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CHICAGO -- St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock got what he needed from his top players, and that was more than enough on opening night.Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, and the Blues kicked off the season with a solid 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.The guys that have been around did a number today, Hitchcock said. The guys that have been here before and know what its like to play in this building, know what its like to play against Chicago, they played really well today.Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny each had a goal and two assists for the Blues, who eliminated the Blackhawks in seven games in the first round of the playoffs in April. Jake Allen had 17 saves in his first game since he was handed the lead goaltending job with Brian Elliotts June trade to Calgary.St. Louis went 3 for 5 on the power play.I think that last two days in practice really helped us find our groove, said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who took over as captain after David Backes signed with Boston in the offseason. We kept it simple, try not to be overly complicated. Weve got a lot of guys who can shoot the puck. The big thing is putting the puck toward the net.Richard Panik and Ryan Hartman scored for Chicago, which struggled in the second period. Corey Crawford finished with 29 saves.The Blackhawks had five rookies in the starting lineup, and four players made their NHL debut. And they looked out of sync for much of the night.Theres definitely some learning going on, coach Joel Quenneville said. Well accept mistakes through hard work, because thats how you get better.Hartman put Chicago in front 2-1 with his first NHL goal at 13:57 of the second, but the Blackhawks were whistled for three penalties in a span of 1:34 late in the second. Captain Jonathan Toews was sent off for slashing with 2:06 left in the period, veteran center Artem Anisimov got called for hooking and defenseman Duncan Keith received a high-sticking penalty at 19:28.During the delay after the call on Keith, Tarasenko tied it at 2 with a wrist shot that beat Crawford on the goaltenders stick side. The 24-year-old Tarasenko set career highs with 40 goals and 74 points last season.Hes proven to be a big-time player and obviously these games mean so much to us, Shattenkirk said. He is someone who just shows up in those big games.Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook saved a goal when he swept a bouncing puck off the line late in the second. But the Blues went ahead to stay on Stastnys power-play goal 55 seconds into the third off a rebound from Tarasenkos shot.Chicago had two power-play opportunities in the third, but it was turned away each time. Tarasenko then finished off the Blackhawks with an empty-netter with 1:06 remaining, and Scottie Upshall was credited with a second empty-netter on what looked like an own-goal for Chicago.We didnt do a whole lot of what we wanted to, Toews said. Our energy, our speed and our work ethic wasnt quite there. Weve got to regroup and try to come with that energy in that next one, and play a little bit smarter, too.Game notes RW Nail Yakupov played 10 1/2 minutes for the Blues. He was acquired in a trade with Edmonton on Friday. ... Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa remains stuck on 499 career goals. He assisted on Paniks goal in the first. ... Blackhawks D Niklas Hjalmarsson completed his suspension for charging Blues forward Ty Rattie during a preseason game on Oct. 1. D Michal Rozsival and C Dennis Rasmussen also were scratched. ... St. Louis scratched Rattie, D Carl Gunnarsson and LW Magnus Paajarvi. ... Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles got a standing ovation when she was shown on the videoboard during the first period. She acknowledged the cheering crowd with a wave.UP NEXTBlues: Host Minnesota on Thursday night.Blackhawks: Visit Nashville on Friday and then host the Predators on Saturday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Yogi Berra Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Mariano Rivera Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. http://www.yankeesrookiestore.com/Yankees-Miguel-Andujar-Kids-Jersey/ . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Babe Ruth Jersey . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Derek Jeter Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. TRINEC, Czech Republic -- Wimbledon doubles champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert fought past Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to give France a 2-1 lead over the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.A week after beating Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets to clinch the their first Wimbledon title, Mahut and Herbert went the distance on the indoor hard court for a victory that puts France one win away from a Davis Cup semifinal.Amid increased security following the deadly attack in the French city of Nice, Mahut closed it out with an overhead volley on the first match point in the eastern Czech city of Trinec.I made some double faults when I shouldnt but we were patient against a really dangerous team, Herbert said. Were happy to get through.In Sundays first reverse singles, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga can clinch the tie with a victory over Jiri Vesely. If he fails, the tie will be decided in the final reverse singles between Rosol and Lucas Pouille.On Friday, Rosol beat Tsonga in a five-setter, and Pouille made a victoriious Davis Cup debut by beating Vesely in straight sets.ddddddddddddIn the doubles, Rosol replaced Adam Pavlasek, who had a back problem, and struggled with his serve throughout. He was broken in the opening game of the final set in what turned out to be the decisive break.The French pair didnt waste time, jumping to 3-0 in the first set that Mahut served out with an ace.The Czechs replied with a 3-0 lead in the second set and Stepanek served it out with a service winner to come back.Rosol double-faulted to drop his serve in the third set for the Czechs to trail 3-1. They saved two set points at 5-2 before Rosols return hit the net on the third set point.In the most dramatic fourth set, Herbert gave the Czechs a chance to tie the set at 4-4 after two straight double faults. The French wasted a break point in the following game and the Czechs took the set when Herberts volley hit the net.The winner faces the United States or Croatia in the semifinal in September. ' ' '