[Brett Hull] perhaps buoyed by a trade that improved the Blues' defense, scored twice to lead the Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Whalers.

Before the trading deadline Tuesday afternoon, the Blues acquired two defensemen, Garth Butcher of Vancouver and Darren Veitch of Toronto. In the deal with the Canucks, the Blues also acquired high-scoring center Dan Quinn for four players not being used by the Blues.