The Chicago Blackhawks built a three-goal lead and held off the St. Louis Blues for a 3-2 preseason victory on Saturday at United Center. Chicago used a balanced offensive attack and key contributions on special teams to establish control before withstanding a late surge by the visitors.
Anton Frondell opened the scoring for Chicago at 6:27 of the first period with an even-strength wrist shot set up by Tyler Bertuzzi. The Blackhawks extended their lead in the second period when Ian Cole scored an unassisted shorthanded wrist shot at the 7:00 mark. Roman Kantserov made it 3-0 at 9:31 on a power-play backhand, with assists credited to Bertuzzi and Nick Lardis.
St. Louis answered late in the second period when Jonatan Berggren scored an unassisted wrist shot at 19:04. The Blues cut the deficit to one late in the third period as Colton Parayko scored on a wrist shot with 1:16 remaining, assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud and Robert Thomas. Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 29 of 31 shots to secure the win, while Blues goaltender Joel Hofer turned aside 19 of 22 shots. Chicago finished 1-for-4 on the power play and killed off all four St. Louis man advantages.
Both teams continue their schedules in October. St. Louis hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, October 20, while Chicago hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, October 23.
