NHL Playoffs: When is Blackhawks vs. Blues Game 4?

April 23, 2002—almost 14 years ago—was the last time the St. Louis Blues won a playoff game at the United Center until today, when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks on their own ice 3-2.

Throughout the postseason, the Blues have remained conscious of the fact that they are playing the reigning champions of the Stanley Cup: to defeat their rival and move on in the series, they would need to get more physical, even if that meant racking up penalties for aggression. With the contest moving to Chicago and the Blackhawks’ increasing confidence, St. Louis needed to initiate scoring and offensive prowess before their hosts took full possession of the puck.

Though the first forty minutes of play did not go at all according to Hitchcock’s hopes—the Blues were charged with five penalties, some of which were questionable and unequal takeaways for equal error—the final period offered the Blues redemption and, ultimately, a victory.

After leading the game 2-1 through the second period, the Blackhawks set themselves up for failure. Patrik Berglund opened the third period scoring 5:15 into the final period evening the score 2-2. This frustrating comeback led the Blackhawks to get impulsive, which ultimately punished forward Patrick Kane, who received a four minute double-minor penalty for high-sticking Alex Pietrangelo. Immediately, the Blues capitalized on their extended power play advantage: with 13:33 remaining in the third period, Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz fired one into the puck, assisted by Backes and Tarasenko, stars from Games 1 and 2, respectively. Tarasenko first passed down the puck to captain Backes, who directed it right to Schwartz in the slot. His shot was low on the glove side, too low for Crawford to anticipate a block. Now the score was 3-2 with just 6:38 remaining in Game 3.

The Blues will attempt to replicate their brilliant defeat of the Blackhawks on on Tuesday, April 19 at 9:30 p.m. EST. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Network.

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