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McDonald, Oshie lead Blues to third straight win

Oct 19, 2008 - 5:26 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Chicago Blackhawks were on their way to making Joel Quenneville's debut as their coach a successful one. Then his former team decided to spoil the plan.

Andy McDonald forged a tie late in the third period and T.J. Oshie scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the St. Louis Blues rallied for a 4-3 triumph Saturday over the Blackhawks.

Chris Porter netted his first career goal and veteran Keith Tkachuk scored his sixth of the season for the Blues, who have won three in a row.

"I just feel good that we won," St. Louis coach Andy Murray said. "We were down a couple of goals but kept persevering. There were games last year we fell behind and found a way to come back, so we've been here before."

Patrick Kane scored twice and added an assist while defenseman Brian Campbell also tallied for Chicago.

"We felt like we dominated that game," Kane said. "It's 3-1 with 10 minutes left, they get a couple of goals and we end up with a loss."

A day after the Blackhawks posted their first win of the season, coach Denis Savard was fired on Thursday and replaced by Quenneville, who was let go by the Colorado Avalanche following the 2007-08 season and hired by Chicago as a scout. Having spent 1996-2004 behind St. Louis' bench, Quenneville got off to a good start Saturday as Kane scored 40 seconds into the game and Campbell tallied less than four minutes into the second period.

"That was a heck of a hockey game," Quenneville said. "There was great pace and both teams worked hard. ... If we play hard like that, we're going to find a way to win hockey games."

Chicago's Patrick Sharp, who recorded an assist, admitted it was a bit strange playing for a new coach.

"It's almost like tryouts again, with a new coach," he said. "Everyone is out there trying to impress, working pretty hard, which is good. We've just got to keep it up for the whole season, make sure we're doing those things, and we'll find a way to win these games. (Quenneville) mentioned how we need to win those kind of games, put teams away in the third period."

"A lot of young guys, we feel, will improve in all situations, but there's a lot of things to be positive about," Quenneville said. "I think we'll learn every day. It's an ongoing process of all the little things, of situational plays, some habits. There's a million things that you'd like to mention, but you don't want to overload them right now."

After Porter halved the deficit late in the second, Kane restored the two-goal lead three minutes into the third with a power-play goal.

A ninth-round pick of Chicago in 2003 who signed with St. Louis as a free agent in August 2007, Porter tipped defenseman Barret Jackman's shot from the left point past Khabibulin with 2:49 to go in the second, drawing the Blues within 2-1. However, Kane carried the puck down the slot and lifted it into the top left corner of the net early in the third to again put the Blackhawks ahead by two.

"(It) was a nice play on the power play," Kane said. "We brought it up, Soupy (Campbell) dropped it off for me and I put one in there."

But Tkachuk got the Blues within 3-2 at 9:43 and McDonald forged a tie with 14 seconds remaining.

From the bottom of the right faceoff circle, Oshie made a pass to Tkachuk, who fired a shot past Khabibulin. Tkachuk has scored in each of the Blues' first five games this season.

"This is a great group of guys around which to break into the league, veterans and younger guys alike," said the 21-year-old Oshie, who was playing in just his fifth NHL game. "That goal was a great example. David (Perron) got the puck into the corner where I could do something with it, and Walt (Tkachuk) was there when I went to get it out."

With goaltender Manny Legace pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute, McDonald grabbed a loose puck at the top of the slot. After spinning around, he wristed a shot that caromed off the shin pad of a defenseman and by Khabibulin for his first goal of the campaign.

"It bounced around out there a little bit, and I couldn't tell if it maybe hit (teammate Jay McKee) or one of their guys," McDonald said. "I'm not sure who it touched. But when you have the extra man, you're going to have a guy in front, and Keith gave a great screen. Somehow, we found a way to get it done tonight."

"I couldn't see the shot," Khabibulin said. "(Tkachuk) always makes good screens, and he did it again."

Following a scoreless overtime, Brad Boyes and Jonathan Toews traded goals in the second round of the shootout. Paul Kariya and Kris Versteeg were denied in the third round, but Oshie deked as Nikolai Khabibulin attempted a poke-check and slid the puck into the net, giving the Blues a 2-1 edge.

"First year in the NHL and he is just all over the puck," McDonald said of Oshie. "He not only gets into the corner, he knows what to do when he gets there. A lot of savvy for a young kid. Then he made a great move in the shootout."

Legace turned aside Martin Havlat on Chicago's last chance, sealing the win for St. Louis, which improved to 2-0-0 on its seven-game homestand.

"I didn't know what he was going to do," Legace said of Havlat. "I just wanted to stay with the puck. He's so good, he can make the puck dance."