That the Blues held on over the final, furious 6:38 for a 3-2 victory confirmed to the crowd of 22,207 that this was no fluke.
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ST. LOUIS (AP) – Eric Fryer had three hits, including the go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning that led the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 Sunday.
Game 4 is Tuesday in Chicago.
On Sunday afternoon, the St. Louis Blues did something remarkable.
– Blues are the first team to beat the Blackhawks in regulation when trailing after two periods since the Kings in 2014. This feels emotionally, very much like a final and it’s the first round, but it feels very much like a final. Both teams had some missed calls.
“No one said it was going to be a short series and even with them getting the win in Game 2, that didn’t affect us”, Schwartz said. Anisimov made it 2-1 with the lone goal scored in the second, which had a combined 50 shots attempts.
Kane, the NHL’s leading scorer this season and one of the favorites for league MVP, got four minutes for a high stick on defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, and St. Louis made the most of the chance to go in front. Goalies-St. Louis, Elliott 2-1-0 (46 shots-44 saves). Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 33 of 36 shots. “At the same time, so did ours”. They’re going to need more scoring from throughout the lineup if they want to fully give Elliott the offensive production his play deserves. “Those games could go either way”. Craig Smith scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period before Shea Weber added the eventual game-winner 9 ½ minutes later to highlight the Predators’ 3-2 win over the Pacific Division champs. Schwartz said confidence played a large role in the Blues’ comeback in a hostile environment.
[Corey Crawford] made three or four big stops before we scored on the PP. We had two good looks after on the power play, it would have been nice to go up by two, and they cashed in right away. “He got it close to his eye, really unsafe there, and we capitalized on that big shot by Jaden”, said Elliott, who shared duties with the younger Jake Allen through the season but is now carrying the ball and looking a lot like Dwayne Roloson did for the Oilers in their 2006 Cup run.
The Blues once again allowed a goal within the first five minutes of the period, forcing them to play in desperation.
He elbowed Chicago defenceman Brent Seabrook in the chops and got away with it. He got in Jonathan Toews face, putting the Hawks captain in a bear-hug with the optional face-wash. He also caught a break when Andrew Ladd’s shot bounced off the left post and then the right one with about 6:20 to go. Make no mistake about it, the playoffs are a chess match that is ever changing, and the Blues were able to weather the storm through the first three games to give them the edge in this year’s Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup.
“That was a tough loss”, coach Joel Quenneville said. They spotted the Florida Panthers a 3-1 lead early in the second period before rallying with a pair of goals to tie things up at the second intermission. Both goals were a result of more traffic and one was from secondary opportunities. Berglund scored as St. Louis pulled even at 2 with 14:45 remaining in the third period. Patrik Berglund got the puck in the neutral zone, and as he crossed the blue line, he fired a shot toward the net. The puck deflected off the leg of Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival and skipped into the net before Crawford could react.
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“We know we’re going to have to weather that storm, be ourselves and stick together and play as a team”. Forward Steve Ott also is skating again after missing much of the season due to hamstring surgery and then colitis. Between playing the Chicago Blackhawks who always seem to find ways to win, and having wildly inconsistent officiating, the Blues have had all the ammo needed to “throw in the towel” on this year’s Stanley Cup hopes. Weise, 27, appeared in 34 playoff games with the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens in the previous four seasons….
