ANALYSIS: Blackhawks Fall to Blues with Disappointing Effort

Chicago couldn't carry the momentum with them from Wednesday's win in Edmonton, dropping a 5-1 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
Two-goal first and third periods for the Blues proved the difference to bookend a disappointing night as the Blackhawks posted a season-low 16 shots on goal in total.
"That's not good enough," interim head coach Derek King said of his team's overall play. "We just can't do that. You can't put an effort like that out and expect to maybe steal a game from somebody. That's not going to happen."
"Not our best game," said Dylan Strome, who scored the lone goal on the night. "Left Flower out to dry. From top to bottom, not very good."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI at STL
RECAP: Blackhawks Drop Division Tilt to Blues, 5-1
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks at Blues
GALLERY: Blackhawks at Blues
INSIDER: Strome One-on-One

DOWN EARLY

Chicago had another forgettable start to the game on Saturday night, falling behind 2-0 in a span of 3:12 in the middle of the first period and seeing the Blues lead even-strength scoring chances overall by a 10-5 margin.
"They come hard. We knew they were coming hard (and) we were a step behind," King said. "We hesitated when we did have plays to get the puck out. We didn't make the right plays, we didn't have the support we needed and you just cannot play that way against a team like that... It's a team effort and we just were not very good as a team."
"I thought we passed up a lot of shots, myself included," Strome added. "It's probably not enough to create a lot of chances. I still feel like we had good chances, missed a couple that we probably should've scored. That's the way it goes."

DAGGER TO COMEBACK HOPES

The Blackhawks had largely clawed back into the game throughout the second period with a much stronger effort until the final minute of the frame.
Strome netted a 5-on-3 power play tally less than three minutes into the middle frame to pull within a goal and Chicago played a relatively even 20 against the Blues, leading 5-on-5 scoring chances 10-9 and high-danger looks 4-3. St. Louis, though, struck 41 seconds before the intermission off a defensive-zone turnover to regain a two-goal lead heading into the second break.
"I thought we had some good shifts in the second and obviously got the goal, so we were playing decent and then they get that one," Stome said. "It's tough going into the third down two. Would've been nice to be down one, but either way it wasn't a good enough effort in the third period to be close in that game."
St. Louis added another goal early in the third to effective put the game away and scored a fifth late, outshooting Chicago 13-2 overall in the final period.
"The late goal there (in the second was tough)," King said. "You still come into the third there thinking maybe we get a power play or maybe we get a quick goal and get some momentum back our way, but we refused to shoot pucks, we refused to drive the net... and it's something we're going to have to address."