“Throw the record books out when these two teams meet!” Both the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues didn’t want you to look at their records before the game started as they entered tonight’s game a combined 0-5-0.
The Blues dressed more regular NHL players than the Blackhawks, but the road team took control early. Taylor Hall made a nice pass to set up Philipp Kurashev at the front of the net, where he roofed the puck over Jordan Binnington to break the scoreless tie. Exactly two minutes later, Patrick Maroon doubled the lead with a power-play goal. Hall and Kurashev picked up the assists on the play.
The Blues got on the scoreboard early in the third period when Dylan Halloway’s rebound hit off Louis Crevier and bounced in behind Petr Mrazek. Nathan Walker was credited with the game-tying goal, even though we never saw the puck cross the goal line on the broadcast. Halloway struck again in overtime to complete the comeback and take home the 3-2 victory. Mrazek was solid again, with 31 saves. Many veterans who will be important when the regular season begins look good, which is more important than a preseason win.
Taylor Hall Eases the Panic
When Hall missed Friday’s practice with a maintenance day, many fans couldn’t help but say, “Here we go again.” The 14-year NHL veteran missed 72 games last season with a knee injury, so any time he’s off the ice, people will worry. He didn’t need long to erase the doubt as he picked up the primary assist on both first-period tallies.
“I thought our line really dictated play well,” Hall said after the game. “We had a lot of zone time. We all had a lot of touches and good chances. That’s all you really want to get out of a preseason game. You want to get out of it unscathed while getting some touches. I like where I feel overall. It’s been a long time since I played hockey games, so I’m still getting back into the rhythm of things.”
A healthy Hall will significantly boost this Blackhawks team this season. He finished his night in St. Louis with two primary assists, three shots on goal with five attempts, two takeaways, and a blocked shot in 19:00 minutes of ice time.
Philipp Kurashev Announces His Presence with Authority
Kurashev was among the few bright spots of a very long 2023-24 season. He had a coming-out party by setting career highs in goals (18), assists (36), points (54), and games played (75). He spent much of the year on Connor Bedard’s wing and undoubtedly benefited from that. Some might say that was the only reason he had such a successful season.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old may have silenced some of those critics. He scored the Blackhawks’ first goal with a pretty shot, then picked up the secondary assist on Maroon’s power-play tally. All this was done with Bedard sitting at home in Chicago, 300 miles away.
Likely, Kurashev will not be on Bedard’s line to start the season, so it was vital that he formed some early chemistry with Hall. If I were creating the lines, I’d give Lukas Reichel a look with Kurashev and Hall. Many people have given up on him, but Kyle Davidson signed him to a two-year contract. He’s going to get every chance possible to reach his potential.
The Blue Line is Activated
It seems that head coach Luke Richardson has been asking his players, especially his defensemen, to shoot the puck more since he took the job. Shots from the blue line can cause chaos and open more lanes. We saw what could happen with aggressive blueliners on the game’s first goal. Crevier and Isaak Phillips were aggressive with the puck, leading to a defensive breakdown.
The six defensemen combined for 10 shots on goal and 28 shot attempts. Alex Vlasic had the most attempts to reach the net with three, while Kevin Korchinski took eight attempts. That is exactly what we want to see out of the second-year blueliner. He was drafted seventh overall to be more dynamic in the offensive zone, and we are starting to see him gain more confidence with the puck. Progression is the key to a successful rebuild; we are getting that with Korchinski.
