The St. Louis Blues had a pretty impressive road win in Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The stars appeared to be aligned against the Blues following the controversial calls in Game 2, but the club managed to find a win despite plenty of adversity in Game 3.
The first period saw the Blues take several early penalties and allow an early goal. They bounced back, but allowed another early goal in the second period. Again, they bounced back and then took the lead in the third period.
Luck played a factor too, as seen in this shot by Chicago which rang both posts:
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/721803338413686784
As well as Patrik Berglund’s goal which took a crazy bounce:
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/721813122793783296
Trailing heading into the third against Chicago is basically a guaranteed loss. That’s not an exaggeration.
Need proof?
Before today, the #blackhawks were 70-0-4 when leading after two periods …dating back to a loss in Game 2 of Western Finals vs. LA in 2014
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 17, 2016
That’s an insane statistic and it illustrates just how effective the Blackhawks are at closing out games. It also shows that these Blues may not be the Blues of old.
Corey Crawford agrees:
Crawford on the Blues: "Whatever happens in the season, whatever’s happened in years before, they’re not the same team." #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) April 17, 2016
Crawford is correct as there’s no question the Blues of old would have imploded in the first period. The demons from Game 2 would have lingered and the Blues would have crumbled under the early penalties. The Blues of old probably would have tried to settle things physically as opposed to on the scoreboard, but that surprisingly didn’t happen.
There’s a lot of series left, but the Blues are looking like a different team – one that can beat the best of the best. At the same time, the Blackhawks are looking like a different team – one that looks vulnerable.
