3 least impressive Chicago Blackhawks players from 6-5 shootout loss to Blues

Years ago, a Saturday night matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues meant that hockey fans were in for a massive tilt between two strong Western Conference rivals.

However, the fortunes of both teams haven't been very kind of late. The Blackhawks are in a difficult rebuilding process and currently own the NHL's worst record, while the Blues continue to struggle with consistency and are a handful of games below the .500 mark.

And while neither team is a Stanley Cup threat, the Blues and Blackhawks combined for 11 regulation goals followed by a 10-round shootout. Eventually, the Blues secured the extra point to improve to 25-26-5, while the Blackhawks fell to 17-31-7.

The first period was a strong one for the Blackhawks, who grabbed a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Craig Smith and the 19th goal of the season from Ryan Donato. It was his third goal in the last two games.

However, the Blues responded with goals to knot the score at 2-2 just ten seconds apart early in the second period; Philip Broberg cut the Chicago lead in half, and the game was tied moments later thanks to Nathan Walker. Later in the period, Mathieu Joseph scored his third goal, giving the Blues the lead.

The third period featured more high octane offense, mostly from Chicago. They got a trio of goals from Alec Martinez, Teuvo Taravainen, and Ilya Mikheyev, while the Blues got a tally from Cam Fowler.

But with the Blues pressing late in regulation, they secured the tying marker thanks to Robert Thomas, setting up overtime.

After neither team scored in the extra session, fans were treated to one of the longest shootouts in the NHL for this season - ten full rounds before the Blues finally came out on top.

Arvid Soderblom made 35 saves in a losing effort, while Jordan Binnington picked up the win despite conceding five goals on just 20 shots against.

3 least impressive Chicago Blackhawks players from 6-5 shootout loss to Blues

#1. Conor Murphy

One of the more steady blue liners for the Blackhawks, Murphy finished the lengthy contest against the Blues with a -1 rating and also committed a giveaway.

#2. Frank Nazar

Unable to build the momentum of having scored in Chicago's most recent victory in their last game, Nazar failed to register a point, had only one shot on goal, and also committed a giveaway.

#3. Tyler Bertuzzi

It's been a trying season for Bertuzzi with the Blackhawks; he's gone from playing in the postseason the last two straight years to being well outside the playoff picture this season.

He recorded no points, finished a -1 and also was guilty of a turnover.