Blues Top Blackhawks 5-2 in Opener

St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock got what he needed of his best players, and that was more than enough on the opening night.
Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, and the Blues have started the season with a solid 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Jersey on Wednesday.
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"The guys who have been around have made a number of today," said Hitchcock. "The guys who have been here before and I know what it's like to play in this building, I know what it's like to play against Chicago, they played very well today."
Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny each had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who theBlackhawks eliminated in seven games in the first round of the playoffs in April. Jake Allen had 17 saves in his first game since the goaltending job lead with Brian Elliott June trade Calgary was delivered.

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St. Louis went 3 for 5 on the power play.
"I think the last two days, in practice, helped us to find our groove," said defender Alex Pietrangelo, who took over as captain after David Backes signed with Boston in the offseason. "We kept it simple, try not to be too complicated. We have a lot of guys who can shoot the disc. The most important thing is to put the puck toward the net."
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Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman scored for Chicago, which has struggled in the second period. Corey Crawford Jersey finished with 29 saves.
The Blackhawks had five rookies in the starting lineup, and four players have made their NHL debut. They seemed out of sync for most of the night.
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"There's definitely a bit 'learning in progress," said the coach Joel Quenneville. "We will accept mistakes through hard work, because that's how you get better."
Hartman has put Chicago in front 2-1 with his first NHL goal at 13:57 of the second, but the Blackhawks were whistled for three penalties in a 1:34 span late in the second. Captain Jonathan Toews was sent off for cutting with 2:06 left in the period, the veteran center Artem Anisimov has called for hooking and defender Duncan Keith received a penalty high adhesion at 19:28.
During the delay after the call on Keith, Tarasenko tied it at 2 with a wrist shot that grazes Crawford on the side of the goalkeeper's stick. The 24-year-old Tarasenko set career highs with 40 goals and 74 points last season.
"It has proven to be a big-time player and, of course, these games mean so much to us," said Shattenkirk. "It 'a person who demonstrates only in those big games."
Blackhawks defender Brent Seabrook saved a goal when he swept a puck bouncing on the line at the end of the second. But the Blues went ahead to stay in power-play port Stastny 55 seconds into the third off a rebound right Tarasenko.
Chicago had two power-play opportunities in the third, but was turned away each time. Tarasenko then finished the Blackhawks with an empty-netter with 1:06 remaining, and Scottie Upshall was credited with a second empty-netter on what looked like a goal for Chicago.
"We did not do a lot of what we wanted," said Toews Jersey. "Our energy, our speed and our work ethic was not there. We've got to regroup and try to come up with that energy in the next, and play a bit 'smarter, too."