BLACKHAWKS at BLUES
Western Conference First Round
Best-of-7 series tied 3-3
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, CSN-CH
Five of the first six games were decided by one goal, including two in overtime, and only one game remains between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues in their Western Conference First Round series.
The Central Division rivals will decide which team advances at Scottrade Center on Monday, after the Blackhawks battled from a 3-1 deficit with wins in Games 5 and 6.
Five of the first six games were decided by one goal, including two in overtime, and only one game remains between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues in their Western Conference First Round series.
The Central Division rivals will decide which team advances at Scottrade Center on Monday, after the Blackhawks battled from a 3-1 deficit with wins in Games 5 and 6.
The Game 7 winner will play the Dallas Stars in the second round.
"We know it's going to be a hostile building in St. Louis," said Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook, who won a 2013 second-round series for Chicago with an overtime goal in Game 7 against the Detroit Red Wings. "It was fun playing there in Game 5. It was loud. It was a good one. We're not expecting anything different [Monday] night, so we've just got to come out and play our game."
The Blues, who blew a 2-0 lead in a first-round loss to the Blackhawks in 2014, have exited the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the opening round the past three seasons. They don't have near the Game 7 experience that Chicago does, but they don't seem to care all that much.
After failing to close out the defending Stanley Cup champions in Games 5 and 6, the Blues are looking forward to a final opportunity to do it on home ice.
"It's as much pressure as you want to put on yourself," said forward Troy Brouwer, a former Blackhawk who will play his seventh career Game 7. "We're excited to play. I know a lot of guys in here haven't played a Game 7 yet in their career. They're excited for it. We're going to have some fun with it. We've worked hard to put ourselves in a good spot this year, to hopefully knock off the defending champions in a Game 7."
The coaches are looking forward to it as well. The Blackhawks are looking to go 3-2 in Game 7s under Joel Quenneville, and the Blues are eager to end the defending Stanley Cup champions' repeat bid in the first round.
"In sports, especially in our sport, it doesn't get any better, it doesn't get any more challenging, it doesn't get any more fun, it doesn't get any better [than Game 7]," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We gave them our best shots early, and they gave us their best shot [in Game 6]. Both shots are very similar. Both shots will be the determining factor in my opinion on who wins [Monday]. And what each team did to each other to get to where we got is the ebb and flow of two wonderful hockey clubs."
Blackhawks team scope: Chicago did not practice before flying to St. Louis on Sunday, but Quenneville is expected to stick with the same lineup that's won consecutive games to even the series. Corey Crawford will start in goal, and the forward lines will likely remain configured the way they were in Games 5 and 6. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have one goal between them, scored by Kane to win Game 5 in double overtime, but they could break out in a moment's notice while continuing to play together on the top line. A byproduct of that decision also improved the makeup of the Blackhawks' bottom six. A newly-formed third line of Andrew Ladd, Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa has played well defensively against the Blues' top line, which features Vladimir Tarasenko, and the fourth line scored the game-winner Saturday when Dale Weise got his first goal since being acquired from the Montreal Canadiens prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. Defensively, expect David Rundblad to remain in the lineup.
Blues team scope: Hitchcock said there could be some lineup changes, but didn't reveal what they might be. Brian Elliott, who's started the first six games of the series, will be in goal for Game 7. Hitchcock addressed an apparent conflict from Game 6 with Tarasenko, who was seen on the television broadcast angrily stomping away from Hitchcock at the end of the second period. Hitchcock said he's not concerned about the situation, which happened after Tarasenko, who has four goals in the series, got limited ice time during a power play late in the period. "I don't think it's ice-time related," Hitchcock said. "I think he felt like he could have helped on that power play. We didn't get a change on the power play because we had the thing in the [offensive zone] all the time, so ... that's what happens when you've got a guy like that [who] wants to make a difference. I love it, I love it in him."
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