Written by Satchel Price at Second City Hockey.com
The Chicago Blackhawks are one game away from the end of their season after a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 4 on Tuesday night. The Hawks now trail in the first-round series, 3-1, as things head back to St. Louis, leaving the team in a major hole after dropping back-to-back games at home.
Players on the Hawks said they needed to “get pissed” after blowing a third-period lead in Game 3, and Corey Crawford embodied that frustration when he brawled withRobby Fabbri after a collision in the second period. That led to a Chicago power play and a Duncan Keith goal, which put the Hawks up 2-1, but things came off the rails from there. Despite getting more than twice as many shots on goal (42-20) in the game, the result was a loss.
The Blues matched with a score before the second intermission to tie the game, 2-2, then the Hawks’ defense made some crucial errors in allowing a pair of third-period goals. The second score was especially rough, with Michal Rozsival misplaying a pass in the offensive zone, then Trevor van Riemsdyk getting intercepted by Alex Steen on a casual pass after retreating. Steen went in and scored on Crawford to make it 4-2. He would finish the game with three points.
At that point, the score effects started rolling and the Hawks racked up shot attempts. Keith cut the lead in half on a deflected shot with under six minutes left in regulation and the last few minutes of the game were at least some entertaining, intense hockey. However, Brian Elliott continued his stellar play and Andrew Shaw made a costly penalty that put the Hawks on the penalty kill in the final minutes while trying to rally. Elliott saved 39 of 42 attempts in this game and has a .953 save percentage so far in the series.
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