Blues Take Series Opener Against Blackhawks

Throwing the puck toward the net turned out to be good enough for the St. Louis Blues to take the series opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

David Backes scored at 9:04 of overtime on a shot that deflected off a Chicago Blackhawks defenseman and the Blues took the series opener 1-0 on Wednesday night.

"I said out there, that's an ugly goal and I specialize in those," the Blues' captain said. "Rightfully so. First shot of the game for me, too."

Backes' shot got past Corey Crawford after bouncing off Trevor Van Riemsdyk's skate. Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo assisted on the winner.

"I kind of felt it hit the inside of my pad and from there I was just hoping that it died," Crawford said. "It was a tough bounce, but we've got to feel good about how we played."

Brian Elliott earned his first career playoff shutout. Elliott, who led the NHL with a .930 save percentage, made 35 saves to thwart a lineup led by scoring champion Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. He made just his second playoff start in three seasons off an impressive finish, going 11-1 in his final 14 starts.

"I don't really have words right now, it's just a great atmosphere," Elliott said. "The guys came through."

The Blues had 10 shutouts during the regular season, seven of them on the road. Jake Allen had six of the shutouts.

Coach Ken Hitchcock thought there were enough chances for a 6-5 game, and thought the game-winner would be more impressive, too.

"I thought it would be a 2-on-1, top shelf," Hitchcock said. "I wasn't thinking fluky goal, but we'll take it. We'll take every win we can."

St. Louis cruised into the postseason with the third-best record in the NHL, winning eight of its last 10 games.

The Blues opened their previous series against the Blackhawks with a pair of overtime victories, with Alexander Steen getting the winner in triple overtime in the opener. But Chicago won the last four, two in overtime.

The Blackhawks were 4-1 in overtime last season in the playoffs, including a double-overtime win at Nashville in Game 1 of their opening series.

Wednesday, April 13 Scoreboard

Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2

Game 1 - Lightning lead 1-0

Pittsburgh 5, NY Rangers 2

Game 1 - Penguins lead 1-0

St. Louis 1, Chicago 0 (OT)

Game 1 - Blues lead 1-0

Thursday, April 14 Schedule (All Times Central)

Philadelphia at Washington
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 6 p.m.

NY Islanders at Florida
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Dallas
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 8:30 p.m.

San Jose at Los Angeles
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, April 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

Detroit at Tampa Bay
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6 p.m.

NY Islanders at Florida
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6:30 p.m.

Chicago at St. Louis
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.

Nashville at Anaheim
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 16 Schedule (All Times Central)

NY Rangers at Pittsburgh
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 2 p.m.

Philadelphia at Washington
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Dallas
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.

San Jose at Los Angeles
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.    

Sunday, April 17 Schedule (All Times Central)

St. Louis at Chicago

Game 3 - Blues lead 1-0, 2 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Detroit

Game 3 - Lightning lead 1-0, 6 p.m.

Florida at NY Islanders

Game 3 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.

Nashville at Anaheim

Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.