Blues wrap up Central Division title
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Jake Allen made 21 saves and the St. Louis Blues clinched the Central Division title with a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
Thanks to the win and Nashville's loss to Minnesota, the Blues wrapped up the division title and are tied with Anaheim for first overall in the Western Conference with 107 points.
"It's a good feeling to be able to clinch home ice, win the Central," said Allen. "I didn't expect I'd be playing in that game, but it was great to be out there."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dmitrij Jaskin and Paul Stastny both lit the lamp for the Blues, who have won four of their last five games.
Andrew Shaw scored late in the game for the Blackhawks, who have lost their last three. Corey Crawford allowed both goals on 25 shots in the loss.
"We've been close our past three games but it always seems we have some kind of breakdown in the third period that kills us," said Chicago forward Jonathan Toews. "We just didn't get to the net like we wanted to and it's tough to win against a team like St. Louis if you don't."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chicago holds the third position in the Central Division, two points ahead of Minnesota.
The Blues took a 2-0 lead with 5:55 to play as a 3-on-1 saw Jaden Schwartz skate down the left wing and hit a trailing Stastny, who snapped in a wrister for his 16th of the season.
Chicago finally got on the board with 2:39 to play after Teuvo Teravainen flew in down the left side and got a shot on net, with Shaw chipping in the rebound.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Blackhawks pulled Crawford with just over a minute to play, but were unable to net the equalizer.
This contest stayed scoreless until 2:50 to play in the second when the Blues went on top during a power play as Jaskin slipped home a rebound from the right side for his 12th of the season.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It marks St. Louis' first division title since the 2011-12 season ... The Blues host Minnesota to close out the regular season on Saturday ... Chicago plays in Colorado on Saturday ... St. Louis was 1-for-5 on the power play while Chicago was 0-for-2.