Blackhawks Win Streak Hits 3 With Big Third Period
Trailing after two periods, the Blackhawks put together a huge third period to win a third consecutive game, two of which have come against elite competition.
In one of the most physical games the Hawks have played this year, only three Chicago players (John Scott, Dave Bolland and Andrew Brunette) weren’t credited with a hit in the Hawks stunning victory on Sunday afternoon. Rookie defenseman Dylan Olsen led the Blackhawks with six hits in the game, and was also plus-two on the afternoon.
Corey Crawford was huge for a second consecutive game, allowing only one goal against 30 shots in spite of the Blues having a number of really good chances in the first 40 minutes. The Hawks also killed all three penalties in the game, continuing their strong play while at a disadvantage.
In his last three starts, Crawford has stopped 84 of 88 shots (.954 save percentage) and has won all three games.
David Backes, the Blues’ captain, could have been credited with a game-winning goal when Dave Bolland banked what appeared to be a cross-crease pass off his skate and into the net. Duncan Keith tied the game at one early in the third, and Marian Hossa added an empty net goal for good measure in the closing moments.
Keith had two points (goal, assist), while Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell were credited with assists in the game.
With big wins against two of the better teams in the NHL, the Rangers and now Blues, the Blackhawks appear to have turned their ship around. They’ll certainly be tested on Tuesday night, when the Western Conference-leading Detroit Red Wings visit Chicago.
Tab: good-article. Olsen looked terrific . Do you tink he will stay when Monty & Hammer recover?
I would have to think Olsen has showed enough to not only stick in Chicago once Hjalmarsson & Montador get healthy, but has probably given Stan Bowman a moment of pause amidst the desperation plaguing fans right now.
I agree. Thanks
Great to see Crow doing well in not only two games in a row, but two games in two days. Shows Q has confidence in him playing him in back to back games. The guys are giving him alot of credit as they should. Great to see his confidence back.
Real nice to see the hawks bounce back in this game, after a slow first period they really came on strong and took the game over. In the DZone they played nicely, and I thought LePisto had a nice game.
Dylan Olsen has looked good but, our defenseive corps has gotten some good play from Sammy Lepisto, this guy plays with an edge, is not a bad skater and can handle the puck. The one play from this game that sums it up for me is when he took Reeves(a much bigger player) to the boards behind the net and rubbed him off the puck. And I have seen him play like this much of the time he has been given the chance to play. If our defensive corps played with this edge like Lepisto, we would get back to dominating again in the puck possession area.
Question for you Tab – why do you think Lepisto has become a healthy scratch for so many games?
He is not a flashy player but no one can dispute that he plays hard, every chance he gets, in spite of all healthy scratches.
I’m as happy as anyone with today’s win and the three game streak but we still are allowing too many odd man breaks. Crow saved us today with some big saves; one for sure on a lone breakaway. And to reflect back to Tab’s article yesterday we were fortunate today not to be hurt by some giveaways. Looking ahead, let’s keep the streak going and it’s time to pay back Detroit on Tuesday.
One more thing…listening to the post-game on WGN after NBC moved over to Minn/Bos; as much heat as John Scott has received this year (and agreed he doesn’t bring alot of skill to the ice) it does feel better to know he’s dressed and can be sent over the boards when called for. It would be absolutely ideal to have everyone healthy and contributing solidly and to have Scott dressed as the last guy on the bench just for the sake of the thought of deterrence and protection for our key guys. I, for one, sure enjoyed seeing him working over a couple of guys over in the waning minutes both yesterday and today. It’s either him or Jammer filling that role; and he is a fricking beast when the gloves need to come off. Not looking for goon type hockey; protection absolutely…just sayin’.
Okay well I put the question to Tab regarding Lepisto before looking at his Columbus post. But if you use that as criticism for Lepisto, then there should be a lot more for Dmen like Duncan Keith and Nick Leddy. These guys give me fits when breaking out of the DZone, when they decide to wrap the puck around the back of the net rather then clear it up the boards and out of the zone. Almost always this turns into a turnover low in the zone and is especially dangerous against great forechecking teams like St.Louis. Both Keith and Leddy did that in the game today and each time it turned into a good scoring chance for the blues. I am more frustrated with Keith though, I find myself calling him out more times, than the other dmen, I know he plays more minutes , but he still makes a lot of strange decisions.
I’m sure other fans have noticed this over the years with Duncan Keith, he does that re-set and goes back in the zone way more than he should, it has become predictable to other teams and a good forecheck will make this a turnover more times than not.
