Blues score on 1st 4 shots in win against Blackhawks

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues scored on their first four shots in a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Enterprise Center on Wednesday.

They were the fastest four goals to start a game this season (6:59).

"That was pretty quick," St. Louis forward Zack Bolduc said. "I didn't know. Someone told me after the game it was four goals on four shots. … Yeah, we had a good start and I think we got a little bit sloppy in the second (period), but we found our legs back in the third."

Jordan Kyrou scored twice, and Bolduc had a goal and an assist in his first multipoint NHL game for the Blues (42-32-5), who moved within three points of the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and have played one more game; Vegas lost 5-1 at the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Joel Hofer made 18 saves and got his first NHL point, and Robert Thomas had a goal and an assist.

"Yeah, it's a good feeling," Kyrou said. "Obviously you can't control the outcome of what happens to the other teams, but we can control what we do, right? That's all we're focused on right now."

Landon Slaggert scored his first NHL goal for the Blackhawks (23-50-5), who have lost four of six. Petr Mrazek allowed three goals before being replaced by Arvid Soderblom, who made 21 saves on 23 shots.

"What needs to be said? I don't think anything needs to be said," Chicago forward Jason Dickinson said. "It was an embarrassing first period. One shot, maybe three shot attempts, we were down 4-0. What words need to be said?"

Kyrou put St. Louis ahead 1-0 at 2:04 on a breakaway after taking a stretch pass from Nick Leddy. Hofer had the secondary assist.

"It just all happened so fast," Kyrou said. "Just kind of just instinct."

Kyrou made it 2-0 42 seconds later at 2:46, scoring on a 2-on-1 with Brandon Saad. Kyrou kept the puck and beat Mrazek on the short side with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

"I was trying to pass (to Saad) the whole time and then last second, I decided to shoot," Kyrou said.

Torey Krug extended it to 3-0 at 4:37 on a shot from the point that got through traffic, chasing Mrazek. It was Krug’s first goal in 17 games since March 2.

"We definitely weren't ready to compete and they showed their desperation on where they are in the standings," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said of the Blues. "And unfortunately, we didn't give Petr much help, giving him a breakaway and a 2-on-1 to start the game."

Bolduc pushed it to 4-0 on a one-timer from the right of the goal line off a cross-crease pass from Thomas. It was the first shot against Soderblom.

"Obviously we had a real good start to that game and got rewarded, broke the game open pretty quickly," St. Louis interim coach Drew Bannister said. "Good to see our guys come out with that kind of urgency to start the game."

Philipp Kurashev cut it to 4-1 at 8:40 of the second period when he got to a rebound at the right side of the net after Kevin Korchinski's shot caromed off the end boards.

Thomas made it 5-1 at 10:01 of the third period, putting in the rebound of Schenn's one-timer from the right circle.

Slaggert, playing his 12th NHL game, scored at 16:51 for the 5-2 final. He took a pass from Ryan Donato and cut in from the right side before beating Hofer over his right shoulder.

"Definitely good to get the first one out of the way," Slaggert said. "It was a great play by Donato and [ MacKenzie Entwistle] there to give me the puck. Obviously, like you said, I wish it came in a little different fashion. ... Disappointed with the outcome but happy to get the first one out of the way."

NOTES: Krug left the game after the second period with an undisclosed injury. Bannister did not have an update. ... The Blues are 13-2-2 in the past 17 games against the Blackhawks. … Kyrou has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. … Thomas had his third straight multipoint game and has nine points (two goals, seven assists) during a four-game point streak. ... St. Louis forward Pavel Buchnevich had an assist, giving him 400 NHL points (162 goals, 238 assists) and extending his point streak to four games (four points; one goal, three assists). ... Kurashev has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in the past 18 games. ... Chicago forward Nick Foligno missed the game for personal reasons but is expected to return against the Nashville Predators on Friday.