Schwartz gets hat trick in Blues win against Blackhawks

ST. LOUIS -- There was silence when St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz crashed face-first into the back boards in the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks at Scottrade Center on Wednesday.
There were cheers when Schwartz returned to start the second period, and again at game's end after he completed his hat trick in the Blues' 5-2 victory.

WATCH: [All Blackhawks vs. Blues highlights]
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the 150th goal of his NHL career, and Kyle Brodziak also scored for St. Louis (5-2-0), which got 22 saves -- and an assist -- from Jake Allen.
The scare for Schwartz occurred at 12:46 after he had already scored to give St. Louis a 1-0 lead.
"I just toe-picked or caught a (divot) in the ice and it just happened fast and went head-first into the boards and I couldn't get my hands up fast enough," Schwartz said. "Just kind of a bit of a scary moment, but it could have been worse. I ended up taking 20, 30 minutes there and I felt like I was good enough to come back."

The Blues were glad Schwartz returned. His third-career NHL hat trick was his first since April 3, 2015 against the Dallas Stars and three years to the date of his first, Oct. 18, 2014, against the Arizona Coyotes.
"When he's going, he brings everyone else into it," Allen said of Schwartz. "He's really the guy that gets guys going, sparks guys, gets guys the puck. He works his best down below the goal line. ... He's really coming into a league of his own."
The Blackhawks (4-2-1) got power-play goals from Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves.
"They played well and we were brutal," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was a bad start, it was a bad middle, it wasn't very good. Even a little excited at the end, but that wasn't very good. That was as close to brutal as you can get."
Schwartz's goal at 4:46 of the first period gave him a point in six of seven games this season.
Schwartz made it 2-0 at 5:59 of the second period. Tarasenko, who also has a point in six of seven games, scored from the slot at 7:49 to make it 3-0.
Brodziak scored off a 2 on 1 with Tarasenko at 7:01 of the third to make it 4-0.
The Blackhawks ended Allen's shutout bid on Panik's goal with 5:13 remaining, and Hartman made it 4-2 with 3:53 remaining that needed video review after the Blues challenged for goalie interference.
Schwartz got the hat trick when he scored into an empty net with 51.1 seconds remaining.

Goal of the game

Allen was able to survey the ice and see Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook caught out of position as Schwartz was coming off the bench. Allen passed the puck off the side boards and caught Schwartz in stride, and he skated in on Crawford, cut to his left and scored into an empty net.

Save of the game

A loose puck came through the goal mouth and Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane appeared to have an empty side of the net to shoot at, but Allen dove to his right, got the paddle of his stick down by the post and kept Kane's effort out at 12:20 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

The Blackhawks had the perfect breakout through their zone set up, with defensemen Duncan Keith and Seabrook moving up ice. But Seabrook's pass hit the shaft of center Artem Anisimov's stick, which enabled Tarasenko to steal the puck and beat Crawford high to the stick side from the slot.

They said it

"They always play well at home, and I think for the first time you try to withstand their start. They're always a good starting team. I thought we did a decent job of that, but obviously they took it to us the rest of the forty minutes. Not a good first two periods for us." -- Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane on being outshot 26-8 through two periods
"That's what I was initially thinking. I was looking to pass and the D-man kind of gave me a little fake and showed he wasn't coming, so then I just decided to shoot." -- Blues center Kyle Brodziak on his goal

Need to know

Blackhawks center Nick Schmaltz returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury. … Blues left wing Alexander Steen played his first game this season after sustaining a broken left hand Sept. 19. ... Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson played in his 500th NHL game. ... Blues coach Mike Yeo earned his 200th NHL victory. "Yeah, only 3,000 more to catch 'Hitch,'" Yeo said in reference to former Blues coach Ken Hitchcock.

What's next

Blackhawks: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; SN1, WGN, NHL.TV)
Blues: At the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-MW, NHL.TV)