The Blackhawks really never had a chance. Buried by an avalanche of Blues goals to the tune of four in the first seven minutes, Chicago fell 5-2 Wednesday night against a St. Louis squad living on a prayer to make the playoffs.
Landon Slaggert tallied his first career NHL goal but it was one of the few bright spots in a brutal showing for the Blackhawks.
The Blues scored in fast fashion–actually Jordan Kyrou did, burying a pair of goals just 42 seconds apart. Torey Krug added nearly two minutes later–which resulted in Petr Mrazek getting the hook. Zack Bolduc added the fourth just over two minutes later with Arvid Soderblom in the net.
Two in 42 seconds is one thing. Four in less than seven minutes is another.
The Blackhawks never recovered, their first marker coming on a nice second effort by Philipp Kurashev, who tucked the puck in for his 17th of the season. But that would be it from Chicago, who likely got its worst period of the year yielding four goals and for the Hawks, a single shot on net to counter.
Though the effort improved in the second period, the Hawks never could get anything going. The Blues could sit back a bit and stifle Blackhawks chances and did well following the Kurashev goal until Slaggert found some room, corralled a pass, and then roofed it to get his first goal as a Blackhawk.
Chicago now heads home for its final two home games of the season on Friday and Sunday. Everyone, from the fans to the players, are hoping things look different for those final two contests at the United Center.
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