09-18-2018, 02:42 AM
The playoff field for the Western Conference is almost set.
Patrik Berglund and St. Louis are going to Colorado to try for the final spot.
Berglund scored three times to help the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday night Michael Strahan Jersey , setting up a showdown with the Avalanche for the conference’s last wild card.
”When you have to win your last game, it’s intense,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”Obviously there’s lot of pressure. I hope our guys embrace that because it’s going to be a fun game.”
Carter Hutton made 19 saves as St. Louis stopped a three-game slide that included a 4-3 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday night on Duncan Keith’s power-play goal with 8.5 seconds left. Jaden Schwartz also scored in the third after an ugly turnover by the Blackhawks.
St. Louis (44-31-6) moved one point ahead of idle Colorado (42-30-9) heading into their finale Saturday night. The Blues have won three of four against the Avalanche this season.
Colorado needs a regulation win to make it to the postseason, while St. Louis takes the spot if it goes to overtime.
”Final game, 82 all on the line at Denver,” Hutton said.
Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago, and Jean-Francois Berube made 31 saves. The last-place Blackhawks (33-38-10) finished with an 18-18-5 record at home.
Veteran forward Patrick Sharp got the start in what was likely his final game at the United Center. The 36-year-old Sharp, who has 10 goals and 11 assists in his 15th NHL season, said he probably will retire after the finale Saturday night in his native Winnipeg.
”It’s never easy, but I’m just ready to take that next step in my life, and I’m looking forward to it,” Sharp said.
The team honored Sharp with a highlight video in the third period, and he waved his stick and tapped his heart to acknowledge the sustained roar from what was left of the announced crowd of 22,218. With his parents, wife and children watching from the stands, he took another spin around the rink after the game was over and waved as the crowd cheered again.
”It was a tough game out there, tough to concentrate with what was going on inside my head Cornellius Carradine Jersey ,” said Sharp, a key part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Chicago. ”But thankful that I was able to do that. The Hawks put that video on for me in the third which was really special. The guys staying on the ice and making me do a lap was something I’ll always remember. So, special night.”
Berglund redirected a shot by Joel Edmundson past Berube with 1:43 left in the first period. The Blues carried the 1-0 lead into the third, but Gustafsson whipped a wrist shot by Hutton on the stick side at 8:08.
Just 16 seconds later, Berglund swept in from the side and poked home a rebound for his 16th of the season. After Brayden Schenn set up Schwartz’s one-timer at 12:40, Berglund added an empty-netter to complete his second career hat trick.
”I think we all played a pretty good game today,” Berglund said. ”It’s good for everybody’s confidence and now we know what we have to do tomorrow.”
NOTES: The Blackhawks honored Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita with ”One More Shift” before the game. The 77-year-old Mikita, who is the franchise’s career leader in games played, points and assists and is second in goals to Bobby Hull, has a brain disorder called Lewy body dementia, so his three grandsons represented him on the ice for the national anthem. … Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair (lower body), John Hayden (upper body) and Tomas Jurco (illness) also were scratched, and Chicago went with seven defensemen. … The Blues scratched G Jake Allen, and G Ville Husso was the backup for Hutton. Allen is expected to start against the Avalanche in the finale.
UP NEXT
Blues: Visit Colorado on Saturday night.
Blackhawks: Visit Winnipeg on Saturday night.
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Stephon Gilmore, CB (24), 6-1, 190 Patrick DiMarco Jersey , 6th season, South Carolina
Signed five-year, $65 million contract to come from Buffalo and struggled with inconsistency early on. … Made key stop on fourth down on Jags’ final drive to preserve win in AFC title game.
Malcolm Butler, CB (21), 5-11, 190, 4th season, West Alabama
Still best known for interception of Russell Wilson at goal line to clinch Super Bowl win over Seattle three years ago. … Signed one-year tender worth $3.9 million. Set to be unrestricted free agent in 2018.
Patrick Chung, S (23), 5-11, 215, 9th season, Oregon
Second-round pick in 2009 who had many ups and downs. … Went to Eagles in 2013 and struggled, returned to New England and has been solid … Hard-hitting tackler with better ball skills and recognition than in first term with Patriots.
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First-round pick in 2010. … Defensive captain. … Leader of secondary. … Former cornerback who found home at safety. … Twin Jason plays for Cleveland.
Duron Harmon, S (30), 6-1, 205, 5th season, Rutgers
Signed four-year deal to return. … Led team with 4 interceptions, one of those was Ben Roethlisberger’s ill-fated fake spike in December at Pittsburgh.
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SPECIAL TEAMS
Stephen Gostkowski, K (3), 6-1, 215, 12th season, Memphis
Team’s all-time scoring leader after replacing Adam Vinatieri … Made 37 of 40 field goals and 45 of 47 PATs this season for 156 points, second in the league to Greg Zuerlein.
Ryan Allen, P (6), 6-2, 220 Steven Nelson Jersey , 5th season, Louisiana Tech
Averaged 43.4 yards on punts in fifth season in Foxborough. Had only 2 punts blocked in career. Previous time was 2015 regular season against Eagles.
Dion Lewis, RB (33), 5-8, 195, 6th season, Pittsburgh
In addition to leading Pats in rushing, Lewis retuned 23 kicks for 570 yards, including 103-yarder against Denver.
Danny Amendola, PR (80), 5-11, 190, 8th season, Texas Tech
Was third on team with 61 receptions. … Caught two TD passes in fourth quarter to clinch rally against Jags in AFC title game. … Had 20-yard punt return to spark winning drive.
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Patrik Berglund and St. Louis are going to Colorado to try for the final spot.
