Blackhawks 1 - 5 Blues
Final
  for this game

Red-hot Blues return home to battle Blackhawks

Mar 6, 2012 - 4:19 PM (Sports Network) - The Blues won five of six on their recent road trip to move into a tie for first place in the Central Division. Getting things going on the road could bode well for St. Louis, which is already one of the top home teams in the league.

The Blues return to the friendly confines of Scottrade Center this evening to take on the Chicago Blackhawks, who are looking to win a fourth straight contest.

St. Louis won the first four games of its recently-completed swing before getting shut out 2-0 in Vancouver on Thursday. Facing another one of the better teams in the West on Saturday, the Blues made sure to cap their trip with a win as they defeated the San Jose Sharks, 3-1.

Andy McDonald scored an early power-play goal and T.J. Oshie potted the game- winner just 20 seconds after the Sharks had tied the game in the first.

"That was the turning point in the game," Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We didn't give them a chance to celebrate. We didn't give them a chance to gain any momentum, and then we kept the burners up most of the game."

Kevin Shattenkirk added a second-period power-play goal for the Blues, who improved to 15-14-3 on the road to go with an outstanding 26-4-4 mark at home. St. Louis moved into a tie with Detroit for first place in the division and second overall in the Western Conference.

Jaroslav Halak made 18 saves for St. Louis, which will play its next three at home.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, look to continue their recent run of good fortune in what has been a streaky last month and a half. Chicago lost nine straight from Jan. 21-Feb. 14, picked up four straight wins and then lost another three in a row prior to their recent win streak.

The 'Hawks picked up a big win on Sunday, notching a 2-1 win at Detroit. Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp had the goals and Ray Emery made 23 saves.

"I thought we played very well overall tonight," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "We paid attention to details and didn't try to do too much."

Chicago stands sixth overall in the West with 79 points. That is four up on seventh-place Dallas and four points behind Nashville for the fifth seed.

The Blackhawks won for the fourth time in six road games and will wrap a three-game road trip tonight without captain Jonathan Toews. He has missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury thought to be a concussion and did not travel with the club.

Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson has missed 12 of the past 13 games with concussion-like symptoms and is expected to miss his fifth contest in a row tonight for the Blackhawks.

Chicago has won four of its past five meetings with the Blues and two of the last three played in St. Louis.






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