Four Shots Against, Four Goals Against. Horrific Start Dooms Blackhawks To 5-2 Loss In St. Louis

Jordan Kyrou scored twice as Blues raced ahead 4-0 by 6:59 of the first period. Chicago's Landon Slaggert scored his first NHL goal in the final minutes.

The last-place Blackhawks have had some lousy starts this season,

This one was plain horrific. 

The St. Louis Blues scored on their first four shots of the game, then cruised to a 5-2 win on Wednesday at the Enterprise Center.

Jordan Kyrou scored twice, then Tory Krug and Zack Bolduc connected to make it 4-0 by 6:59 of the first period.  

Game over. The Blackhawks followed up on a 4-0 loss to Minnesota on Sunday with another stinker. 

"No, we definitely weren't ready to compete and they showed their desperation and where they are in the standings," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "I don’t know why. There have been a couple times when we just weren’t aware.

"It wasn’t just one play or one thing. It was everybody." See video.

Chicago was bulldozed in a hurry by a Blues team that's on the verge of elimination from the Western Conference playoff race. Blackhawks de facto captain Nick Foligno missed the game for personal reasons and wasn't available to steady his wobbly team early.

Chicago's Landon Slaggert scored his first NHL goal, dancing in and beating Joel Hofer on a nice move with 3:09 left in the game to complete the scoring. Slaggert, who signed last month after finishing four seasons with Notre Dame, connected in his 12th pro game.  See video.

Philipp Kurashev popped in his 17th goal midway through the second to make it 4-1. Connor Bedard's linemate has six goals and 11 assists in his last 14 games.

Bedard had two shots on goal to increase his rookie leading total to 201. He's primed to pass the Blackhawks' shots record for rookies, 203, set by Hall of Fame defenseman Doug Wilson in 1977-78.

Petr Mrazek was pulled 4;37 in after allowing three goals on three shots, all prime chances. Arvid Söderblom entered and was beaten on the first shot he faced, by Bolduc from the edge of the crease off Robert Thomas' perfect feed.

Kyrou opened the scoring on a breakaway off Nick Leddy's 80 foot stretch pass at 2:04. He converted on a 2-on-1 just 42 seconds later for his 29th goal. 

Mrazek was yanked — storming off in frustration — after Krug ripped in a shot from the blue line through a screen at 4:37 to up it to 3-0.

Kurashev scored from the doorstep at 8:30 of the second. Thomas, who is having a breakout season, notched his 25th on a rebound at 10:01 of the third to make it 5-1.