Goals By Young Players Lead Blackhawks To Win, Blues Drop Loss

By ESPN

Five goals by players all 24 and under -- just the sort of youthful infusion the Chicago Blackhawks were searching for.

That takes some of the pressure off Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the rest of the veterans.

Vinnie Hinostroza scored twice in the third period, including the go-ahead goal with 11:49 remaining, and the Blackhawks rallied for a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Tanner Kero had two goals and Nick Schmaltz and defenseman Brent Seabrook also scored for Chicago, which snapped a two-game skid.

"To come in here and come from behind and win, and the younger guys to chip in, it's nice," said the 22-year-old Hinostroza, who entered the game with four career goals.

The Blackhawks switched around their line combinations, breaking up the Toews-Marian Hossa tandem in an effort to spark the offense. It certainly worked with Hinostroza, Kero and Hossa combining for eight points. Hossa had three assists.

Except for Seabrook's goal, the scoring came from the forwards on the third and fourth lines.

"Whenever you can get that secondary scoring, it's going to help the team," Kero said. "Both of our lines were going a little bit and it's nice to contribute offensively."

Matt Duchene had two goals and Blake Comeau and Matt Nieto also scored for the last-place Avalanche, who wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 1/3 mark.

"Through 40 minutes, I'm liking the game," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "Hard fought, competitive game with a good pace to it. It was a lot of fun.

"Certainly, it felt to me they turned up the intensity and we had trouble staying with it."

This game felt more like a road game for Colorado, though, with all the Blackhawk fans in attendance. The loudest cheer of the night came when Hinostroza scored the game-winner by tapping a shot past Semyon Varlamov.

Colorado pulled Varlamov with around 35 seconds remaining but couldn't get anything past Corey Crawford. Kero added an empty-netter with 10.6 seconds left. Toews could've scored it himself, but dished it off to him instead.

"That shows how unselfish of a player he is," the 24-year-old Kero said.

Hinostroza tied the game at 4 early in the third period when he took a long pass and skated in all alone, lifting a wrist shot over Varlamov.

There were a combined four goals in a frenzied second period, with Colorado taking a 3-2 lead on Nieto's first goal of the season. The advantage lasted all of 19 seconds as Kero answered.

On the play, Hossa had his first assist of the night to give him 600 for his career. He's the 32nd player in NHL history to record 500 goals and 600 assists.

Senators 6, Blues 4

Mark Stone's pain didn't last long. Mike Hoffman and Stone each scored twice to lead the Ottawa Senators over the St. Louis Blues 6-4 on Tuesday night.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bobby Ryan also scored for the Senators, who won their fourth straight at Scottrade Center for the first time in team history. Mike Condon made 19 saves.

"I thought defensively and offensively guys put on a show tonight," Condon said. "They were great, not falling into the game being tied, just pushing back and just keeping on with the system."

Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Carter Hutton made 18 saves.

Stone's third goal in four games at the 2:35 mark of the third period halted a Blues surge. Exactly a minute after Steen tied it, Stone stole Jaden Schwartz's pass to score his 14th goal of the season, giving the Senators a 4-3 lead.

"It was a good bounce for me of course," Stone said. "Especially after a shift after they scored we put on some good pressure and got a few chances. When you pressure any team obviously they're going to be loose pucks and I got it there and fired it in."

Stone took a puck off the leg earlier in that same shift. He was hobbled by it so he came into the zone late, but in the perfect position to get the turnover.

"That was huge because their goal gave the building a little bit of energy and definitely their team some energy," Hoffman said. "We came back right after that and got one, which I think was the icing on the cake."

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock called Stone's goal "a killer."

"Turn it over and that's the game," Hitchcock said. "To come back and make it 3-3 and have the momentum and give it back that quickly is disappointing."

Hoffman's goal at 13:53, his 14th of the season, gave the Senators insurance. Stone added an empty-netter.

Pageau scored his first goal in 15 games to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at the 3:03 mark of the first period.

It was the seventh consecutive time the Blues surrendered the first goal on home ice.

Tuesday, January 17 Scoreboard

Dallas 7, New York Rangers 6

Columbus 4, Carolina 1

Toronto 4, Buffalo 3

Ottawa 6, St. Louis 4

New Jersey 4, Minnesota 3

Chicago 6, Colorado 4

Calgary 5, Florida 2

Vancouver 1, Nashville 0

Anaheim 2, Tampa Bay 1 (OT)

Wednesday, January 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

Pittsburgh at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

Arizona at Winnipeg, 6:30 p.m.

Boston at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Florida at Edmonton, 8:30 p.m.

San Jose at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.