Hawks force Game 7, you're surprised?

The St. Louis Blues—after having the chance to eliminate the Blackhawks in Game 5—will be playing in an elimination game on Monday. You knew this could have happened.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Early in the first period Kevin Shattenkirk tried to clear the defensive zone, but was bumped into by Marcus Kruger. Andrew Laad picked up the puck and ripped it past Brian Elliott to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead 3:47 into the first.

Steve Ott and Scottie Upshall found themselves on a 2-on-1 about three minutes later. Ott slid the puck to Upshall, who roofed it to tie the game.

Midway though the first, Troy Brouwer worked his way around some Hawks players on the attack. He curled to the point and hit Alex Pietrangelo with a pass. Pietrangelo wound up and unloaded a slapshot that went through the maze of bodies and into the net to give the Blues the lead.

Jaden Schwartz fed Jori Lehtera as they headed into the Hawks' zone. A defenseman came at Lehtera, so Vladimir Tarasenko was wide-open. Jori found Vlad, who beat Crawford to the top-right corner.

After one period of play, St. Louis outshot Chicago 11-to-9.

The third period was ALL Blackhawks. The result of allowing 19 shots in one period (Blues had 6) was goals by Artem Anisimov, Trevor van Riemsdyk, and Dale Weise. After scoring three unanswered goals, the Blues allowed three in the second period. The Hawks regained the lead at 4-3.

While the Blues battled to tie it in the third period, Jay Bouwmeester was penalized for holding Richard Panik on a breakaway. On the power play, Patrick Kane passed it to the front of the net from behind the net. The one guy that Blues fans didn't want to score hit it past Elliott... Andrew Shaw.

Marian Hossa hit the empty net and the Blues fell 6-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks. It's unsettling to lose a game that our players told media we were going to win. It's also unsettling that a player told media we will win Game 7. This brings me back to the title. Are you surprised this is going to Game 7? It's the St. Louis Blues. Come on now.

Monday's Game 7 will be in St. Louis at 7:30. Let's Go Blues? Let's Go Blues.

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P.J. Cox
​@pjcoxx