Blues can't complete comeback in third period, lose 4-2 to Blackhawks

Matthew DeFranks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Oct 6, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The Blues will be happy to return to St. Louis.

In falling 4-2 to the Blackhawks on Tuesday night in Chicago, the Blues dropped to 1-2-0 on the season ahead of Thursday’s home opener against San Jose at Enterprise Center. St. Louis lost the last two games on the road following a season-opening win in Dallas on Friday.

Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael (power play) scored for the Blues. Sam Rinzel (power play), Anton Frondell, Cole Smith (short-handed empty-net) and Frank Nazar (empty-net) scored for the Blackhawks.

Joel Hofer stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced on Tuesday night.

The Blues held a 1-0 lead after the first period thanks to McTavish’s second goal of the season, but Chicago scored twice in the second to take a one-goal lead into the third period. A late-game power play gave the Blues a chance to tie the game, but Smith’s empty-netter pushed the lead to two goals before McMichael could cut it back to one with 37.9 seconds remaining. Nazar’s goal in the final four seconds sealed the game.

McMichael all over it

McMichael had his fingerprints all over Tuesday night’s game, as he was on the tail end of scoring chance after scoring chance for the Blues.

In the first period, he was sprung on a partial breakaway by Pavel Buchnevich but was denied by Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight. McMichael assisted on McTavish’s goal at 4:22 of the first period, intercepting a pass in the neutral zone, gaining the blue line, creating space and dropping a pass for McTavish to rip.

McMichael looked to give the Blues a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the second period, but a successful offside challenge negated what would have been his first goal as a Blue. After review, it was determined Jonatan Berggren was offside.

In the third period, McMichael rang the crossbar with about nine minutes left, and ultimately scored with 37.9 seconds left. Philip Broberg’s attempted cross-ice pass to McTavish was deflected to McMichael in the slot.

No. 55 tied for No. 2

In playing on Tuesday night, Blues defenseman Colton Parayko tied Barret Jackman for the second-most games played in Blues history at 803. When Parayko plays on Thursday against the Sharks, he will pass Jackman for sole possession of second place.

Only Bernie Federko (927) has played in more games for the Blues than Parayko, and no defenseman has played more with St. Louis than Parayko.

Parayko was a third-round pick by the Blues in 2012 and debuted in 2015-16. This is his 12th season in the Note, and he is the longest-tenured player on the roster.

Among Blues defensemen, Parayko is fourth in goals (81), assists (233) and points (314). Al MacInnis, Alex Pietrangelo and Chris Pronger are the only defensemen ahead of Parayko in each of those categories.

Shuffle shuffle

For the first time this season, Blues coach Jim Montgomery tinkered with his top-nine forwards on Tuesday in Chicago.

Before the game, he flipped Pavel Buchnevich and Jonatan Berggren, leaving Berggren on the second line with Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish, and Buchnevich on the third line with Jake Neighbours and Dalibor Dvorsky.

By the time the third period started, Montgomery again played around with his forward groups, this time elevating Buchnevich to the top line with Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud. That left Dylan Holloway on a line with Neighbours and Dvorsky.

In the young season, the Blues have struggled to score goals. Including Tuesday’s game against the Blackhawks, St. Louis has scored four even-strength goals in three games and they’ve come from just two players: McTavish and Dvorsky each have scored twice. Pius Suter and Jimmy Snuggerud scored empty-net goals in the opener in Dallas.

It is unknown how long the changes are expected to last, but Montgomery is active in switching line combinations, including last season when there were mass changes before game No. 5.