Brind’Amour Helps Blues Get the Jump on Blackhawks, 4-3

Rookie Rod Brind’Amour scored two goals and Rick Meagher and Brett Hull one each Wednesday night, leading the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening game of their second-round playoff series.

The victory took away the home-ice advantage for Chicago, which finished first in the Norris Division.

The Blues grabbed a 4-1 lead midway in the second period before the Blackhawks staged a comeback that fell short after goalie Greg Millen was replaced by Ed Belfour.

Chicago put on the pressure in the final period but couldn’t offset the tight checking of the Blues. With 42 seconds remaining, the Blackhawks pulled Belfour for a sixth attacker, but were stopped cold by goalie Vincent Riendeau.

Riendeau was playing in place of Curtis Joseph, who suffered a shoulder injury in the final game of the Toronto series and is expected to miss two games.

The Blues held a 5-2-1 edge over the Blackhawks and were 3-1 at Chicago during the regular season.