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Blackhawks rally to force Game 7 against Blues

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Blackhawks rally to force Game 7 against Blues

Two days after the Chicago Blackhawks saved their season with an overtime goal off the stick of Patrick Kane in Game 5, they were on the ropes once again in Game 6 against the St. Louis Blues.

St. Louis had rattled off three goals in quick succession in the first period, making it look as though Chicago had run out of gas. Their Stanley Cup title defense was hanging in the balance and they just had a major let down after taking a 1-0 lead early on.

But just when you think the champs won’t get off the mat, they responded with a stunning five goals over the last two periods to not only come back, but rout the Blues 6-3.

That sends the series back to St. Louis for Game 7, with the Blackhawks likely holding at least a slight psychological advantage with the way they’ve managed to prevent the Blues from ending this. Given the Blues’ recent postseason history, their opportunity to prove that this team is different may be slipping through their fingers.

Game 6 turned out to be one of the postseason’s most entertaining games to date, so let’s take a look back at the moments and stretches of the game we’ll remember:

The Blackhawks are still alive thanks to a furious comeback in Game 6. (USATSI) The Blackhawks are still alive thanks to a furious comeback in Game 6. (USATSI)

1. Andrew Ladd gives Blackhawks early lead

You could almost see the relief when Andrew Ladd put the Blackhawks up 1-0 just 3:47 into the game. The building erupted as his shot went in and it looked like Chicago had come ready to play with their season on the line for the second straight game.

That goal set the stage, letting St. Louis know it wouldn’t be an easy night to clinch the series, but things changed in a hurry.

2. The Blues go on a tear after Blackhawks nearly make it 2-0

Had the result been different, Andrew Desjardins may have been wearing goat horns after Saturday’s contest.

The Blackhawks’ fourth-liner had a wide open net to make it 2-0 and the puck rolled on him. He shot wide, chased after it and then tried to center the puck to Dale Weise in the slot. Weise let it go through his legs, perhaps hoping a defenseman would be there to one-time it from a better position. Instead, it sprung the Blues on a 2-on-1 that concluded with Scottie Upshall tying the game.

That set off a Blues onslaught in the first period as they added two more goals. You can watch all three here:

After Upshall’s goal, the Blues struck when Alex Pietrangelo, who said after Game 5 that it would be fun to win the series in Chicago, ripped a slap shot from the right point that beat Corey Crawford.

The Blackhawks started getting sloppier, too. That cost them on the Blues’ third goal when they got caught up ice and the defense got all jumbled. That left Vladimir Tarasenko alone on the right side of the ice. He let go a spectacular wrist shot that left Crawford with no chance for his fourth goal of the series.

Here’s another look at the Tarasenko goal to illustrate how careless Chicago started to get towards the end of that period as they tried to recover:

The game had completely flipped from nearly being 2-0 with the Blackhawks in control to being 3-1 Blues. There was a lot of time left on the clock, but the Blackhawks gave themselves a steep mountain to climb, especially in a series where goals have been harder to come by.

But then …

3. Chicago flips the advantage with three high-skill goals in the second period

Brian Elliott had been so good in the series to date that the Blackhawks had to find ways to manufacture goals. With the Blues protecting a two-goal lead, they were going to keep it pretty locked up as well. But the Blackhawks are the defending champs for a reason. They put on a show in the second.

Chicago pumped three goals past Elliott in the middle stanza, while also outshooting the Blues 19-6. It was as solid as the team has looked all series showing that the bad first period didn’t shake them, it woke them up.

Here are all three goals:

Chicago first took advantage of an early power play when Artem Anisimov showed great patience and hand-eye coordination to knock a rebound out of midair and past Brian Elliott.

The Blues had good pushback in following the power play goal by Anisimov, but Chicago kept buzzing. After giving up a couple of rush goals, the Hawks got one of their own thanks to some smart puck movement by Richard Panik.

This deserves another look because of the way the Blackhawks set this goal up.

Panik started the rush into the zone, drew the defenders to him and dropped the puck back to a charging Jonathan Toews who had open ice in front of him. The Blackhawks captain then spotted defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk booking it to the net. Toews shipped the puck over to the young defenseman and he got it just over Elliott’s pad and into the net to tie the game.

The Blues had no answer for that play even though they had numbers back. Panik’s decision to cut back opened things up for Toews and van Riemsdyk’s rush up ice was rewarded with a perfect pass from the captain. Everything came together on that one.

But Chicago still wasn’t done. With 3:42 to play in the second period, Artemi Panarin showed off his incredible vision and slick passing skills when he hit Dale Weise with a perfect feed from behind the net. Weise snapped a quick shot that Elliott never had a chance yet. 4-3 Blackhawks.

Panarin’s fake froze Colton Parayko something awful, leaving room for the Blackhawks rookie to find Weise to bury the go-ahead goal. Here’s another look at the feed:


That was Weise’s first goal in a Blackhawks uniform after coming over as a trade deadline acquisition. He’s only played in three games this series, while spending the other three in the press box as a healthy scratch. Panarin couldn’t have given him a better setup.

4. Vladimir Tarasenko was pretty angry with his coach after the second period

For reasons that remain unclear, Vladimir Tarasenko didn’t play on the one power play the Blues got in the second period with a chance to tie the game. They basically finished the second on the advantage and Tarasenko was on the ice for eight seconds of that.

When your team is trying to score a goal after blowing a 3-1 lead and they have a power play, there are maybe two people on the planet you’d rather have in that situation than Vladimir Tarasenko. And yes, I’m talking about Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos.

This is how Tarasenko handled the lack of ice time:

Maybe Tarasenko wouldn’t have scored, but it’s near unforgivable that he was on the bench for that opportunity to tie before heading into the third period.

5. Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw combine for the dagger

Late in the third period and with the Blues still trailing, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had no choice but to hook up Richard Panik. It prevented a clean breakaway, but it put the Blues on the penalty kill. It was really poor timing, but if they could get the kill, they’re still in the game.

Instead, the Blues had a massive lapse.

Patrick Kane is a very good hockey player. The Blues know that, but the penalty killing between Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk was far too passive. The Art Ross Trophy winner made them pay.

Kane set up shop behind the Blues net and just waited. Everyone in the building knew what he was going to do with Andrew Shaw waiting for a pass in the slot. Kane may as well have been wearing a sign with flashing lights saying “I am going to pass it to Shaw.”

Shattenkirk was indecisive and he somehow opened up the lane by straying from the post. Kane hit the wide-open Shaw and that was all she wrote for St. Louis.

Those are two quality defensemen that looked lost on that play. You have to wonder if it was nerves getting the better of them because it was about as awful a time as you could ask for, for a pair of top NHL defensemen to break down.

Marian Hossa then added an empty-netter to put the finishing touches on a 6-3 win.

Now the series is set for a Game 7. With these two great rivals, this is the way many hoped it would end (aside from Blues fans when the team went up 3-1 in the series). If you’re a casual hockey fan, this is pretty much must-see.

While it seems easy to pick the Blackhawks who have all of the momentum, the Blues are going to be tough on home ice. Get ready for a tremendous finale to what has been one of the most exciting playoff series in recent memory.

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