Recap: Blackhawks blow out arch-rival Blues 8-3

The Blues answered on a goal by Jake Neighbors at 4:29. Colton Parayko and Pavel Buchnevich skated in 2-on-1. Soderblom made the initial stop but left a rebound that Neighbors tapped in for his fourth of the season to tie it at 1-1.

Lukas Reichel regained the lead for the Hawks just 54 seconds later. Matt Grzelcyk made an outlet pass up the left side to Reichel, who skated in and fired a shot from the half boards that snuck in for his first of the season at 5:23 to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.

Dylan Holloway tied the game at 2-2 with his first of the season at 14:54. The Blues capitalized on a neutral zone turnover, which enabled Jordan Kyrou to skate into the Hawks zone and feed Holloway, who buried a wrist shot from the right circle past Soderblom. It was a wild first period with the teams tied at two apiece. The Blackhawks took a 10-7 advantage in shots on goal into the first intermission.

Second period

Reichel gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead with his second goal of the game. Connor Bedard intercepted a clearing attempt behind the net and immediately fed Alex Vlasic, who shot it from the slot and Reichel tipped it in at 2:49.

The Hawks doubled their lead to 4-2 on Frank Nazar’s second of the season. Tyler Bertuzzi dished to Nazar in the defensive zone and Nazar skated with speed down the ice and sniped one from the right faceoff dot at 4:32.

Minutes later, the Blues made a switch in goal as Jordan Binnington replaced Hofer, however, it didn’t phase the Hawks, who took a 5-2 on Jason Dickinson’s first of the season. Vlasic found Dickinson skating up the left wing boards and threw a knuckler toward Binnington that trickled past him at 8:52.

The Hawks would take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission as well as a two-period shots-on-goal advantage of 20-15.

Third period

To start the third period, Blues head coach Jim Montgomery reinserted Hofer between the pipes. Once again, it didn’t matter to the Hawks, as Ryan Donato scored his first of the season at the 1:17 mark to give the Hawks a 6-2 lead. The Hawks broke out 3-on-2 that culminated with Vlasic taking a shot from the point and Donato continuously jamming at the rebound and it squirted in.

On the power play, the Hawks got the extra point on Bertuzzi’s first of the season to give Chicago a 7-2 lead. Bedard made a cross-ice past to Teuvo Teravainen, who slapped a shot from the left circle that was deflected by Bertuzzi, who was camped out in front of the Blues’ net at 5:03.

The Blues got one back as Tyler Tucker scored his first at 11:28 off a shot that went off Wyatt Kaiser and into the net.

The Hawks got that one back as Ryan Greene scored his first career NHL goal. Bedard skated into the offensive zone and found Reichel streaking in and he took a shot that Hofer stopped but the rebound was swatted in by Greene in mid-air at 12:21 to give the Hawks an 8-3 lead and that would be the final.

Analysis

Following a wild first period, the Hawks settled down and took the game over in what was arguably their best performance in several years. They matched the Blues’ physicality but most importantly, they overwhelmed the Blues offensively, which led to multiple goaltending changes by St. Louis. Several Hawks players stood out, including the much-maligned Lukas Reichel, who showed the skill and skating ability that made him a first-round pick. Artyom Levshunov had his second straight strong performance following his healthy scratch against the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend. Bedard not only showed off his skill and his improved skating but a new attitude of being feisty and willing to mix it up with anyone.

The Blackhawks return to the United Center on Friday night when they host the Vancouver Canucks. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CDT on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.