Blackhawks' 3-0 start holds up as Spencer Knight turns back Blues in 3-2 win

A lead Chicago built before St. Louis could settle in

The first important detail in this game is how quickly Chicago seized control of the scoreboard. Frondell opened the scoring at 6:27 of the first period on a wrist shot set up by Tyler Bertuzzi, and the Blackhawks kept pressing that edge into the middle frame. Ian Cole made it 2-0 at 7:00 of the second with an unassisted wrist shot, then Roman Kantserov pushed the margin to three at 9:31, finishing a play created by Bertuzzi and Nick Lardis.

That sequence gave Chicago exactly the kind of cushion a team wants when the shot count is not tilting its way. The Blackhawks finished with 22 shots to St. Louis's 31, but they got goals from three different skaters and two assists from Bertuzzi, whose playmaking showed up on the scoresheet even without a goal of his own. Frondell's night stood out beyond the opener as well: he logged 22:04, one of the heavier workloads among Chicago forwards, and put four shots on net.

There was also a special-teams edge that mattered in a one-goal game. Official team totals credited Chicago with one power-play goal and one short-handed goal, while St. Louis went 0-for-4 with the man advantage. That difference helped offset areas where the Blues were better on paper, especially in the faceoff circle, where St. Louis won 54.7 per cent of the draws.

The Blues pushed back, but Knight controlled the damage

St. Louis did not disappear after the 3-0 hole, and that is what kept the last 20 minutes relevant. Jonatan Berggren scored unassisted at 19:04 of the second period to cut the lead to 3-1 before intermission, and Colton Parayko's wrist shot at 18:44 of the third, assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud and Robert Thomas, brought the Blues within one with 1:16 left. Chicago's clean night had turned into a closing test.

Knight was the main reason the Blackhawks passed it. He stopped 29 of 31 shots for a .935 save percentage, a far stronger figure than Joel Hofer's .864 at the other end. St. Louis generated enough volume to make the game uncomfortable, with Dylan Holloway firing seven shots and Thomas doing strong work on draws with 14 wins. The Blues also finished with 11 takeaways, showing they forced some extra possession back their way.

But the Blues gave away too much of that good work. They finished 0-for-4 on the power play, committed 19 giveaways and took 27 penalty minutes across eight penalties. Logan Mailloux's line was especially costly on the discipline front: three penalties and 17 penalty minutes in just 5:54 of ice time. In a game decided by a single goal, that is the kind of stat line that hangs over the result.

Our take: Chicago earned the points, but neither side gets a free pass

Chicago can feel good about the win and still see the warning signs inside it. The Blackhawks were outshot 31-22, lost the faceoff battle and recorded only four takeaways, so this was not an evening built on territorial control. What did hold up was their ability to finish early, their shot blocking and their goaltending. Alex Vlasic's six blocks led a team total of 12, and that kind of defensive detail helped preserve a lead that kept shrinking.

If the Blackhawks want to make nights like this less narrow, the numbers point to a few obvious areas. Better puck management would help after they matched St. Louis with 19 giveaways, and stronger work off the draw would reduce the amount of defending that follows lost faceoffs. Still, there is value in winning a game in a way that is not perfectly comfortable. Chicago showed it can protect a lead even when the shot totals swing the other way.

For the Blues, the outline of a better game is visible without any guesswork. They won more faceoffs, generated more shots and got seven attempts from Holloway alone, but the power play came up empty on four opportunities and the penalty total was far too high. That combination is difficult to survive against any NHL opponent. The late push made the score close; the earlier slippage made the comeback necessary in the first place.

What decided the night

In the end, this was a one-goal game with a simple dividing line. Chicago's best stretch came before the halfway point of the second period, when it turned a 1-0 edge into a 3-0 lead. St. Louis owned enough of the later stat sheet to make things interesting, but not enough of the finishing details to erase the damage. The Blackhawks got the saves, the timely scoring and just enough resistance in front of Knight to make that early burst stand up.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 6:27

   Anton Frondell Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Tyler Bertuzzi (1)

2. 2nd · 7:00

   Ian Cole Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: none

3. 2nd · 9:31

   Roman Kantserov Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Tyler Bertuzzi (2), Nick Lardis (2)

4. 2nd · 19:04

   Jonatan Berggren Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: none

5. 3rd · 18:44

   Colton Parayko Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Jimmy Snuggerud (1), Robert Thomas (1)