Written by Miguel Mendez
The St. Louis Blues took on the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup of two Western conference powerhouses. The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup three of the past six seasons. Miguel Mendez reports on the first-round matchup, with special significance for CC hockey fans.
The NHL Playoffs are in full swing with plenty of headlines and nail-biters already. The playoffs started off with two major milestones. The Detroit Red Wings qualified for their 25th straight playoff appearance this year, making it the longest active streak of any North American professional sports team in any of the four major sports. Also, this season was the first time since the 1969-70 season that no Canadian team qualified for the playoffs. This is only the second time it has ever happened in NHL history.
CC hockey fans should have a special interest in this series, and with the Blues’ top-line left winger in particular. Jaden Schwartz skated as a Tiger for two years, leading the team in points both seasons. He led the Tigers to the NCAA playoffs both years before opting to forgo his last two years of NCAA eligibility. He signed an entry-level contract with the Blues in 2012.
The matchups were set for the first round. Bitter divisional rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues, were set to face off against each other in the first round.
The Blues narrowly finished the season with four more points than the Blackhawks. Both teams were even throughout the season as the Blues barely won the season series 3-2. The stage was set for an intense and hard fought playoff series.
Game 1 proved to set the bar for the rest of the series. Through three periods, the game remained scoreless as neither team was able to get past excellent goaltending from both teams. The game went into overtime to decide the winner. It took a full 69 minutes of play to finally see the first goal of the series as David Backes scored to take the first game for the Blues.
Game 2 allowed the Blackhawks to bounce back and take the win before traveling back home. The score was tied 1-1 entering the third period before the Blackhawks scored their second and third goals to take a 3-1 lead that stood at the end of the game.
Game 3 was the first in Chicago with the series tied 1-1. Down 2-1, the Blues put together two goals in the third period to take the lead and win 3-2. Schwartz scored the game winning goal in the final period.
The Blues continued their winning form and won game 4 to take a 3-1 lead. The Blues opened up the score in the first period as Vladimir Tarasenko scored off an assist from Jori Lehtera and Schwartz. The Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead before the Blues tied the game up at 2-2 before the end of the second period. Schwartz scored the third goal for the Blues a minute and a half into the third period. The Blues scored again three minutes later to double their lead in the final period.
Down 3-1 in the series, Chicago needed a strong comeback in order to win three games, two of them on the road, in order to move on to the next round. Game 5 came down to the wire as the teams needed two periods of overtime to determine a winner. It was make or break for the Blackhawks as they took a 3-1 lead going into the third period. The Blues were just as determined to end the series as they scored two goals to force overtime to determine the winner. The Blackhawks were able to score the winning goal in double overtime to force a game 6 back in Chicago.
Game 6 produced an interesting series of events. The Blues took a 3-1 lead as the first period ended. Facing elimination, the Blackhawks rallied to score five unanswered goals to win the game 6-3.
The winner-takes-all game 7 was necessary as the teams were tied after 6 games. The Blues took a 2-1 lead after the first period. Schwartz provided the assist to Jori Lehtera as the Blues took a one-goal lead. The Hawks tied it up in the second period. It would come down to the final period. Eight minutes into the third period, Troy Brouwer scored the eventual game-winning goal to eliminate the defending champions and move on to the next round.
The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of the series against the Dallas Stars. The Blues took a 2-1 series lead after a blowout win against the Stars on Tuesday, outscoring them 6-1. Schwartz tallied an assist during the game, the first point of the series for him and his fifth of the playoffs.