By Jon Fromi
The Chicago Blackhawks squandered an inspired effort from goalie Corey Crawford Sunday night at the United Center. The New York Rangers got just one shot by the Hawks goalie but it was the only one of the contest. The overtime tally was enough to send the Madhouse faithful home disappointed as the Hawks lost 1-0.
First Period-New York outshot the Blackhawks 16-8 in the opening 20 minutes but neither team was able to get a puck past Crawford or Rangers goalie Cam Talbot.
Chicago was awarded a power play 3:12 into the game when Marc Staal hooked Brandon Saad. Patrick Sharp got a shot on goal late but the man advantage went unfulfilled.
Crawford stopped a Dan Boyle slap shot in the ninth minute and also denied the rebound by Staal. A couple of minutes later, he made another nice save of a James Sheppard attempt.
In the fifteenth minute, Antoine Vermette took a rebound of a Brent Seabrook shot around the Rangers net. However, Talbot closed off the stuff attempt. Shortly after the save, Niklas Hjalmarsson was hooked by Chris Kreider. Not only were the Hawks stymied on the resulting power play, they couldn’t even muster a shot. The period ended a few minutes later with no score.
Second Period-The Rangers were called for too many men on the ice 6:09 into the middle frame, though Chicago could not take advantage. The Hawks had some nice puck movement on a shift midway through the period but a Duncan Keith one-timer was absorbed by Talbot. There was then an extended break while the Rangers goalie tended to an equipment issue.
Crawford fought off a shot by Ryan McDonagh before Andrew Shaw was called for hooking at the 10:44 mark. New York got a pair of shots on goal in its first attempt at the power play but the Hawks held firm and the game remained scoreless.
Chicago gained its fourth power play of the night as Hossa led a rush to the net with Kris Versteeg. Dominic Moore interfered with Versteeg at 17:21. Sharp struck the crossbar late in the two minutes but the Hawks couldn’t convert and the teams went to the second intermission still looking for the game’s first goal.
Third Period- The teams traded a couple of scoring chances over the first six minutes of action. Chicago, as they had in the second period, continued to control the puck.
Midway through the third, New York began to tilt the ice in the other direction. Crawford made a pad save on a Jesper Fast attempt. The puck rebounded in front of the crease but David Rundblad was there to knock it away.
With 7:40 remaining, Crawford made a sprawling save of a point blank chance by Chris Kreider. A few ticks later, he denied Martin St. Louis and Derek Stephan from a similar position. With 5:35 to play, Crawford stopped a backhand attempt by J.T. Miller and the Hawks defense got the puck out of harm’s way.
The Hawks were caught with six men on the ice with 2:38 to go. Hjalmarsson lost his stick but Marcus Kruger was able to clear the puck. Jonathan Toews came up with an odd man rush with Hossa but they couldn’t connect on the pass. Still, Chicago had killed the penalty with 40 seconds remaining and earned a point as the clock expired on regulation.
Overtime-Toews got to a loose puck and put a shot on goal that Talbot stopped. The Rangers came down the ice and into the Hawks zone. Derick Brassard, who got the play started from the neutral zone, skated into some open ice and took a pass from Mats Zuccerello above the left circle. Brassard skated to the left dot and let fly with a slap shot that beat Crawford on the short side. New York ended the contest just 32 seconds into 4-on-4 action.
Three Stars-Crawford (third), Brassard (second), Talbot (first).
Thoughts
-Coach Joel Quennville thought enough of Teuvo Teravainen’s performance to give him over 17 minutes and the start with Toews overtime. Unfortunately, he probably gave Brassard, who was pretty late getting into the Hawks zone, way too much room on the left side.
-Too bad for Crow, who was at his best Sunday night while stopping New York’s first 35 shots only to get tagged with the loss.
-There isn’t much power in the power play. Sunday’s 0-for-4 performance marks 13 fruitless such man advantages in Chicago’s last five games.
-The Blackhawks get a few days off as they prepare to fly out to Arizona for Thursday’s game with the Coyotes.
Lines
Versteeg-Toews-Hossa
Saad-Vermette-Teravainen
Carcillo-Richards-Sharp
Nordstrom-Kruger-Shaw
Keith-Rozsival
Hjalmarsson-Seabrook
Timonen-Rundblad
Crawford
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Jon Fromi
