They're Still In This! Hawks Snatch a Big 'W' In St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, MO -- OH. MY. GOD.

Hands down, most stressful game I've watched all year.

The first period was just downright brutal. With only two shots made by the Blackhawks to the Blues' seven, it looked grim for the Hawks. There was only one power play opportunity in the first period for the Blackhawks, and though they didn't score, they at least killed off a penalty of their own.

It wasn't until the second period that things started to pick up. Tarasenko notched one fifteen minutes in, giving the Blues a lead. But, Duncan Keith wanted to make sure the Scottrade Center knew he was back in the game, scoring with just a few seconds left in the period and tying it up. That was enough to shut the Blues fans up for a bit (seriously, the booing every time either Kane or Keith touched the puck grew annoying after about the second time). The second period even ended with a nice little kerfluffle (as the Blackhawks Twitter account called it)!

And, the third period, oh my god. Talk about high-stress. Tarasenko tried to take the lead, but his goal was ruled offsides. Not going to lie, I was screaming and jumping around and yelling. It was glorious.

Anyways, Tarasenko went off for slashing Shaw, which gave the Hawks yet another power play. This one they capitalized on. There was a lot of traffic and confusion at the net, but somehow, Andrew Shaw managed to sneak one in there. The refs reviewed it, but that wasn't enough, and after they declared it a good goal, the Blues challenged it. But, they were disappointed to hear that the call stood, and thus, Shaw got the GWG. Awesome.

But, it gets better!

At about the two-minute mark, Elliot headed to the bench. And, in a last-ditch effort, Panarin shot the puck down the ice to just clear it, but ended up scoring anyways. Awesome, again!

The game was delayed for a few moments as "classy" Blues fans threw things onto the ice, but it didn't shake the Hawks too much. Shattenkirk did score with just seconds left, but let's be honest: it didn't matter, and the game was over.

And, to top it all off, Crawford set the franchise record for playoff wins, with 46. That's pretty damn impressive.

Maybe this will give the Blackhawks the confidence they need going into the games in Chicago. I hope it does.

The Blackhawks and Blues face off at United Center at 3pm EST on Sunday, then again at 9:30pm EST on Tuesday.

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