The Chicago Blackhawks wrapped up their preseason Saturday with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues at the United Center, getting goals from rookie forwards Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov and veteran defenseman Ian Cole.
Spencer Knight backed it up in net, earning his second preseason win in as many starts by turning aside 29 of 31 shots. On the other side, Joel Hofer gave up three goals on 22 shots as the Blackhawks built a 3-0 cushion and then had to survive a late push.
Frondell got Chicago going just 6:27 into the first period, finishing off a rebound from Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi tried to sneak a backhanded shot past Hofer off the draw in the Blues’ zone, the puck hit the near post, and Frondell was there to bury the follow-up for his first preseason goal.
The game got chippy from there. At 13:42, Cole Smith went after Philip Broberg in the offensive zone, and Logan Mailloux stepped in after his defense partner was targeted.
Smith and Mailloux dropped the gloves and traded shots before Mailloux took him down. Smith now has 25 career NHL fights under his belt.
Chicago carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, though St. Louis finished the period with the edge in shots on goal, 8-5, and scoring chances, 7-3.
The Blackhawks stretched the lead in the second period, and they did it twice on breakaways. First, Bowen Byram nearly made it 2-0 on a power play, but his shot rang off the post. Then Cole, coming out of the penalty box, jumped on a loose puck at center ice and went in alone on Hofer, slipping the puck through his legs at 7:00 to make it 2-0.
A little later, Chicago cashed in again on the power play. Zach Dean was called for interference at 8:52, and the top unit set up Kantserov for his first preseason goal at 9:31. Bertuzzi fed him with a saucer pass, and Kantserov lifted a backhand over Hofer’s glove to push the lead to 3-0.
St. Louis cut into that margin late in the period after Ryan Donato turned the puck over in the defensive zone. Jonatan Berggren took advantage, stripping him and beating Knight with a wrist shot at 19:04 to make it 3-1.
The Blues kept pressing in the third, and Chicago had to lean on its penalty kill after Dillon Boucher took two separate penalties. The Blackhawks killed both off, but the Blues still made things tight when Hofer went to the bench for the extra attacker. Colton Parayko scored from the point at 18:44 to trim the lead to 3-2.
Chicago missed the empty net four times in the closing minutes, but Knight came through with several key saves to help close it out.
The Blackhawks finished their four-game preseason schedule 2-1-1, and both of their wins came at the United Center. After uneven showings in their previous two exhibition games, they were sharper against St. Louis, limiting the Blues to nine high-danger scoring chances at even strength and generating 4.14 expected goals in all situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Blackhawks now have an off day before their final training-camp practice on Monday, then they head to Las Vegas.
The next time they skate at the United Center, it will be for the home opener on Oct. 6 against the Blues.
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