Goalie Stauber striking in debut for Blackhawks in 5-3 win over Blues
Nothing went right for the Blackhawks during the first 10 minutes at St. Louis on Saturday.
The Blues dominated puck possession, ripped shot after shot at goalie Jaxson Stauber - who was making his NHL debut - and it looked like it was going to be a long night for coach Luke Richardson's squad.
But hockey's a weird sport.
When a goalie bails out his team - as Stauber did by making several impressive saves early on - sometimes all it takes is one odd-man break to turn the tables.
And that's exactly what happened after Jason Dickinson converted a 2-on-1 with Sam Lafferty at 10:27 of the first period. Three minutes later, Lafferty scored short-handed, and the Hawks went on to post a fairly stunning 5-3 victory over the Blues.
The Hawks, who didn't have a shot on goal until Dickinson's goal, have won six of seven after dropping 21 of their previous 23.
"The two or three games before we got to this bit of a stretch here, I thought we were playing some good hockey and we just couldn't connect," Richardson told reporters. "And, you know, when guys aren't confident, they don't shoot confident. They're not playing free out there and just reacting to what they see. ...
"When we got over the hump and got that first win (over Arizona on Jan. 6) it was a breath of fresh air and our guys have just enjoyed each other and have enjoyed this road trip."
Stauber was called up from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs after the Hawks (14-26-4) placed Alex Stalock in concussion protocol. The 23-year-old played two seasons for Providence College and has just 12 games of pro experience - all in Rockford.
After making 2 routine saves in the first minute, Stauber turned away a point-blank one-timer from Ivan Barbashev with 14:34 remaining. Stauber also fended off a wicked blast from Brayden Schenn just 90 seconds later.
"I didn't think we were terrible in the beginning, but he had some really big saves," Richardson said. "He looked really calm and comfortable. Played the puck extremely well all night, right down to the end. ...
"Real heads up game by him all night and he deserved the win."
Reese Johnson (4) and Andreas Athanasiou (10) staked the Hawks to a 4-1 lead with a pair of goals early in the second period.
St. Louis got within 4-3 midway through the third period on Nick Leddy's first goal of the season, but Max Domi (14) basically put the game away with 3:59 remaining after working a give-and-go with Tyler Johnson.
Dickinson added 2 assists for the fourth 3-point night of his career. Three of Lafferty's 6 goals this season have come short-handed.
Stauber, whose parents were in attendance, made 29 saves. His dad, Robb, was a goalie for the Kings and Sabres from 1989-95 and also saw time with five AHL teams from 1989-99.
"It was awesome," Stauber said. "They've been with me from Day 1 and to share this experience and this moment with them is really special."
The Hawks host Los Angeles on Sunday then go on a three-game road trip to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.