CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks came into Wednesday night's matchup winners of three straight games. They were looking to make it four with the St. Louis Blues in town. With Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar out of the lineup, the Hawks needed the rest of their forwards to continue stepping up in their place. They have been doing just that since the holiday break ended, which has gotten them right back in the Western Conference race. Things started poorly for Chicago, as they allowed a goal to Tyler Tucker of the Blues less than one minute into the game. It's not easy to play well from behind that early, but they found a way. While on the man-advantage with the second unit out there, Nick Lardis blasted a beautiful pass from Oliver Moore past Jordan Binnington to tie the game at 1. That would be the end of the scoring for either team in the first period. In the second, things took a dramatic turn in favor of Chicago. Oliver Moore and Otto Stenberg exchanged goals less than one minute apart for the 2-2 tie, but the Blackhawks took over from there. Before the middle frame was over, the Blackhawks were winning 5-2 thanks to three consecutive goals by Connor Murphy, Landon Slaggert, and Jason Dickinson. The Blackhawks kept their momentum going in the third period. Andre Burakovsky made it 6-2 with a snipe while the Blackhawks were working with a 5-on-3 advantage. That made them 3 for 3 on the power play for the evening. The Blackhawks were not done there. Louis Crevier scored by cleaning up a rebound to make it 7-2. Less than one minute later, however, the Blues got one back in the form of Nathan Walker. That 7-3 score stood as the final. It was once again a strange game between these two franchises. Every game this year has been so far, one way or another. Spencer Knight played extremely well for the Blackhawks in goal. He allowed three goals by the end of the game, but he made some point-blank saves on high-danger Blues chances while the game was still up for grabs. Watch Every Chicago Goal What’s Next For The Blackhawks? The Blackhawks are back in action on Friday night at the United Center. Alex Ovechkin comes to the United Center for the first time as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, as the Washington Capitals will face the Blackhawks. This is the next opportunity for folks to check out the return of Chicago's black alternate sweater as the team is on a quest for a five-game winning streak. Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/] team site to stay updated on the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/latest-newshttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/game-dayhttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day] coverage, player features [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators/playershttps://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/players], and more. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
