St. Louis Blues Defeat Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7, Advance to Second Round for First Time Since 2012
The St. Louis Blues emerged victorious in Monday’s Game 7, sending the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks packing and advancing to the second round for the first time since 2012.
On Monday night in St. Louis, as the Blues played in their first Game 7 of a playoff series since 2003, Scottrade Center became perhaps as energized as it’s ever been as the Blues bounced the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks from the postseason. After three straight years of first-round eliminations, the Blues will advance to the second round for the first time since 2011-12, and things look promising as they get ready to take on the division rival Dallas Stars.
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The Blues crossed perhaps the most important item on any Game 7 checklist off just one minute into the first period, as they were able to get on the board first thanks to a Jori Lehtera tip-in of a fantastic Jay Bouwmeester slapshot. The trend of impressive slapshots from defensemen continued at 13:43 in the first, as Colton Parayko fired his second goal of the postseason into Corey Crawford‘s net. Seeing as he scored a major momentum-building goal and was the Blues’ most disciplined defender in their own zone, Parayko would’ve been a great choice as the game’s first star, even though he didn’t crack the Blues’ official top three on Monday.
Unlike in Game 6, where the Blues completely fell apart in the second period, they were able to overcome a dominant five-minute stretch from the Blackhawks in Game 7. It started off when Marian Hossa scored his third goal of the series, set up by Richard Panik, at 18:30 in the first period. The panic (no pun intended) continued at 3:20 in the second, as Andrew Shaw took advantage of a Kevin Shattenkirk hooking penalty to tie the game up at two a piece.
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After quite a bit of thrilling back-and-forth action–including a Blues power play, triggered by a David Rundblad slashing penalty, that went for naught after the Blues lacked urgency and got off just two shots–the Blues were able to settle things once and for all at 8:31 in the third. Chicago defenseman Erik Gustaffsson committed a costly neutral zone turnover, enabling Robby Fabbri to bring the puck into the offensive zone. He got it to Alex Pietrangelo, who passed it to Paul Stastny. The veteran center delivered a spectacular pass back to the rookie Fabbri, who bumped it over to Troy Brouwer in front of the net. Though Brouwer failed to convert on his first attempt, he was able to come up with a fantastic second-effort shot to get it in and collect the go-ahead goal.
The Blackhawks got one last great chance when Andrew Shaw took a shot and bounced it off the post, but the potential goal was immediately waved off. Chicago wasn’t nearly as aggressive as usual with a sixth attacker on the ice, and as the clock struck zero they were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2011-12.
Next: Blues-Blackhawks Game 7: This is It
The Blues will now go on to face the Dallas Stars in the second round. The Stars, who won the Central Division, eliminated the Minnesota Wild in six games and finished up their first-round series on Sunday. One would think the Blues would have the early edge considering their 4-1 record against Dallas this season, but obviously the playoffs are a whole different animal and are usually entirely unpredictable. Dallas will have home ice, so the Blues will have to exhibit the same urgency on the road that they did in the first round, when they were able to win Games 3 and 4 at United Center.