Last Updated on April 23, 2016 11:41 am by Brad Burns
Have Blues taken wrong turn vs. Blackhawks?
With the Western Conference semifinals within its grasp, St. Louis couldn’t quite close out Chicago on Thursday. Will the weekend prove to be a celebratory one for the Gateway City?
It all depends on whether the Note can prevail in tonight’s Game 6, which starts at 8 p.m. ET. Online sports book Bovada.lv suspects that the Blackhawks have another reserve of energy. The defending Stanley Cup champions are netting odds of -155 to extend the festivities further, whereas the Blues enter the United Center as +135 underdogs.
This opening-round thriller swings back to the Windy City on account of Thursday’s events at Scottrade Center. Art Ross Trophy winner Patrick Kane kept Joel Quenneville’s club alive with a goal three minutes into the second overtime, clinching a 4-3 victory and cutting Chicago’s series deficit to 3-2. Corey Crawford made 43 saves and, for once, got the best of the Note’s sensational Brian Elliott.
But while the Blues must wait at least a bit longer for their first trip beyond the quarterfinals since 2012, confidence shouldn’t be an issue. The team took Games 3 and 4 in Chi-Town. Ken Hitchcock’s group has outscored the Blackhawks in the third period and post-regulation. Three players – Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo – even boast five points apiece.
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Then again, consider Chicago’s 12-4 in contests when facing elimination under Quenneville. Conversely, St. Louis owns an 11-16 mark in potential series clinching affairs on the road. Sooner or later, we’re getting a non-one-goal bout. One wonders if Kane’s mini-malaise-snapping OT tally could’ve set the stage for a more lopsided match tonight.
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