Although Chicago has the division title all but wrapped up, the St Louis Blues went into the game with a winning record against their rival. This was the first time St Louis played Chicago away though, so it would be interesting to see if the Blues could continue their four game winning streak.
After Mark Parrish scored a late powerplay goal in the first, the Blues had hoped it would shake the Blackhawks confidence and they would continue with an easy win. That all ended in less than 10 minutes in the 2nd. Three goals from Plekanec, Green and league-leading goal scorer Gaborik put the Hawks in a 3-1 lead.
After being railed during the second intermission, the Blues responded with a 3 goal flurry of their own. Eric Staal scored his 23rd of the season less than 2 minutes in to close the gap within 1. Chicago attempted to close the game out with his defensive play, but goals from Ryan Malone and Derek Roy gave St Louis the win.
However, after the game ended, the Blues and Bruins announced a massive deal, putting an end to the speculation. Sending game hero Derek Roy alongside Miroslav Satan, Andrej Meszaros and Tim Gleason, while also parting with prospect Luca ****i and Ott 5th in exchange for superstar playmaker Pavel Datsyuk, Manny Malhotra, Bruno Gervais, Hal Gill and Ladislav Smid.
"We've had the deal in place for some time, but the injury to Datsyuk delayed it, now that he's fit and healthy, we're looking forward to seeing him in action in our next two games against Detroit and Chicago.
It became the last game for Mark Parrish and Rostislav Klesla as well, as they became involved in a deal for star defenseman Sergei Zubov and goaltender Mathieu Garon.
One of the biggest weaknesses the Blues had going into the final 20-odd games was having a decent backup. Although Garon will rerate down next season, his ratings will provide Evgeni Nabokov with a suitable backup as GM Evans wishes to rest his starter for the big games. Chances are that Garon will get his first action against Detroit or Chicago later this week.
With trades yet to go through, the Blues refused to update their expected lineup.
