Blues 3, Blackhawks 2
ST. LOUIS -- Alex Steen scored with 21.1 seconds left to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
The Blues (3-0-0) won their first three games for just the third time in the 47-year history of the franchise and the first time since the 1993-1994 season. They never won four in a row to start a campaign.
St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves for his third consecutive victory.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks (1-1-1) lost for the first time in regulation following a 3-2 shootout defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Steen scored on a 3-on-1 break, blasting a shot from the left faceoff dot behind Corey Crawford.
Steen's third goal of the season capped off a see-saw affair that featured numerous odd-man rushes at each end.
David Backes temporarily put the Blues in front 2-1 on a power-play goal at 8:37 of the second period. Backes deflected in a long-range shot by Alex Pietrangelo.
Chicago answered with a man-advantage tally of its own by Jonathan Toews just 39 seconds later. The goal came 15 seconds after Jaden Schwartz was sent off for hooking.
Vladimir Tarasenko got the Blues started by converting on a 2-on-1 at 15:44 of the first period. Patrik Berglund stole the puck from Marian Hossa in the neutral zone and fed a pass to Tarasenko, who wristed a shot behind Corey Crawford.
Chicago tied the game less than two minutes later on a power-play tally by Patrick Kane, who has scored in all three games this season. He converted off a scramble in front of the net seven seconds after Maxim Lapierre was whistled for boarding.
The Blues killed off each of their previous 11 penalties this season. Kane's goal broke a scoreless string of 111:52 by Halak.
The traditional rivals kicked off the first of five meetings this season in style. St. Louis' Chris Stewart and Chicago's Sheldon Brookbank received fighting majors just 1:59 into the contest.
NOTES: Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook played in his 600th NHL game. ... Chicago is 11-9-4 against St. Louis over the past four-plus seasons. ... The game was the 287th meeting between the teams, the most for the Blues against any other club. ... St. Louis begins the campaign with five successive home games for the second time in franchise history. The Blues started the 2002-03 season with a 3-1-1 mark in five home contests. ... Halak stopped 47 of 49 shots in the first two games this season. ... Crawford is 9-2-2 against the Blues. ... The Blues had 10 players account for their first 11 goals for the first time team history.