Berglund scored three times to help the Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Friday night Michael Strahan Jersey , setting up a showdown with the Avalanche for the conference’s last wild card.
”When you have to win your last game, it’s intense,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”Obviously there’s lot of pressure. I hope our guys embrace that because it’s going to be a fun game.”
Carter Hutton made 19 saves as St. Louis stopped a three-game slide that included a 4-3 home loss to Chicago on Wednesday night on Duncan Keith’s power-play goal with 8.5 seconds left. Jaden Schwartz also scored in the third after an ugly turnover by the Blackhawks.
St. Louis (44-31-6) moved one point ahead of idle Colorado (42-30-9) heading into their finale Saturday night. The Blues have won three of four against the Avalanche this season.
Colorado needs a regulation win to make it to the postseason, while St. Louis takes the spot if it goes to overtime.
”Final game, 82 all on the line at Denver,” Hutton said.
Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago, and Jean-Francois Berube made 31 saves. The last-place Blackhawks (33-38-10) finished with an 18-18-5 record at home.
Veteran forward Patrick Sharp got the start in what was likely his final game at the United Center. The 36-year-old Sharp, who has 10 goals and 11 assists in his 15th NHL season, said he probably will retire after the finale Saturday night in his native Winnipeg.
”It’s never easy, but I’m just ready to take that next step in my life, and I’m looking forward to it,” Sharp said.
The team honored Sharp with a highlight video in the third period, and he waved his stick and tapped his heart to acknowledge the sustained roar from what was left of the announced crowd of 22,218. With his parents, wife and children watching from the stands, he took another spin around the rink after the game was over and waved as the crowd cheered again.
”It was a tough game out there, tough to concentrate with what was going on inside my head Cornellius Carradine Jersey ,” said Sharp, a key part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Chicago. ”But thankful that I was able to do that. The Hawks put that video on for me in the third which was really special. The guys staying on the ice and making me do a lap was something I’ll always remember. So, special night.”
Berglund redirected a shot by Joel Edmundson past Berube with 1:43 left in the first period. The Blues carried the 1-0 lead into the third, but Gustafsson whipped a wrist shot by Hutton on the stick side at 8:08.
Just 16 seconds later, Berglund swept in from the side and poked home a rebound for his 16th of the season. After Brayden Schenn set up Schwartz’s one-timer at 12:40, Berglund added an empty-netter to complete his second career hat trick.
”I think we all played a pretty good game today,” Berglund said. ”It’s good for everybody’s confidence and now we know what we have to do tomorrow.”
NOTES: The Blackhawks honored Hall of Fame forward Stan Mikita with ”One More Shift” before the game. The 77-year-old Mikita, who is the franchise’s career leader in games played, points and assists and is second in goals to Bobby Hull, has a brain disorder called Lewy body dementia, so his three grandsons represented him on the ice for the national anthem. … Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Anthony Duclair (lower body), John Hayden (upper body) and Tomas Jurco (illness) also were scratched, and Chicago went with seven defensemen. … The Blues scratched G Jake Allen, and G Ville Husso was the backup for Hutton. Allen is expected to start against the Avalanche in the finale.
UP NEXT
Blues: Visit Colorado on Saturday night.
Blackhawks: Visit Winnipeg on Saturday night.
—
Jay Cohen can be reached at Had 2 sacks in Pats debut in regular-season finale. … Has 6 tackles in Patriots’ postseason wins.
Stephon Gilmore, CB (24), 6-1, 190 Patrick DiMarco Jersey , 6th season, South Carolina
Signed five-year, $65 million contract to come from Buffalo and struggled with inconsistency early on. … Made key stop on fourth down on Jags’ final drive to preserve win in AFC title game.
Malcolm Butler, CB (21), 5-11, 190, 4th season, West Alabama
Still best known for interception of Russell Wilson at goal line to clinch Super Bowl win over Seattle three years ago. … Signed one-year tender worth $3.9 million. Set to be unrestricted free agent in 2018.
Patrick Chung, S (23), 5-11, 215, 9th season, Oregon
Second-round pick in 2009 who had many ups and downs. … Went to Eagles in 2013 and struggled, returned to New England and has been solid … Hard-hitting tackler with better ball skills and recognition than in first term with Patriots.
Devin McCourty, S (32), 5-10, 195 Jack Tatum Jersey , 8th season, Rutgers
First-round pick in 2010. … Defensive captain. … Leader of secondary. … Former cornerback who found home at safety. … Twin Jason plays for Cleveland.
Duron Harmon, S (30), 6-1, 205, 5th season, Rutgers
Signed four-year deal to return. … Led team with 4 interceptions, one of those was Ben Roethlisberger’s ill-fated fake spike in December at Pittsburgh.
—
SPECIAL TEAMS
Stephen Gostkowski, K (3), 6-1, 215, 12th season, Memphis
Team’s all-time scoring leader after replacing Adam Vinatieri … Made 37 of 40 field goals and 45 of 47 PATs this season for 156 points, second in the league to Greg Zuerlein.
Ryan Allen, P (6), 6-2, 220 Steven Nelson Jersey , 5th season, Louisiana Tech
Averaged 43.4 yards on punts in fifth season in Foxborough. Had only 2 punts blocked in career. Previous time was 2015 regular season against Eagles.
Dion Lewis, RB (33), 5-8, 195, 6th season, Pittsburgh
In addition to leading Pats in rushing, Lewis retuned 23 kicks for 570 yards, including 103-yarder against Denver.
Danny Amendola, PR (80), 5-11, 190, 8th season, Texas Tech
Was third on team with 61 receptions. … Caught two TD passes in fourth quarter to clinch rally against Jags in AFC title game. … Had 20-yard punt return to spark winning drive.
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