The St. Louis Blues were coming off a borderline playoff win having taken down the Vancouver Canucks and claiming the final wild card spot for the moment. Unfortunately, that positioned them for a potential letdown game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite the rivalry, it's hard to overlook Chicago being the worst in the division and the second worst in the conference. You'd like to think professionals would still go out and take care of business, but it's human nature to overlook and try to take a little break.
The first period was fairly lackluster for both teams. There were only 11 total shots, and the Blues only had five.
It was just an odd vibe. Whether it was Chicago having little to play for or the afternoon start time, there wasn't a lot of jump. St. Louis only had three or four hits all period long.
Things loosened up in the second period, but that was a double-edged sword. Chicago came out with the jump in the first portion of the period.
Joel Hofer had to make several key saves, including a big blocker save and a couple on some scrambles. Even Hofer had to be bailed out by his post to keep the game scoreless.
St. Louis finally came to life and scored with about five minutes left in the second. A truly odd play saw the puck batted around a couple times like a lacrosse ball before Robert Thomas finally swatted it out of midair near the left post to make it 1-0 Blues.
That opened the floodgates just a bit. The Blues made it 2-0 about two minutes later when Alexey Toropchenko finished off a backdoor feed from Radek Faksa. The fourth line was gold all day, so it was a fitting result for them.
The end of the second period was not even fool's gold - it was just plain bad. The Blues got a power play in the final two minutes and almost immediately surrendered a shorthanded goal. On the rush, Justin Faulk made the block and Dylan Holloway came to help on the backcheck. Unfortunately, the puck bounced right to Ilya Mikheyev in front, and he deked around Hofer to make it 2-1.
Hofer came up huge just moments later though. Chicago got another shorthanded rush, and Hofer denied the breakaway attempt to at least keep it a one-goal lead into the intermission.
Although the shots remained close until the end, the Blues simply calmed down and asserted themselves. Nathan Walker, having lost a tooth earlier in the game, made it 3-1 just over a minute into the third. It was a great finish on a two-on-one, set up by Toropchenko.
Then, with just over eight minutes left, the Blues put it to bed. Brayden Schenn came in on the right, dropped it to Philip Broberg for the shot, and Zach Bolduc smacked in the backhanded rebound to make it 4-1, which would be the final.
Pro: Fourth line
The TV broadcasting crew made an apt comparison when they said this team's fourth line is reminiscent of the one that helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019. This trio doesn't have the offensive upside that Steen, Barbashev, and Sundqvist had, but they play with the same heart and determination.
You can throw them out against any line and they have success. A lot of times, they start the period, which sends a message to the opponent.
The offensive output in this game was just the cherry on top. You get two goals, including the game winner, and five points out of that trio.
Those three also contributed 11 of the Blues 24 hits. That's a quality game.
Con: Power play
The power play continues to be a step up from what we saw earlier in the season. However, it can't be seen as anything but a bad thing in this game.
Firstly, you go 0-2. That's not great as it is.
Then, you give up a shorthanded goal and almost give up a second on the same power play. Guys were tripping over the blue line, making bad passing decisions, and forcing their goaltender to be their best player on the power play. That's just not supposed to happen.
Pro: Hofer
In the overall sense, the Blues did their job, holding their opponent under 30 shots for another game. They haven't allowed 30 shots in several weeks.
However, while 27 shots were not a ton, Hofer had to help win this game. If he wasn't on his game, especially in the second period, the Blues might have needed overtime or even lost in regulation.
It's a shame to say they needed their goaltender to bail them out against one of the bottom feeders of the league, but it's the truth. It was good that he came to play to keep the team winning, and good for him to be on point after having some mixed results lately.
Pro: Maroon reception
I won't pretend to be the biggest Big Rig fan. It was cool that I got to broadcast his games back when he played for the St. Louis Bandits of the NAHL, but that's about where it stops for me.
Nevertheless, even though he was wearing the enemy jersey, it was good to see him get such a reception during his final game in St. Louis, now that he's announced his retirement after the season.
The guy's had a heck of a career. He won three Stanley Cups and competed for four. He helped his boyhood team win its first-ever championship in franchise history. Best of luck to him as he transitions to a family man full time instead of just during the summers and home stands.
Overview:
By no means was this a good game by the St. Louis Blues. It might have been one of their worst in a while. It was their worst since the Dallas game.
However, they battled through things, and enough guys stepped up to get the win. While the end result could have swung either way, 4-1 is a very fair result.
The chances were mostly even, but the Blues made the better of theirs. Normally you can't truly pinpoint any one moment in a game, but for this game, that Hofer breakaway save at the end of the second period won the game.
If it's 2-2 after two, who knows how this one ends? Instead, you go to intermission with the lead, the guys take a deep breath, and re-establish themselves in the third period.
Could they have done that anyway if it was tied? Maybe.
I'd rather they have a little cushion instead of needing that Walker goal early in the third. As it is, it worked out.
When people look back on this game after the season, the only thing anyone will care about is that you got two points and increased your lead on Vancouver, who lost to the New York Rangers.
The Blues cannot let up. They have just about 24 hours from game end to puck drop against Nashville on Sunday.
There might be a little buffer zone now, but we all remember how recently the Blues were essentially dead in the playoff race and look at it now. It can easily swing back the other way, so keep on winning.