The Chicago Blackhawks’ title defense came to an end on Monday night when they dropped Game 7 to the Blues 3-2 in St. Louis. In an epic finale to a series deserving of seven games, the reigning champs came insanely close to potentially forcing overtime when a shot bounced off both posts late in the third period.
Brent Seabrook came that close to tying the game with under five minutes remaining. It was so close that the red goal light behind the Blackhawks’ net even lit up as the puck crossed the crease. We have to assume the entire city of St. Louis let out an enormous sigh of relief when replays confirmed that the puck didn’t cross the goal line. Instead, it miraculously bounced right across it.
That’s the second straight night that an extremely close goal line play has ultimately sunk a team in an elimination game, so the margin for error in these playoffs is clearly paper thin.
For the Blues, the lucky break helped them finally take down the Blackhawks in the postseason, which hasn’t been an easy task for them — and, in fairness, a lot of other teams — in the past handful of years.
St. Louis will move on to face the Dallas Stars in the next round.