SportsMarch 25, 2002
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks needed a dramatic finish to end a six-game winless streak. Eric Daze scored his second goal of the game with 1:18 left in overtime on a power play to lead Chicago to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday...
The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks needed a dramatic finish to end a six-game winless streak.

Eric Daze scored his second goal of the game with 1:18 left in overtime on a power play to lead Chicago to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

To set up the overtime and erase a 3-1 deficit, Michael Nylander and Daze scored in a span of 1:02 late in the third period.

"It was a big, big game for us," said Daze, whose 33rd and 34th goals of the season allowed him to set a new career high. "Tonight it took us 55 minutes to finally get going offensively.

"It might take us 59 or 65 minutes, but we'll get it done."

Daze, positioned at the edge of the crease, backhanded in a rebound of Alex Zhamnov's shot for the game-winner while St. Louis' Keith Tkachuk was off for high-sticking. Tkachuk had swung his stick at Chicago's Lyle Odelein during an altercation behind the Blackhawks net with 1:53 left in overtime.

"I felt the (penalty call) should have been even," Tkachuk said. "I went to the penalty box and they won the game.

"We put ourselves in a bad situation and allowed them to come back like that," Tkachuk added. "We controlled most of the game. It's such as disappointing loss."

Nylander cut the Blues' lead to 3-2 with 5:45 left in regulation when he beat Brent Johnson from the edge of the crease after accepting a long pass from Odelein.

Daze tied it with 4:43 remaining. He tipped Joe Reekie's shot from the point between Johnson's pads.

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Steve Thomas also scored for the Blackhawks, who moved into a third-place tie in the Western Conference with Los Angeles and San Jose.

"It was a game where you knew if you got the second (goal), you had a good chance to get the third," Chicago coach Brian Sutter said. "If we stick with it for 60 minutes, we'll wear 'em down."

Chicago's Steve Passmore made 28 saves, several of them spectacular, to keep the Blackhawks in the game.

"When the game was on the line, he made some big saves," Sutter said.

Pavol Demitra had a goal and an assist for the Blues, who scored three times in the second. Scott Mellanby and Tkachuk also scored for St. Louis.

Johnson stopped 16 shots for St. Louis.

"We served them up two points," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said. "We didn't give them anything the whole game."

After a scoreless first period, the Blues outshot the Blackhawks 14-5 in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Demitra opened the scoring 50 seconds into the second. His rising slap shot from the left circle landed just inside the right post.

Mellanby made it 2-0 at 4:06 when he was left uncovered in the slot. After taking Dallas Drake's centering pass, Mellanby fired a shot underneath Passmore.

Thomas cut it to 2-1 just 1:40 later, tucking in a shot from the edge of the crease. He was set up by Igor Korolev.

Tkachuk's power-play goal gave the Blues a 3-1 lead with 6:33 left in the second. Passmore made a pad save on Scott Young's shot from left wing, but the puck caromed in off Tkachuk's left skate as he drove to the net.

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