St. Louis Blues: Grit and Determination Takes Game 3 for the Blues

The St. Louis Blues have made a knack of coming from behind against the Chicago Blackhawks. They did it once more and the victory couldn’t have been bigger for the team

Coming off what Blues fans perceived as one of the worst officiated games in recent history (some Blues fans would say ever), it was a much needed boost. In typical Blues fashion though, they never made it easy.

Things didn’t get off to a spectacular start for the Blues. They took several early penalties, some of which were questionable and some of which were accurate, and all of it got the juices flowing for fans who were already rubbed raw by the officiating in the last game.

Anyone with any sense knew you couldn’t keep giving Chicago powerplays and the Blackhawks would make the Blues pay right off the bat. Brent Seabrook took a shot that was deflected by a St. Louis stick and it went top shelf over Brian Elliott for an early 1-0 lead.

After killing off two consecutive silly penalties, including one where Jay Bouwmeester tried to play the puck while coming out of the penalty box, the Blues were finally able to settle into the game. It wouldn’t take too long after for them to get on the board either.

Proving the old saying that no shot is a bad one, Colton Parayko fired a shot that would have made Al MacInnis proud and it knicked off a Blackhawks’ stick to knot the game up at a goal apiece.

For whatever reason, be it weariness or the long change, the Blues just always seem to struggle a bit in the second period and it was no different on this day. The Blues did have 13 shots, but allowed 24 and couldn’t seem to clear the puck with consistency either.

Chicago was able to break the deadlock early in the period as well, which only made fans squirm in their seats even more with the Blues inability to score. Artem Anisimov‘s first goal of the postseason put the Blackhawks up by one and that would hold up into the third.

The Blues created several quality scoring chances in the second period, but Corey Crawford began standing on his head. With Crawford’s penchant for coming up with huge saves and his winning background, it almost seemed to spell the doom of the Blues.

However, the team banded together and came out with a strong third period. They did just about everything exactly as any coach would draw it up.

Fortune was on their side in the third period. Patrik Berglund tied it up 5:15 in the third frame after his shot appeared to deflect off the rear end of the defenseman, bounce off the ice and beat Crawford over the glove hand.

There was nothing fortunate about the game winner though. After getting a double-minor for high sticking on Patrick Kane, the Blues went to work. They had some bad passes initially, but then it was a chalk-board play that went tic-tac-toe and ended on Jaden Schwartz‘ stick and he buried it for the 3-2 lead.

The Blues couldn’t make it easy on the fans with some failed clearing attempts and not scoring on an empty net, but the win could not have been bigger when it was done and dusted. The Blues now lead two games to one and have played well enough in Chicago this season to where it is not beyond the realm of possibility to take both games now.

Negatives

The Blues came out of the gates on fire, but were also careless. Kyle Brodziak‘s penalty was questionable in terms of why he got the extra one, but the ones on Bouwmeester and several other penalties were just foolish. The Blues have spun the chamber on the pistol several times and come out ok but they cannot keep spending time in the box.

More from Bleedin' Blue

• St. Louis Blues Prospects Shine And Fizzle In Prospects Showcase
• St. Louis Blues Giving Nick Ritchie A Look Is No Lose Situation
• St. Louis Blues Torey Krug Already Injured Before 2023-24 Season
• St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
• Former St. Louis Blues Forward Going Into Hall Of Fame

The penalties also limited ice-time for Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko is clearly the Blues’ best player and proved it by helping set up the game-winner, but only had nine minutes and change on the ice through two periods. In Hitchcock’s defense it is difficult to get him out there when your team spends 6 minutes killing penalties in the first period.

The Blues still fail to recognize the backdoor play. It’s more difficult to track when down a man, but even at five-on-five, the Blues always seem to forget about the backside. Chicago, fortunately, has not made them pay for it the way they have in years past.

Positives

Brian Elliott. It no longer matters what side of the goaltender issue, Elliott has made a believer out of everyone. It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the team to say he single-handedly won the game, but he has been the Blues’ best player for the entire series. He stopped 44 shots in game 3 and is giving fans more hope than they’ve had in decades.

The entire team. Sure there were the usual mistakes that this team seems to make game in and out, however the overall team game has been great this whole series. For all the mistakes, they continue to hold Chicago down just enough to allow the offense to step up. While fans would obviously like to see four or five goals, the offense has stepped up in big moments and come up with some big goals when they needed it.

Next: NHL Must Have Officiating Consistency

Looking Forward

The Blues and Blackhawks faceoff again in Chicago for game 4 on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

The Blues have had three #roarbacon games now in the Windy City and just imagine the momentum if they take both games in Chicago. There’s lots that will happen between now and then, but the Blues had not won in Chicago in the postseason for over 10 years.

They’ve got one monkey off their back and now they can focus on the rest.