10 observations: Hawks offense continues to roll in win for Blues originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks knocked off the St. Louis Blues 5-3 at Enterprise Center on Saturday for their sixth win in seven games.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. Jaxson Stauber made his first career NHL start and became the fifth goaltender to play in a game for the Blackhawks this season. He was tested early and often, and he stood tall. He stopped the first 13 shots he faced and finished with 29 saves on 32 shots for a save percentage of .906.
2. The Blues had 20 shot attempts and 11 shots on goal in the first period. The Blackhawks had only six shot attempts and three shots on goal. And yet the Blackhawks came away with a 2-0 lead at the end of it after scoring on their first two shots of the game. It’s probably not how they drew it up, but they’ll take it.
3. The Blackhawks extended their lead to 3-0 in the second period then gave up a power-play goal to Jordan Kyrou in the second period that made it 3-1. It gave the Blues a little bit of life, but it only lasted 65 seconds after Andreas Athanasiou answered his fellow Greek. That was a huge response, and it forced the Blues to make a goaltender change with Jordan Binnington allowing four goals on seven shots.
4. Jason Dickinson had three points (one goal, two assists) and ended a 30-game goal drought. Sam Lafferty scored his third shorthanded goal of the season and added an assist for a multi-point effort. Reese Johnson scored his second goal in as many games, and Colin Blackwell and MacKenzie Entwistle each added assists. That’s a lot of production from the bottom-six forward group.
5. When Chicago’s first line of Max Domi, Tyler Johnson and Patrick Kane was on the ice together at even strength through two periods, shot attempts were 12-1 St. Louis, per Natural Stat Trick. In the third period? The Blackhawks led 5-2 in shot attempts when the three of them were on the ice, and Domi scored a much-needed insurance goal with 3:59 left in regulation. Kane was held without a shot on goal for the first time since Dec. 5, 2021, which came in a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders.
6. Isaak Phillips got into his first career NHL fight with Ivan Barbashev, who tried lining up Dickinson near the end of the second period. Phillips didn’t like it and a scrap ensued. Barbashev won the fight, but Phillips got a nice tap on the back side from Barbashev after as a sign of respect.
7. The Blackhawks have scored four or more goals in five of their last six games. They had done that only three times in their previous 31 games. The offense is really rolling right now.
8. The Blackhawks were 0-9-1 in their first 10 games against Central Division opponents this season. They are 3-0-0 in their last three (against Colorado, Arizona and St. Louis). The Blackhawks also ended an 11-game winless skid against the Blues; they were 0-9-2 in the previous 11 games.
9. The Blackhawks have won six of their last seven games, and with Arizona’s loss to Dallas on Saturday, the Blackhawks now have the fourth-worst points percentage in the league, which means they are no longer inside the Top 3 as far as lottery odds. Columbus is now the front-runner in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.
10. The Blues were without Robert Bortuzzo, Torey Krug, Ryan O’Reilly, Marco Scandella and Vladimir Tarasenko due to injury. The five of them have a combined cap hit of $25.7 million. They’re fighting to stay in the playoff hunt with a decimated roster at the moment.
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