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Mason, Boyes shine as Blues blank Blackhawks

Feb 14, 2009 - 6:20 AM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The last thing the Chicago Blackhawks needed to see in the finale of their marathon road trip was Chris Mason.

Mason made 22 saves and Brad Boyes scored a power-play goal as the St. Louis Blues skated to a 1-0 triumph over the road-weary Blackhawks on Friday.

Mason turned aside five shots in the first period, six in the second and 11 in the third en route to his fourth shutout of the season and 16th career. Mason also blanked Chicago on January 21, when he made 21 saves.

"This is exactly what we wanted to do," said Mason, whose team lost a lead to Nashville on Thursday with three seconds remaining in the third period and ultimately fell in a shootout. "We were really disappointed with the last two games in giving points away. This one was really important to us.

"It was a great game for us. That was the best response we could have had."

Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie each notched an assist for St. Louis, which improved to 9-2-3 against Central Division opponents and 3-0-1 vs. Chicago.

"We're getting there," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "We're chasing them, and we take it as a real challenge."

"We've had a couple of disappointing losses lately, going into the third period with leads," Boyes said. "Tonight, we got the lead and it was different. We didn't change our game plan. We got the goal when we needed it."

Cristobal Huet stopped 22 shots for the Blackhawks, who completed their eight-game trek with a 5-3-0 record.

"They got the better of us on special teams with the 4-on-3," Huet said. "They're a tough team and they play hard. They have good players. It's disappointing, but overall, we're proud of what we've done (on the road trip)."

Chicago, which allowed just one goal in a victory over Atlanta on Wednesday, was just as stingy in this one but fell to 15-2-0 when its opponent scores only once. The Blackhawks also suffered a 1-0 setback at Anaheim on November 28.

Neither team was able to gain an advantage over the first two periods despite a combined seven power-play opportunities. But after Chicago's Adam Burish was called for slashing at the end of the second session, St. Louis cashed in during a 4-on-3 early in the third for the game's lone goal.

From the right faceoff circle, McDonald sent a pass across the slot to Boyes, who one-timed the puck past Huet and inside the left goalpost just 57 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.

"It felt great," said Boyes, who has scored five goals in his last six games. "Andy Mac is great at (passing). He's done that before a couple of times, so I knew it was coming over. I just wanted to get it on net. My job is to find the lane and put it on net."

Mason made it stand with some help from the Blues' penalty-killing unit, which successfully extinguished a pair of chances for the Blackhawks late in the session - including one on which Chicago pulled Huet for a 6-on-4 advantage over the final minute.

"I know at the end, it was hectic in our end," Murray said. "We were scrambling a bit with the penalties, but we were blocking shots, getting in the way."

"Tonight, we didn't have enough guys playing," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was tough to watch. We had a chance to tie it up at the end. They've been playing like that against everybody. They're in every hockey game."

The Blackhawks, who were shut out for the fourth time this season, registered five shots on goal during the final three minutes of the contest.

"Chris was good," Murray said. "The communication between the defenders and the goaltender was good."