The Chicago Blackhawks coughed up a third period lead, and although they got a point in the standings they couldn't finish the job as the St. Louis Blues picked up a 3-2 shootout victory.
Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk beat Corey Crawford in the sixth round of the shootout to give St. Louis the lead, and Teuvo Teravainen rang a shot off the post to end it and give the Blues a victory.
The Blackhawks led by a goal going into the third period, but they surrendered two power play goals to St. Louis. Artemi Panarin was able to score to send the game to overtime, but it wasn't enough as St. Louis won in the skills competition.
The game got off to a hard physical start for both teams, but the Blues were repeatedly whistled for infractions in the early going. The Hawks failed to score on their first two power plays of the night, but they got another great chance when Ryan Reaves was issued a five-minute major for charging late in the period.
As the second period got underway, the Blackhawks took advantage of that infraction and scored the first goal of the game. On a bit of puck cycling, Teuvo Teravainen wound up and hammered a shot from the point, and Andrew Ladd was able to deflect it past Jake Allen in front of the net to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
From there, the Blues began to impose their will on the Blackhawks, and Corey Crawford had to be at his absolute best. Things were complicated even further when Toews was forced from the game briefly due to a midsection injury, but the Blackhawks managed to stay in front as Crawford stopped all 15 St. Louis shots in the period.
About nine minutes into the third period, the Blackhawks committed a careless too many men penalty, and the Blues took advantage. Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from the point was deflected in front by Backes, and the Blues' captain helped knot things up at 1-1.
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Later in the period, Christian Ehrhoff was tagged with a holding penalty, and the Blues once again scored to take the lead. Paul Stastny got the puck behind the Chicago net, and after the Blackhawks over-rotated on defense, Brouwer found a soft spot in the low slot and one-timed a shot past Crawford to make it a 2-1 game.
With a little over a minute to go in regulation, the Blackhawks were able to tie things up. Receiving a pass from the point, Toews managed to kick the puck to his stick and flip a saucer pass across the ice, and Artemi Panarin blasted a one-timer into the back of the net to knot things up at 2-2 and ultimately force overtime.
After a scoreless overtime that saw a potential Ladd goal waved off, the Blues managed to win in the shootout. The two sides were tied through five rounds, but after Shattenkirk buried his attempt Teravainen was denied by the post, and Chicago went down in defeat.
The Blackhawks will look to get back into winning form on Friday night when they head to Dallas to take on the Stars.
