It didn’t take long to kick-start things at the United Center in Wednesday’s Chicago Blackhawks matchup versus the St. Louis Blues. A goaltender saw the puck fly behind him just 27 seconds in.
If you blinked, you might have missed Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker’s shot get past goalie Spencer Knight. The hefty number of blue sweaters in the crowd were feeling good as their team gained an early lead.
Those fans left the arena, though, in a mood matching their jersey color after the Hawks shot the puck without hesitation.
Nick Lardis scored his second NHL goal at 9:26 in the first period on the power play to tie the score. And in the next period, the Hawks shut the door for good.
Four second-period goals ended any Blues hopes of a road win over the Hawks, who have been a nightmare for St. Louis goaltending — Joel Hofer didn’t even want to replace Jordan Binnington.
The Hawks (18-18-7) cruised to a 7-3 win for their fourth straight victory. They are 5-1-1 since the Christmas break — and undefeated in 2026 — and on their longest winning streak of the season.
“I would be lying if I said it’s not a ton of fun in here with the group we have,” center Oliver Moore said. “Coming into the rink, it’s my favorite part of the day.
“We want to win, but I think our process right now is what’s allowing us to be free out there. We’re all on the same page and we’ve got to look to keep it going.”
Seven Hawks scored goals — Lardis, Moore, Connor Murphy, Landon Slaggert, Jason Dickinson, André Burakovsky and Louis Crevier — while Knight finished with 27 saves.
They Hawks found their offensive touch without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar in the lineup. That parity can go a long way.
“It’s big, especially with Connor out,” Murphy said. “To be able to win, you’ve got to get three or four goals at least.
“For us to take off that way tonight was great. We hope that gives confidence to our group (to) keep our sound defensive game but (also) get some momentum going offensively.”
The Hawks have scored 17 goals in three games versus the Blues this season. They have their rival’s number but are going for the heads of anyone they face.
“I don’t like going team specific,” Dickinson said. “We’re playing hard at the right moments and maybe the matchups against them are hitting those moments that we were bringing ourselves to another level. It just happens to be against St. Louis, (but) it could have been any team tonight and (I) felt like we were playing the right way throughout the whole lineup.”
Hawks defensemen showed their shooting flair against the Blues. They had nine shots on goal, including Murphy’s unassisted goal at 8:57 in the second period and Crevier’s snipe that Dickinson tipped in at 17:24. Crevier added a goal of his own at 12:56 in the third.
Coach Jeff Blashill said pregame he wanted to push his defensemen to have a “first-shot mentality.” Safe to say they heard his request.
“The Murphy goal and Louis (being) a shoot-first guy, overall we’ve done a pretty good job,” Blashill said. “If you don’t have the lane you don’t have the lane, but if we have the lane, we want that to be the No. 1 option.”
The penalty bug bit the Hawks — they had six after totaling only three in their previous three games — but their penalty kill continued to shine. They killed all five Blues power-play chances, which allowed them to run up the scoreboard.
Do the Hawks always want to be on the PK? No, but having the third-best penalty kill in the NHL helps.
“You give up a goal early and then you have those kills and I thought that kill was great,” Blashill said. “It’s a huge part of the game. Those moments in games are big, so great job for our special teams.”
Before the puck drop, the Hawks held a moment of silence for former executive and coach Bob Pulford and Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, who died Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
Pulford ran the front office as general manager or senior vice president from 1977-2007. He coached the Hawks four separate times during that stretch.
“Mr. Goalie” Hall started a record 502 consecutive games from 1955-56 to 1962-63, all without wearing a mask. He earned every win in the Hawks’ 1961 Stanley Cup run, and his No. 1 hangs in the United Center rafters.
The Hawks are 4-0-0 in the new year. Might as well keep things going.
“Treat (these) like playoff games,” Dickinson said. “There’s no room for us to take our foot off the gas. Top team, bottom team, middle of the pack — it doesn’t matter. We have to show up.”
