All it took was one lucky break for the Chicago Blackhawks. Or one mistake by the St. Louis Blues.
Jonathan Toews scored the winning goal early in the first period and the Blackhawks went on to earn a 2-0 victory over the Blues in Game 3 of that best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final on Monday. The Toews goal came off a wrist shot from the slot that, at first glance, appeared to go off the stick of St. Louis defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and through the legs of goalie Ryan Miller.
Nope. Instead, the puck just went straight in. In a low-scoring game, it was exactly what the Blackhawks needed to help get back into this series. They still trail the Blues 2-1 in that aspect.
Miller, who made 23 saves on 24 shots, lamented the Toews goal afterward.
“It’s not a good goal ... leave it at that,” said Miller, as per Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Meanwhile, the goalie at the other end, Corey Crawford recorded his third career Stanley Cup playoff shutout, making 34 saves.
“I thought it was a great response and tremendous effort by him,” said Blackhawks’ head coach Joel Quenneville, as per Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago.