Patrick Kane beats Jake Allen to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.
>>Blackhawks Defeat Blues In Shootout
(Chicago, IL) — Jonathan Toews scored the lone goal in the shootout to lift the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Blues in Chicago. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which extended its point streak to four straight. Cam Ward made 37 saves in the victory. Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron scored for the Blues, who improved to 95 points but remain one behind Winnipeg and Nashville for first place in the Central Division with two games remaining. Jake Allen stopped 35 shots for St. Louis.
The St. Louis Blues missed a key opportunity to better their position within the Central Division in their most recent contest, but they won’t have to wait long for the chance to bounce back.
Trying to avoid a second straight defeat, the Blues will look to hand the visiting Philadelphia Flyers a fourth consecutive loss on Thursday night. Third-place St. Louis (43-28-9, 95 points) failed in the attempt to move into a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division — and better its position for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
St. Louis is 7-1-2 since March 16.
“We found a way to get one point, and that’s what matters,” Perron, who has three points in four games, told the Blues’ official Twitter account. “If we get four points in (the two remaining games), who knows where that will take us.” Vladimir Tarasenko recorded his 32nd goal of the season and added an assist for St. Louis. He has four goals and two assists over his past six games.
After Jake Allen made 35 saves against Chicago, rookie Jordan Binnington could be in goal for the Blues on Thursday. Binnington, 22-5-1 with a 1.85 goals-against average during a stellar rookie campaign, has a 1.97 GAA during a five-game home winning streak. In his first career start on Jan. 7, Binnington stopped 25 shots during a 3-0 victory at Philadelphia.