We suffered through another poor first period, though, in which The Hawks didn't really get their wheels rolling until the last third of the period. Patrik Berglund opened the scoring with a pretty savable shot, making it two in a row in which Scott Darling coughed up a soft one early on. It wasn't until the dying moments of the period that Dennis Rasmussen had good enough hands in close to flick a shot past Jake Allen.
The Blues retook the lead on a goofy shot that deflected off a broken stick, a disappointing setback after The Hawks had been dominating for several shifts. Patrick Kane tied the match midway through the period after expertly snagging a slightly-off-target stretch pass from TVR. Patrik Berglund scored his second of the game off a masterful pass from Alex Steen; this one probably should have been stopped, as well, but it's tough to say how well Darling saw the pass pack to Berglund in the first place. Brian Campbell evened things at three while cruising just north of the Blues' crease, taking a surprising pass from Panarin - surprising only because it isn't very often that he'll look for the pass when he's got the puck in his happy place near the left face off dot. Alex Pietrangelo put the Blues ahead on a screened shot with only twelve seconds remaining in the period.
The third period was all-Hawks, with The Blues only mounting any real pressure in the final minutes of the period. Nik Hjalmarsson blasted a shot through Allen to tie the game at the one-minute mark and, while chances abounded throughout the final frame, it was not until late in the period, immediately following a St. Loomis penalty, that Vinnie Hinostroza got a puck from his feet to his stick and flipped a hard backhander into the open net. Small Arthur would pot an empty-netter after exposing Colton Parayko as the all-shot-no-feet goof that he is, and Scott Darling saved his best stuff for the Blues inevitable last minute shopping, in which they left only with gift cards from Bed Bath & Beyond.
Scott Darling, as mentioned, didn't have his finest game but was steady in the late-going. It'll be interesting to see if Coach Q taps Lars Johanssson tomorrow; being as it's the end of a back-to-back it wouldn't reflect on Darling at all, and the big guy could probably use the rest.
Anisimov left part way through the first period and did not return. Toews ably (duh) filled in for him for the remainder of the game while Hartman & Hossa were centered alternatively by Desjardins & Hinostroza. Despite The Vin Man netting the game winner, I thought Dez was the better of the two, there for (but not finishing, mind you) a couple of great chances. Hoss and Harts looked a bit asea, though, regardless of which center they had. I haven't heard what the problem is with Large Arthur but, obviously, we all hope it's nothing serious. One positive: Tootoo remained glued to the bench with no one to play with.
The Third Line had themselves a bit of a game tonight, figuring in on two goals for (and one against). Kruger was a monster behind the net all night and Richard Panik was doing exactly what I'd hoped he would realistically provide for The Hawks, dislodging pucks and clogging the front of the net. Rasmussen, of course, scored once and had other good looks. It was a near-perfect night for those three.
Kane & Panarin didn't miss a beat when Large Arthur went down. I so enjoy it when those two decide to play keepaway, defying the opposition to take the puck away from them.
Goose Forsling had a nice bounce-back game after a pair of uneven games and a healthy scratch vs. Brooklyn, and TVR was barely noticeable, which I consider a huge win.
We're blessed with an embarrassment of riches tonight with many Hawks having solid games. Kane was dangerous all evening, and one could make a case for any of the third-liners, but Small Arthur brought home three points and carried the play to the tune of a 75% Corsi.
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