Monday was a festive day in St. Louis, as the Blues hosted the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium.
However, through the first period, there wasn't much for the hometown fans to cheer about, as their Blues trailed the hated Blackhawks 1-0.
In the second period, Patrick Berglund tied the score at 1, but tensions were still high at the sold-out outdoor game heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
Enter Vladimir Tarasenko, the Blues' leading scorer. In the span of 1 minute, 53 seconds, the star right winger scored two goals to put St. Louis ahead 3-1.
Tarasenko's second goal was a thing of beauty, beating Chicago goalie Corey Crawford with a top-shelf shot past his glove hand.
An empty-netter by Alex Steen later in the third period extended the Blues' lead to 4-1, which would hold up as the game's final score.
The two crucial goals for Tarasenko gave him 41 points for the season, 16 more than Robby Fabbri, who has 25 points this year. Tarasenko has scored 18 goals and dished out 23 assists for the 20-13-5 Blues.
With 45 total points, the Blues currently occupy the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, six points behind the first-place Blackhawks, who dropped to 23-12-5 with the loss.
St. Louis will be back in action on Thursday night, hosting the Carolina Hurricanes. This home game, though, will be back indoors at the Scottrade Center, not outdoors at Busch Stadium.
