ST. LOUIS — For a team, like the Blues, that is treading water in the standings, there’s no better opponent to come across than the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blues did not play their best on Thursday, but it was good enough to get them a 3-1 win and even if it’s against the floundering Blackhawks, the points count the same in the standings. The Blues snapped a three-game losing streak or, for those preferring a stat that sounds better, got points for the eighth time in the past nine games, though they got two for just the fifth time in those nine games.
The stars of the night were the Blues' fourth line, in this instance Josh Leivo, Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko. Against Toronto, when the line had Logan Brown in instead of Walker, the line was barely seen after the first period. But against Chicago, they had a steady presence on both sides of the puck and got ice time late in the game as the Blues protected a one-goal lead. Leivo scored the first goal and the group was on the ice for the second goal, from defenseman Calle Rosen. Brandon Saad added an empty-net goal with 10.9 seconds left.
