Three things we learned in the NHL: Blues slay dragon

Troy Brouwer scores the game-winner in the third period to push the Blues past the Hawks 3-2 and take the series 4-3 on Monday.

The St. Louis Blues‘ offence came from unexpected sources, Corey Perry is invisible and everyone was watching Vladimir Tarasenko‘s ice time.

Here are three things we learned in the NHL Monday.

D sharp for the Blues

While all eyes were on sniper Vlad Tarasenko for Game 7, the Blues got offence from the blue line Monday in their 3-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Jori Lehtera tipped in a point shot from defenceman Jay Bouwmeester to open the scoring while Colton Parayko blasted one past Corey Crawford to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. The Blues are known for their reliable D-corps and stifling team defence but it got them going offensively at the best time.

Corey Perry shooting blanks

It’s pretty remarkable when a player like Corey Perry goes goalless in a playoff series but here we are. He’s not alone, however. Just look at Jaromir Jagr (0 goals, 2 assists in six games) and Jonathan Toews (0 goals, 6 assists in seven games).

The Ducks were trying to eliminate the Nashville Predators Monday but came up short, losing 3-1. Game 7 will go Wednesday night.

But not only has Perry gone without scoring, he’s taken just 11 shots on goal and is a minus-2 for the series.

Other notable Ducks without goals: Jakob Silfverberg, Hampus Lindholm…and that’s it.

Get scoring, Corey.

Also, this:

Tarasenko on ice

This is what we’ve been talking about for two days.

Sorry Ducks-Predators, you were second fiddle Monday.

How much did Tarasenko play and why? The Blues sniper showed his displeasure with head coach Ken Hitchcock in Game 6 when apparently he was unhappy with his lack of ice time.

In Game 7, Tarasenko played just 14:31, eighth (!) among Blues forwards, though he did leave the ice at one point due to an equipment issue.

He didn’t factor in the scoring, but was a part of this highlight. What a save by Crawford.

Brian Elliott wasn’t bad either:

This game was unbelievable. There’s no more to learn other than to appreciate the sights, sounds and words that accompanied a classic.

After the Hawks tied the game at 2s, the teams traded chances back and forth. Troy Brouwer scored to make it 3-2 and the Blues were somehow able to hang on.

This was the Blackhawks’ best chance:

And that was it.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.