Brian Elliott made 22 saves and Jaden Schwartz had his first two-goal game as the St. Louis Blues earned home-ice advantage for the first-round of the playoffs by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 Saturday night.
The Blues won 12 of their last 15 games to capture fourth place in the Western Conference.
Elliott and the Blues were helped by facing a Chicago lineup that was devoid of almost every regular.
Ben Smith, who was playing in his first game of the season, scored for Chicago.
The two-goal game was the first of Schwartz's career. Patrik Berglund also scored for St. Louis and David Backes had two assists to give him 300 points for his career.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
