Chicago Blackhawks - 6 St. Louis Blues - 3

January 2, 2010

Jeff Ponder

Davis Payne could not make an immediate impact on his new hockey club.

Hours after Blues President John Davidson announced that the team had relieved Andy Murray of his head coaching duties and replaced him with AHL coach Davis Payne, the Blues felt the sting of yet another home loss. Chicago lit up the scorecard in this game, winning 6-3. The loss gives the Blues a 6-14-3 record at home, which ranks as the worst home record in the NHL.

"There's work to be done," said Payne. "It hurts in any language, in any league. It's disappointing."

Tomas Kopecky opened the scoring early, deflecting in a Brent Seabrook shot from the point. He would add another just over three minutes later on a wrist shot that he used Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo as a screen. Later, the Slovak added an assist, giving him his first three-point game in his four-season NHL career.

"It always feels great when you score," Kopecky said. "It helps the team especially when you win. It was a great feeling."

The Blues had quite the scary moment late in the third period, when forward T.J. Oshie took a high slap shot from the blue line. The puck traveled through traffic, and found the face of veteran Keith Tkachuk. After striking the player, it squirted through the pads of Chicago net-minder Cristobal Huet, who immediately called for the medical staff despite the goal being scored. Keith got up and skated straight to the bench, trickling blood all along the way. There is no word on his condition.

Eric Brewer and Andy McDonald also added goals for the Blues, both coming in the first period. Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg also had goals for the Blackhawks, and Patrick Sharp added two goals in the third period to seal the deal for Chicago.

The Blackhawks still control the Central Division, adding to their superfluous record of 28-10-3. The Blues remain teetering around the .500 mark, ranking fourth in the Central with a 17-18-6. Chicago returns home on Sunday to face the Anaheim Ducks, while the Blues will have a three-day break before doing a West Coast swing starting Wednesday in San Jose.