a healthy scratch for the third time in the last four games. ... D Adam Pardy returned to the Winnipeg lineup after being out since Oct. 18. ... Monday night's game was the Jets' ninth game in nine cities (one home game) since Oct. 31. They will host Vancouver on Thursday night. ... This will be a busy week for the Blues, who play at Columbus on Tuesday night and return home for games Thursday and Saturday.