NHL Playoffs: St. Louis Blues vs, Chicago Blackhawks Game 3: Full highlights (Video)

Even a flurry of penalties could not stop the St. Louis Blues from yet again gaining a lead over the Chicago Blackhawks in their first-round series of the NHL playoffs, in which they are ahead 2-1.

All of Game 2—beginning just 3 minutes, 27 seconds in regulation—rested in controversy. A overturned offside call revoking Tarasenko’s second goal of the night and Andrew Shaw’s negated goalie interference converted a potential one-goal lead for the Blues into one for the Blackhawks, who ultimately come out on top of the game with a 3-2 win over the Blues—tying the best-of-seven series at 1-1. Thus, going into Game 3, the Blues needed to enter at full strength and dominate possession from the get-go; any opportunities for Chicago to gain an initial advantage would overpower St. Louis for the rest of their time in enemy territory.

It’s perfectly clear that to dethrone the reigning Stanley Cup champs, the Blues needed more of a physical edge on the ice; the ‘Hawks don’t fear penalties in the regular season and certainly don’t in playoffs. Add the location shift to Chicago in Game 4, and the Blackhawks have all the more reason to play dirty.

From the first faceoff, the Blues upped the ante, even receiving five penalties within the first period due to excessive aggression. Though the Blackhawks got an early lead thanks to Brent Seabrook, St. Louis’s Colton Parayko responded with his own power play goal with 7:49 left in the first period. Now, the game would not just be a battle of the goalies but a battle of the front lines—the difference between the two teams would ultimately be determined by little things, as their performance was neck-and-neck.

Yet, after clinching a 2-1 lead in the second period, the Blackhawks grew sloppy and impulsive, which ultimately lost them the game. set themselves up for failure. Patrick Berglund opened the third period scoring 5:15 into the final period, evening the score at 2-2. Minutes later, forward Patrick Kane received a four minute double-minor penalty for high-sticking Alex Pietrangelo. Here was the opportunity on which St. Louis needed to capitalize.

The Blues entered their four minute power play, allowing left wing Jaden Schwartz to score a goal past Corey Crawford with 13:33 remaining in the third period. Now the score was 3-2 with just 6:38 remaining in Game 3, and the Blackhawks lacked the time and the opportunity to regain dominance.

Three Stars

Goaltender Brian Elliott (Blues)
Elliott celebrated his first career postseason game at the United Center by giving a fantastic performance in the net: Though his saves may not have been as epic as Corey Crawford’s, he nonetheless made 44 saves during the three periods, leading to a .957 save percentage for Game 3.

LW Jaden Schwartz (BLUES)
The wing scored St. Louis’s game-winning goal during the third period of Game 3. The forward successfully took advantage of the Blues power play from Patrick Kane’s four minute double minor penalty.

LW Artemi Panarin (BLACKHAWKS)
The young star assisted Brent Seabrook’s goal early in the first period.

Sore Loser: Patrick Kane
Due to the forward’s double minor penalty for high-sticking, the Blackhawks were down a player for four minutes—in which time St. Louis shot a game-winning goal. Coincidence? Probably not.

Highlights

Definitely the most Twitter-sparking play in Game 4 was Andrew Ladd’s odd and unlucky goal attempt in period two: though he shot the puck right down the middle of the crease, it ultimately one of the goals’ crossbars, then bounced across the net to whack into the other. It was an impressive shot, that’s for sure, but it definitely did not have the outcome Ladd intended for it to have.

And here’s that same shot overhead…ridiculous!

Next Game

Game 4 of the series will begin at 9:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 19. The game will be aired on NBC Sports Network.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.