Five Things: Overtime doesn't go the Blackhawks' way

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When you score five goals in 20 the first minutes, you should probably win that game.

The Blackhawks looked on their way to doing that on Wednesday night against a Blues team that lost on Tuesday and had some hellacious travel overnight. But the Blues apparently got great naps and the Blackhawks and Corey Crawford had some forgettable moments in St. Louis’ comeback victory. The Blackhawks weren’t happy with the outcome, especially considering the start, but there it is nonetheless.

[MORE: Blackhawks blow three-goal lead, lose to Blues in OT]

So before we call it a night, let’s look at Five Things to take from the Blackhawks’ 6-5 loss to the Blues.

1. Not one of Corey Crawford’s finest. Crawford already has two shutouts this season and was great, especially in the third period, against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. But he was not at his best on Wednesday. There were some fluky goals, for sure — Alex Steen’s first one, which took one heck of a bounce over Crawford, was one. But there were stops Crawford should have made and tonight, he didn’t. Crawford said, “it felt like one of those nights. Tried to battle through it but when your team scores five goals you have to find a way and it’s just a tough one I guess.”

2. Marko Dano scores his first with his new team. Dano, who was recalled on Monday, scored off a Blues turnover to give the Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead. Dano had a big smile on his face not long after scoring that goal. But given the game outcome, his post-game euphoria was tempered. “It’s a good feeling for me,” he said. “But I would rather take the win for the team.”

[NBC SHOP: Gear up, Blackhawks fans!]

3. Blues battle fatigue and win. St. Louis had to be a tired group heading into Chicago. Their flight, following their home game on Tuesday night, was diverted to Milwaukee due to heavy fog here. The Blues bused to Chicago, getting in around 4 a.m. But the Blues had the necessary energy in the second period when they came back to tie a game they looked out of after the first period.

4. Teuvo Teravainen fitting in on the second line. Teravainen seems to be working well with new linemates Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane. Teravainen had four shots on goal, one becoming his fourth goal of the season when he capitalized on a Trevor Daley rebound. Said Joel Quenneville of Teravainen getting to the net on that one, “I think against that team, it’s kind of comparable to [playing against] L.A., traffic, second opportunities and the finish was there. You have to get there to get rewarded.”

5. OT doesn’t go the Blackhawks’ way. The Blackhawks were 3-0 in 3-on-3 entering Wednesday night’s game. Pretty sure they played more 3-on-3 against the Blues tonight than they did the previous three overtimes this season. Defending, knowing when to change and perhaps fighting fatigue during a long shift are going to be critical in this new format. “Clearly there are situations that, instead of changing and giving your team a 3-on-2 look in your own zone, it’s something that you have to fight and hang in there and even if they have the puck for another minute,” Jonathan Toews said. “You’ve got to stick it out and obviously not let them have an easy chance the way they had there, so obviously a mistake on my part there.”

 

 

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