This Day in St. Louis Sports History: April 9
April 9, 2010: Keith Tkachuk concludes his NHL career as the St. Louis Blues defeat the Anaheim Ducks 6-3
Five years ago today, St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk played the final game of his NHL career in the Blues’ home finale. The Blues won 6-3 as “Walt” collected two points. Though Tkachuk didn’t score a goal in his curtain call performance, he did add two assists, one of which came on Carlo Colaiacovo‘s game-tying goal in the third period, with the other coming on an Andy McDonald goal that gave the Blues a two-goal lead as the clock winded down.
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Tkachuk, a veteran of 18 seasons who played seven full seasons and parts of two others in St. Louis, had announced his retirement earlier in the week. He collected 208 goals and 219 assists during his 543 games in a Blues uniform, which ranked him fifth in franchise history in goals and seventh in overall points. Tkachuk was honored with a pregame ceremony before the game, and as the clock wound down, the fans chanted “Keith Tkachuk, Keith Tkachuk, Keith Tkachuk!” for him.
Besides the ones that Tkachuk contributed to, other Blues goals in the game came from Lars Eller, Eric Brewer, Jay McClement, and David Backes. Chris Mason made 23 of 26 saves in net for the Blues.
After playing in the home finale, Tkachuk dud what is commonly done with retiring players on contending teams, sitting out the season finale as the Blues fell to the Nashville Predators in their 82nd and final game.