So we certainly have others beside Lepisto who can turn the puck over and hurt their team. Having said this there is no doubt, the Lepisto turnover in Columbus was a horrible turnover, with so many blue shirts around, its hard to understand what he was thinking, basically he was uncommitted and made a bad last nano-second decision to outlet at the blue line. As a defensemen myself for thiry odd years playing hockey, I know the feeling. Rule of thumb, when you are not absolutely sure where your outlet is, then use the boards and take the safer option.
Re; Hawks Win Three!!!
Glad to see the Blackhawks get their mojo back…….but the big test will be the next game against Detroit. The writing is still on the wall, in my opinion and if our beloved Blackhawks don’t learn anything from this nine game losing streak then history will repeat itself very soon before or during the playoffs…..perhaps a third goaltender might help(bring back Huet or Salak.)……..I like what John Scott adds to this club and I think Carcillo is sorely missed. The Hawks have the talent within this organization and I’m sure their rookies will help down the stretch but with the present goal tending and defense it will mean a repeat of last year’s performance……..out in the first round!
Now if we can find a way to limit Bruno time…. and add an active foward. I don’t know what has gotten into Bickle. Did someone spell it out for him in really small words. He looks like a completely different player. Not great, but serviceable. Hayes is playing like he doesn’t want to go back to Rockford. He didn’t put it in the net, but his hustle was fun to watch.
Keep going to the boards and good things happen.
Having #32 sweater on the bench seems to have changed the way teams play against our rock star top line. My guess is that Reeves would have been chippy from the beginning if Scott wasn’t on bench. He’s a punk for going at Scott from behind.
Two big games for John Scott. Scott definitely has a spot on this roster going forward. Its easy to say how Scott isnt worth a roster spot or that he is a lousy hockey player. However, imagine how todays game against St.Louis would have gone if he want in the line up. I have no doubt the Blues would have played a lot more physical and quite frankly dirtier. Im sure Reeves, Backes and others would have taken plenty of cheap shots without Scott there to make them pay for it. Say what you want about his hockey abilities he is a monster and you dont want to play against him.
What’s the story with Morrison???
No need for Morrison…Toews, Krueger, Bolland, and Mayers are the centermen right now. Seems like Bowman got him ’cause he wasn’t sure how serious injury to Toews was, and maybe to shake up Bolland and Krueger and let them know there is a vet that will step in whenever Q feels either is off his game. Lepisto makes too many bad decisions. He looks better as game goes on, but seems too jumpy at the onset. I said it earlier, win a few in a row and no one in the league will want to play us b/c the talent is super-evident when they are confident…..really need to get the powerplay going though…..could really put teams down once they get that going again…..powerplays are real momentum changers…..we need to stay out of the box, capitalize on the man advantage, and keep playing good puck possession game….this team will make alot of noise in the playoffs! GO YOU BLACKHAWKS!
Detroit not as good on road as at home, but they bring a physical game and Hawks need to stay disciplined. Gonna be a great game Tuesday. Lets keep this momentum going
about time the blackhawks started hitting some people! hitting = pressure, hitting = turnovers, hitting = odd-man rushes.
St Louis would definitely rough up our skill players more if Scott wasn’t available as an option to retaliate. What I thought was great about this game was we came from behind to win. St Louis is particularly tough to beat when they have the lead. So I think that is a good sign for us. Hayes and Olsen are definitely stepping up.
While I like watching Scott make people pay in blood as much as the next person, we need ouir PP clicking so that A) we maintain our hard-earned momentum throughout the entire game and B) we’ll really deter people from getting chippy with our best players.
If the power play is working the opposition will be more reluctant to play with an edge and risk getting penalties. Thats a good point.
Scott or no Scott, teams will continue to take runs at our top players. Why? Pete just said it – because they can – follow my logic. With the Hawks PP so LAME, there really is no repurcussion at present for a team to let up on the dirty stuff. If someone gets called for roughing, high stick, slash, whatever, no big deal. Kill 2 minutes and move on.
The ONLY solution to get teams to play a bit less aggressive in the physical department will be for the Hawks to start scoring on the PP. Do that and teams will start laying back, because they will start to fear giving up goals. Until lightning strikes and the PP starts scoring regularly, I don’t see much change.
Having Scott in the lineup won’t hurt – as long as he plays like he did yesterday – both forward and defense, he didn’t hurt the team at all. And I really hate to say that because I am NOT a John Scott fan.
I am a John Scott fan when he is fighting. When he is playing, not so much. He seems like he has pretty good discipline in terms of not taking too many penalties and he follows the “rules” on fighting. Do you think there is any reasonable chance that he could improve as a player or is that hopeless.