Kopecky, Sharp lead Blackhawks over Blues
The St. Louis Blues tried to impress their new coach Saturday night by getting physical with the Blackhawks.
It didn't work out very well.
The Hawks stood their ground early when St. Louis tried and failed to flex its muscle, then took over the game with their superior skill to rout the Blues 6-3 at Scottrade Center.
The loss spoiled the debut of new Blues coach Davis Payne, who took over when Andy Murray was fired earlier Saturday.
The Hawks broke open a 2-2 game with goals by Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg in the second period and 2 goals by Patrick Sharp in the third.
"We knew they were going to be pretty excited, obviously, with a coaching change," Hawks defenseman Brent Sopel said. "You want to come out and do something for your new coach, so we knew what it was going to be like."
A wild first period saw the Hawks survive 17 minutes in penalties to Cam Barker, who was ejected at the 13-minute mark for coming to the aid of Sharp following a high hit by Mike Weaver.
As a result the Blues were given a seven-minute power play that was interrupted 1:10 into it when T.J. Oshie was penalized for tripping.
After Andy McDonald scored 4-on-4 to make it 2-2, the Blues had a two-man advantage for a full two minutes, but the Hawks killed it thanks to great work by Sopel and John Madden.
"Our penalty-killers did a great job," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Who knows what happens there? To get out of the period like that, it was a good spot."
The Blues, 5-14-3 at home, have been a disaster this season. About all they have going for them is their physical play, but the Hawks had a response for every cheap shot.
Ben Eager won a first-period fight with Brandon Crombeen to help turn the game the Hawks' way. Jonathan Toews then fought David Backes in the second period.
Eager earned a match penalty in the third period in a fight with Barret Jackman, which will be reviewed by the NHL for a possible suspension. That melee began with Cam Janssen going in high on Sopel.
"We stick up for each other," Quenneville said. "That's one thing about this team."
The fourth line played its third straight strong game, with Tomas Kopecky scoring twice in the first period. They were his first goals in 32 games.
"It was nice to see that line score a couple goals early," Quenneville said. "All of a sudden you're going to have a good night when you're getting contributions from that group. They got us going."
The Blues' pathetic home record was a primary reason for Murray's dismissal. They were 1-7-2 in their last 10 at home under Murray and had blown 3-goal leads on three occasions in the last six games.
"It's kind of maybe the way we lost more than anything else," Blues president John Davidson said at a news conference.
Davidson said he decided to replace Murray on Friday but did not want to distract from the Winter Classic.
"My intuition tells me he knew something was coming because of our home record," Davidson said.
Some players didn't seem to care that Murray took the fall for them.
"I don't think he was on the same page with everybody," Janssen told the Associated Press. "I think guys didn't know where they stood with him, and I think that's not a good thing to have in the locker room.
"I had no idea where I was with him and I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me. It was a bizarre situation."
Payne, who had been coaching the Blues' Peoria American Hockey League affiliate, was named interim coach for the rest of the season.
Tim Sassone's game tracker Three stars1. Brent Sopel, Hawks: Led a strong penalty-killing effort, played almost 22 minutes, was plus-2 with an assist and 5 blocked shots.2. Tomas Kopecky, Hawks: His 2 first-period goals got everything started.3. Ben Eager, Hawks: Had an assist and a big first period fight that set the tone for his teammates.Halfway homeWith the victory, the Hawks reached the season's halfway point with a record of 28-10-3. They are on pace for 118 points, which would shatter the club record of 107.Ducks at the BlackhawksTime: 6 p.m.TV: Channel 9Radio: WGN 720-AMWhat to watch: The Ducks have had a disappointing first half and would miss the playoffs if they started today. Teemu Selanne remains out with a broken hand while Canadian Olympian Ryan Getzlaf was questionable for Saturday's game at Nashville with a deep cut to his right leg.Season series: Ducks lead 1-0 with Jean-Sebastien Gigure shutting out the Hawks 3-0 on Nov. 27 at the Honda Center.Next: Minnesota Wild at the United Center, 7 p.m. TuesdayFalse512352Blues' Roman Polak and Blackhawks' Brian Campbell battle for a puck in the first period.Associated PressFalse