St. Louis – The Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks took to the outdoors Monday, with Vladimir Tarasenko rapidly scoring two goals in the third period and goalie Jake Allen stopping 22 shots to lead St. Louis to a 4-1 victory over visiting Chicago in the Winter Classic.
The Blackhawks took the lead 62 seconds into the game when Michal Kempny scored on a slap shot from just inside the blue line. St. Louis tied when Patrik Berglund scored at 7:45 of the second period.
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, who faced 34 shots, made his best save when he denied Tarasenko on a breakaway three minutes into the third period, but Tarasenko struck back. He made a backhand pass that hit Niklas Hjalmarsson’s skate and slipped by Crawford at 12:05, and he then scored on a wrist shot over Crawford’s shoulder at 13:58, giving him 18 goals this season. Robbi Fabbri assisted on both goals.
“It’s not about my goals,” Tarasenko said. “We have a great team and a great goalie. It was a great win for us and everyone played their best.”
