St. Louis Blues fans were treated to a historic night when they witnessed the longest game in team history in game one of their first round playoff series vs. the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.
Steve Ott and David Backes set up sniper Alex Steen for the OT GWG just 26 seconds into the third overtime to give the Blues a 4-3 win and a 1-0 series lead.
Steen: "(Ott) kind of had a peek right before I came in. I felt like he knew I was coming. Both 'Backs' and him, great plays on that goal."
— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) April 18, 2014
Jaden Schwartz forced OT when he scored his first career goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 1:45 left in regulation to tie the score at 3-3.
Ryan Miller was shaky in the early going. After allowing 3 goals on first 7 shots, Miller stopped 35 shots in a row. Miller stopped 39 out of 42 shots that he faced. Corey Crawford made 48 saves on 52 shots faced.
Game 2 will take place in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon.
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The IHF World Championships will be played in Minsk Belarus later this month.
NHLers and North American born players would rather be fighting tooth and nail for a kick at Lord Stanley's Cup rather than playing for the IIHF World Championships, however, its a honor to represent one's country in international competition. Last Spring, Buffalo Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth led his Sweden team to IIHF Worlds gold medal greatness in Stockholm, Sweden.
Team Canada announced its roster for the tourney on Thursday. Canada's roster is largely comprised of Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Buffalo Sabres.
Goaltenders
30 Ben Scrivens Edmonton Oilers 34 James Reimer Toronto Maple Leafs
Defense
3 Marc Methot Ottawa Senators 4 Ryan Ellis Nashville Predators 5 Jason Garrison Vancouver Canucks 6 Kevin Bieksa Vancouver Canucks 24 Morgan Rielly Toronto Maple Leafs 44 Erik Gudbranson Florida Panthers 57 Tyler Myers Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
7 Kyle Turris Ottawa Senators 11 Jonathan Huberdeau Florida Panthers 14 Alex Burrows Vancouver Canucks 19 Cody Hodgson Buffalo Sabres 20 Troy Brouwer Washington Capitals 23 Sean Monahan Calgary Flames 25 Jason Chimera Washington Capitals 42 Joel Ward Washington Capitals 43 Nazem Kadri Toronto Maple Leafs 55 Mark Scheifele Winnipeg Jets 71 David Perron Edmonton Oilers
Group A includes:
Canada, Italy, Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Slovakia, France and Sweden.
Group B is comprised of:
Belarus, Latvia, Finland, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and USA.
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