NHL 20 sim: Despite Dylan Strome's scoring outburst, Blues takes Game 5

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Game 5: Blackhawks at Blues (April 17)

Result: Blues win 3-2 (F/OT) (Blackhawks lead series 3-2)

Three Stars:

1st Star: Robert Thomas (OT GWG, 1 A, +2, 6-10 FO)

2nd Star: Jordan Binnington (29 Saves)

3rd Star: David Perron (1 G, 1 A, 4 SOG, 2 Hits)

The Blues goaltender looked like the one that carried them to a Cup last season building off his solid Game 4 performance. David Perron gave the Blues a lead and set up the game-winner to keep the top seed alive. The hero though was Rob Thomas. Depth helped carry the Blues to a Cup last season, and Thomas sparked that depth again in Game 5, doing a little bit of everything for the home team including the overtime winner.

Scoring Summary:

 First Period

-          4:26 Dylan Strome (P. Kane, Alex DeBrincat) 1-0

Second Period

-           3:07 Ryan O’Reilly (B. Schenn, J. Schwartz) 1-1

-           4:01 David Perron (C. Parayko, R. Thomas) 2-1

-           19:53 Dylan Strome (S. Koekkoek, A. Nylander) 2-2

Third Period 

            -           No Scoring

Overtime 

            -           11:39 R. Thomas (D. Perron, C. Gunnarsson) 3-2 

Box Score:

Shots on Goal:

-          Chicago: 31

-          St. Louis: 32

While the Hawks were able to generate enough pressure to keep up with St. Louis, the Hawks defense took a step back on the road in Game 5 giving up 32 shots on goal. The formula for the Hawks in this series has largely been impacted by their ability to limit shots and high-danger chances. They struggled in those areas in Game 5, and the Blues were able to take advantage and keep the series alive at least one more game. 

Goalies:

-          Corey Crawford: 29/32 (.906 SV%)

-          Jordan Binnington 29/31 (.935 SV%)

While scoring was at a premium in Game 4, it was more of a defensive struggle than a goalie duel. Game 5 was the opposite. Both teams racked up over 30 shots on goal, and both goalies were up to the task, going save for save until the extra session. Not surprisingly as games like this usually do, the overtime winner came on a bounce Corey Crawford couldn’t do much about. Both goaltenders played well enough to win, St. Louis just got the bounce on a Thomas deflection. 

Power Play:

-          Chicago: 0-3

-          St. Louis: 0-1

After getting just one power play in the first three games of the series, the Hawks have now had three in Games 4 and 5 each. However, for the second straight game, Chicago’s power play came up empty. Usually for the underdog to pull off the upset, special teams have to be clicking. The Hawks are getting their chances on the power play, but can’t convert which has led to new life for the Blues. Time will tell if the Hawks' inability to cash in on the power play comes back to bite them.

Notable performances:

-          Dylan Strome (2 Goals)

-          Patrick Kane (Assist)

-           Ryan O’Reilly (Goal) 

Ryan O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe in 2019 as the NHL Playoff MVP. At this rate, he might be on pace for that again. Not only is he scoring at nearly a goal per game clip (four goals in five games), but, when he’s scoring them, it is just as important. Game 5’s goal again came at an important time. As the Hawks sucked the air out of the buzzing Blues crowd with an early Dylan Strome goal and a 1-0 lead at the end of the 1st period, O’Reilly brought the Enterprise Center back to life tying things up in the 2nd. As for the Hawks, Strome was huge scoring two goals, and Patrick Kane got back on the score sheet with an assist. But it was the Hawks top line, which produced 18 points in the first four games, being held off the score sheet that played the biggest factor. Just one assist for the Saad-Toews-DeBrincat line in the Game 5 loss.

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