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2017 Winter Classic final score: Blackhawks lose, 4-1, to Blues at Busch Stadium

Outdoor hockey continues to give trouble to the Blackhawks, who lost 4-1 to the Blues in the 2017 Winter Classic on Monday. The team got off to a good start, but the wheels eventually came off as St. Louis finished the game with a 35-23 advantage in shots on goal.

Michal Kempny got things started quickly with a goal just 62 seconds in the game. The defenseman registered his second score of the year — in back-to-back games no less — but it was Artemi Panarin with the play to make it happen. Panarin attracted three Blues’ players to him as he sped into the zone, dashed into the corner and fired a pass to Kempny for a quick shot.

It was all the offense Chicago could muster. St. Louis struck back in the second period to tie the game and took the lead late in the third when a Vladimir Tarasenko pass deflected off of Niklas Hjalmarsson’s skate on an odd-man rush.

Tarasenko scored again minutes later to give the Blues a 3-1 lead, beating Corey Crawford glove side off a turnover near the Hawks’ blue line. Chicago never recovered.

The Hawks are now 1-4 in outdoor games.

Turning point

Tarasenko’s first goal off the skate of Hjalmarsson’s gave the Blues a 2-1 lead, and certainly gave St. Louis some much-needed momentum, but it was his second goal that served as the dagger. The Hawks were scrambling the rest of the way — even pulling Crawford with three minutes left— to get any kind of offense going.

SCH 3 Stars

  1. Vladimir Tarasenko, Blues (2 goals)
  2. Jake Allen, Blues (22 saves)
  3. Michal Kempny, Blackhawks (1 goal)

Play of the game

Tarasenko is near impossibly to stop in open ice. He got too much space here on a turnover in the third period and scored his second of the game. What you don’t see in the gif was him catching the pass in his skates and kicking it to his stick right before the shot.

What’s next

The Hawks get two days off before playing a back-to-back with Buffalo and Carolina at the United Center. That kicks off one of the toughest months of the year for Chicago.

Talking Points