Blackhawks defeat Blues, win seventh straight

ST. LOUIS -- The Chicago Blackhawks have won seven straight games, and goalie Corey Crawford is a big reason why.
Crawford once again turned in a spectacular performance with 27 saves, and Artemi Panarin scored 25 seconds into overtime just after a penalty expired to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win against the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on Wednesday.
"Yeah I feel good," said Crawford, who is 6-0-0 in his past six starts and has allowed six goals. "Reading plays is good right now. Patient when I have to be. Getting out and being aggressive. It's a good spot right now, but (there's) always room for improvement."

WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Blues highlights
"He's definitely the backbone and getting the job done," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said of Crawford. "Tonight he made some unbelievable saves."
Panarin, who had an assist, scored from the top of the left circle one second after the Blackhawks' power play ended, and his wrist shot beat Blues goalie Jake Allen through a screen of Blues defenseman Colton Parayko and teammate Jonathan Toews.
"No idea," Allen said of knowing where the puck was. "Just heard it hit the net. Tough way to go."
Marian Hossa scored his sixth goal in seven games for Chicago (10-3-1), which has won seven in a row for the first time since it won 12 straight from Dec. 29, 2015-Jan. 19, 2016. The Blackhawks are 8-0-1 in their past nine games, outscoring opponents 30-15.

Alex Pietrangelo tied the game with 2:11 remaining, Allen made 28 saves for St. Louis (7-4-3).
Pietrangelo, whose slap shot from the left point beat Crawford through teammate Jori Lehtera's screen, was called for delay of game with 1:36 remaining in regulation after trying to clear a puck out of his zone.
"That's a tough way to lose," Pietrangelo said. "I feel really bad right now. Tough to take a penalty there in the last minute. It's a lonely feeling sitting in that box, I'll tell you. I thought we did a good job though, crawling our way back and getting a point out of it.
"(I was trying) to get the puck out of our end. Sometimes the puck rolls. I'm not trying to flip it over the glass."
The Blackhawks wasted a terrific chance to open the scoring in the first period with a two-man advantage for 1:36, but Allen came up with two clutch saves on Seabrook and Panarin.
Hossa scored 1:22 into the second period off a rebound of defenseman Gustav Forsling's one-time slap shot from the left point to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
Allen was able to keep it 1-0 by sliding to his right and thwart Patrick Kane's forehand attempt after Kane got behind Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk with 4:13 remaining in the second.

Goal of the game

Panarin got the puck from Kane and surveyed the situation. Once he saw Parayko didn't commit to him, Panarin saw Toews setting a second layer of screens and used it to his advantage to score.

Save of the game

Crawford made the save of the game when he robbed right wing Vladimir Tarasenko with his left skate with 9:39 remaining in the third period on the Blues' third power play of the night.
"He didn't shoot right away," Crawford said of Tarasenko. "He kind of wound up with it. I just tried to force it in there and it gave me enough time to get over."

Highlight of the game

Pietrangelo saw Lehtera screening Crawford and slapped the puck towards the net, finally beating Crawford to help the Blues salvage a point.

Unsung moment of the game

Forsling's shot from the point seemed to come with a purpose. Knowing Hossa was coming towards the net, Forsling struck the puck hard knowing it could create a rebound for Hossa to score.

They said it

"We've been in a lot of these games. It's close the whole way and we find a way to get two points at the end of the night. We do different things. Our goaltending at the end of the night has been a big factor. [Crawford's] been outstanding, instrumental in us winning most of these games and again tonight, couple of big, big saves." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville
"We're taking way too many penalties when the game's on the line. We're having to extend a lot of energy with a short bench. Two games in a row, we took three penalties in the third period. It's not a good recipe and they're the same penalties." -- Blues coach Ken Hitchcock

Need to know

Blackhawks center Artem Anisimov had an 11-game point streak end; he left the game late in the second period because of an upper-body injury and did not return. Quenneville said he's day-to-day.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the Washington Capitals on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, CSN-DC+, NHL.TV)
Blues: At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-MW, NHL.TV)