The Blackhawks feeling the Blues
(AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Chris Lee)
Yet again, the St. Louis Blues overcame regulation, and overtime to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4 to 3. This overtime thriller included another last minute goal by the Blues Vladimir Tarasenko with 6.4 seconds left in the third period.
This time around, the Blues took the early lead and dominated the first period. Chris Porter lead the scoring for the Blues when his slap shot beat Corey Crawford. Kevin Shattenkirk gave the Blues a strong two goal lead with two seconds left in the first period. The second period belonged to the Blackhawks and they cut the Blues’ lead in half by the end of the period when Duncan Keith’s slap shot from the point sailed through traffic and into the back of the net.
The Blackhawks seemed to be taking over the game at this point, as they tied the game up at the start of the third period. They scored two goals within three minutes of each other, and both were shots from the point. The was first from Brent Seabrook, who picked up a bounce off the boards and took a slapper from the point that ricocheted off of players in front of the net. Ryan Miller lost track, and the puck went into the back of the net. Michal Rozsival then gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the game scoring off of a wicked snapshot from the point that went through traffic and behind Miller.
The Blues would not give up. Their resilience and determination proved fruitful with just seven seconds left in the game. This is the greatness of playoff hockey, it is not over until the buzzer sounds. The Blues were on the power play and pulled the goalie to create a 6 on 4 opportunity. Head coach Ken Hitchcock made the right call as Tarasenko took a shot from the top of the circle, and T.J. Oshie and Jaden Schwartz created traffic in front of Crawford, and the puck just slid between Crawford and the post.
With the momentum on the Blues’ side, they were bound to start strong in overtime. Chicago was stunned, as were the fans, and Chicago did not stand a chance. The Blues had too much adrenaline having gained that last second goal to force overtime. This time only one OT would be needed for the Blues to steal the game. Barret Jackman’s snapshot from the point beat Crawfrord to give the Blues another win at home, and increase the series lead to two games.
The next two games head to the Madhouse on Madison, the first game being on Monday night at 8 PM ET, and game four will be on Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET.
