Blues 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT)
CHICAGO -- Vladimir Tarasenko scored late in the third period and again in overtime to lift the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Tarasenko evened the score at 1 when he scored with 1:16 remaining in regulation after the Blues pulled goaltender Brian Elliott in favor of an extra skater. Tarasenko won the game on a wrist shot with 1:23 remaining in overtime.
St. Louis (49-23-9) secured home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues earned their third consecutive victory and improved to 8-1-0 in their past nine contests.
Jonathan Toews scored the Blackhawks' lone goal. Chicago (47-26-8) dropped to 11-8 in overtime this season and finished the regular season 26-11-4 on home ice.
After St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock pulled Elliott from the net for an extra skater with about 1:30 remaining, Tarasenko evened the score. Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk blasted a slap shot from the right circle. Goalie Scott Darling stopped Shattenkirk's shot but allowed a long rebound to Tarasenko.
Tarasenko scored in overtime on a drop pass from defenseman Alex Pietrangelo during an odd-man rush. The goal marked Tarasenko's 39th of the season, a career high.
Darling finished with 33 saves, while Elliott stopped 24 shots.
After a scoreless first period, Chicago grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Toews with 7:20 to go in the second period. Patrick Kane zipped a pass to Toews, who scored on a wrist shot from the left circle. The play marked Toews' 28th goal of the season and his third goal in the past three games.
A pair of stellar defensive plays by St. Louis prevented Chicago from seizing an early advantage.
Pietrangelo slid on his stomach and used his stick to break up a two-on-one rush by Kane and Artemi Panarin early in the first period. Later in the period, Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester used his skate to deny a point-blank shot by Blackhawks center Teuvo Teravainen.
Emotions ran high as the game progressed between the division rivals. Blackhawks left winger Brandon Mashinter traded punches with Blues right winger Ryan Reaves after a hard hit along the boards. Both players received five-minute majors, with Reaves also drawing a 10-minute misconduct.
NOTES: Blackhawks LW Bryan Bickell played alongside C Andrew Desjardins and RW Dale Weise in his first game since Jan. 8. Chicago recalled Bickell on Wednesday from Rockford of the American Hockey League, where he scored 15 goals and dished 16 assists in 44 games. ... Blues D Jay Bouwmeester returned after missing six games because of an upper-body injury. ... A lower-body injury cost Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa his second consecutive game. Hossa has 499 career goals. ... Blues C Robby Fabbri missed his fourth straight game because of a lower-body injury. ... Blackhawks C Artem Anisimov did not play because of an upper-body injury. ... Blues C David Backes missed his second game because of a lower-body injury. Backes will be re-evaluated before the playoffs. ... Blackhawks D Duncan Keith served the fourth contest of a six-game suspension for high-sticking Minnesota Wild C Charlie Coyle.