By Jon Fromi
The Chicago Blackhawks had responses for the visiting Detroit Red Wings on two occasions Wednesday night. However, the Hawks came up one response short after a nip-and-tuck affair that ended with Detroit taking the game 3-2 in a shootout.
First Period-Detroit nearly got a puck past Corey Crawford in the first 15 seconds on a shot by Tomas Tatar. Patrick Kane got off an attempt that was stopped by Jimmy Howard before Kane sent the rebound high of the net. Bryan Bickell had a nice chance from the left circle a few moments later by Howard made the stick save.
Bickell was called for slashing 9:15 into the period, putting the Red Wings on the man advantage. Late in the penalty, Marian Hossa entered the Detroit zone and hit Brandon Saad for a shorthanded opportunity. Saad was hooked by Justin Abdelkader, giving the Hawks a shot at some power play time. Kane and Brent Seabrook had several whacks at Howard. Although Chicago held the offensive zone for most of the time and sent nine shots Howard’s way, the puck remained out of the Red Wings net.
The next few minutes read like an even-strength version of the Hawks power play. Howard kept Chicago from scoring though they had some extended time in the Detroit zone. A Kyle Quincy high stick of Ryan Hartman gave Chicago a power play for the final 1:34. The Blackhawks peppered Howard with three shots before the period ended but the teams entered the first intermission with no score.
Second Period-Detroit killed the remaining Hawks power play to begin the middle stanza. The Red Wings put some pressure on Crawford in the sixth minute. The Hawks got another power play when Teemu Pulkkinen was called for hooking Brad Richards. Howard robbed Hossa from the right circle and Richards nearly put a Brenden Smith turnover into the net. However, time expired without a Chicago tally.
Ryan Hartman led an odd man rush in the 11th minute and got a shot on net. Howard left a rebound for Andrew Shaw but he couldn’t convert the chance. Two minutes later, Jonathan Toews had an open net after a wraparound attempt but could complete the play and the puck slid across the crease just outside the goal line.
Detroit took the lead at the 16:10 mark thanks to an excellent pass by Darren Helm, who collected the puck from Riley Sheahan at the right post, to Tatar crashing the net from the other side. The lead was short-lived…39 seconds to be exact.
Chicago came right back down the ice to tie the contest when Saad entered the offensive zone and fired a wrister that finally beat Howard. Hossa appeared to be in the zone a little ahead of Saad, but no call was made and the score was 1-1 16:49 into the period. That held up for the final minutes and the game was all even through 40 minutes.
Third Period-Howard made two point-blank stops of Marcus Kruger in front of the Red Wings goal following a steal by Patrick Sharp early in the period. Detroit had a long shift in the Hawks zone in the seventh minute that saw a Brenden Smith shot clang off the right post.
Patrick Kane brought the puck into the Detroit zone and found Shaw in the slot to get a shot on goal. Howard made the stop but Abdelkader knocked down Sharp away from the play and was whistled for interference 8:38 into the period. Crawford had to fight off a shorthanded attempt by Joakim Andersson after Seabrook’s stick snapped and left him to defend an odd man rush the other way. Howard absorbed a shot by Kris Versteeg as the power play expired.
The action was back and forth, with neither goalie seemed willing to surrender a second goal. Crawford found himself taking most of the workload as the Red Wings turned up the offense. Sharp got off a nice shot from just above the left dot in the 17th minute but Howard was up to the task.
With 2:06 to play, Helm found himself in front of Crawford after Pavel Datsyuk made an outstanding move to keep the puck in his zone. The initial shot was denied by Crawford but the loose puck struck Seabrook’s leg and bounded into the goal to give Detroit a 2-1 advantage.
Chicago pulled Crawford once the Hawks gained possession in the offensive zone. Kris Versteeg launched a shot from the left circle that met with traffic in front of Howard. The puck hit Niklas Kronwall’s shoulder and got behind Howard. Kronwall attempted to keep the puck out but it bounded across the goal line to tie the game with 1:23 left. Regulation ended with the outcome still in doubt.
Overtime-Crawford knocked away an attempt by Jonathan Ericsson and stopped a breakaway after Helm swiped the puck from Michael Rozsival. Gustav Nyquist nearly put a rebound off the end boards into an open net but the puck hopped over his stick.
Seabrook got the puck to Duncan Keith in space but the shot was caught by Howard. Chicago kept the action in the Detroit end for much of the final minute but was unable to break the tie.
Shootout-Datsyuk’s backhand attempt was stopped by Crawford’s left pad. Toews beat Howard’s glove off the right post. Nyquist five-hole Crawford and Kane hit the crossbar with a backhand attempt. Tatar got Crawford down and found twine with his backhand, which won the contest when Sharp’s try met Howard’s pad at the left post.
Three Stars-Saad (third), Howard (second), Helm (first).
Thoughts
- If you only get to have an Original Six rival come to your building once a year, this is the type of game you want to see. This was really an entertaining game with some quality play from both teams. Howard was just one stop better in the shootout, which is fitting because he is the primary reason Detroit wasn’t beaten by a couple of goals.
-On one hand, a barrage of Chicago shots makes a loss a little hard to swallow. On the other, the Hawks were down twice in this game and trailed with less than two minutes to play. I guess we should be happy that Chicago got a point out of this one.
-Actually, with Hossa clearly being offside on Saad’s goal, the fact that the Hawks come out of the contest with a point is fortunate to say the least.
-Chicago coach Joel Quenneville shortened his bench in a tight contest. Hartman played just 7:36 Wednesday. Kyle Cumiskey was on the ice for just 6:24. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock used recent call up Teemu Pulkkinen for over 15 minutes. Just sayin’.
-The Avalanche come to town Friday night. The puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m.
Lines
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Versteeg-Richards-Kane
Bickell-Shaw-Hartman
Sharp-Kruger-Smith
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Cumiskey-Seabrook
Keith-Rozsival
Crawford
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Jon Fromi
