Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews (R) celebrates his second goal of the game with teammate Marian Hossa. UPI/Bill Greenblatt
You had the feeling after watching the Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews score just 12 seconds into the game, that it was going to be an uphill battle for the St. Louis Blues. While the Blues hung tough and at times played well, they had no answer for the Hawks in the third period and lose 3-0, Thursday night at Scottrade Center. The win for Chicago extended their points streak to 20 games (17-0-3), as they add to their NHL record.
Toews scored twice, including once in the third period and Andrew Shaw added Chicago’s other goal against Jaroslav Halak who played well and kept his team in the game most of the night with 20 saves.
The Blues failed to score against two goalies. Corey Crawford played the first period, but left after looking woozy leaving the ice at the first intermission. Ray Emery stepped in and made 15 saves. The Blues went 0 for 4 on the power play.
Blues captain David Backes took the blame. “It’s a terrible start on our line’s part,” Backes said. “We’ve got to be better in setting the tone for our team. I don’t know if there’s a worse way to do it than 12 seconds in giving a goal up. We’ve got to improve that. That’s on our shoulders.