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Rd 1: Game V
THE CAP IS BACK!!! When David Backes skated out on the ice for warm ups tonight Scottrade Center exploded for the man with the C on his chest. All I could think about was this gif:
Unfortunately the Cap being back couldn’t kick the St. Louis Blues in gear.
The first period was a hodgepodge of weird. The puck seemed to be bouncing at odd times. The Blues would get two early chances on the power play. They would come away after both with only one shot on goal and no momentum gained. The Blackhawks would seemingly gain strength from the under performing Blues. They would score at 16:11. It was the first kick in the gut of the night. The period would end with a crappy first period effort. 1-0 Chicago.
The second period would see an aggressive Blues team come out of the locker room. The Hawks would fail to gain much in the first half of the period. The Blues would gain a bit of momentum from their sloppy play. The team in blue had a little bit of a jump to their skates but it was fragile and under used. At 11:04 T.J. Oshie would score in typical #OshieDown fashion. Tie 1-1.
The Blues would push the Hawks and gain a bit of momentum from the Oshie goal, but it wouldn't be enough to hold Chicago team off for long. At 17:10 Ben Smith would backhanded the puck past Miller and take the lead back for Chicago. 2-1 Chicago. The period went by fast as very little extra curriculars would be apparent throughout the game. The third period would give Blues fans everywhere hope. At 1:42 of the third Alex Pietrangelo would take advantage of the slow moving Corey Crawford and blast a wrister. 2-2 Tie.
The two teams would struggle to gain puck possession and offensive zone time with the puck to get significant chances on net. When they did the goalie was there to make the save, unless you were the St. Louis Blues. The Blues offense would shoot wide more times than anyone could count. The Blues would have four great chances where they would hit the post or miss the net completely, with Crawford beat. The Hawks couldn't generate any last minute offence in the third and would give the Blues several turn over chances but would get lucky.
The game would go to overtime for the fourth time in five games. It wouldn't take long for Chicago to find their footing and at 7:36 The Blues would give the Hawks a breakaway chance. Roman Polak would make a horrible play at the blue line to give the Chicago captain the chance to fly like a fucking eagle. Of course Canada would prevail on the break away again and the Blackhawks would take the series lead over the Blues, 3-2. There is at least one game left, cats and kittens so there is still a ray of hope. See you all on Sunday!