Darling, Blackhawks Top Rangers At MSG
On Friday night, the Rangers visited the United Center and former Blackhawks netminder Antti Raanta pitched a 26-save overtime shutout. Raanta had a strong performance in Chicago and hasn’t lost – or given the net back to Henrik Lundqvist – since, posting a 3-0-0 record with one goal allowed over the three contests.
His hot streak continued through the first period at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. With both Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook back in the lineup, the Blackhawks actually out-shot an opponent in the first period 11-7. Raanta was up to the task against his former employer, and Scott Darling was on point at the other end of the ice as well.
Raanta’s shutout streak wouldn’t make it through the second period, though.
At 5:18 into the second, Artemi Panarin carried the puck into the zone and found Trevor van Riemsdyk in front for his first of the season.
It had been more thdan 176 minutes since Raanta had allowed a goal. But almost exactly three minutes later, Jesper Fast made a special play to tie the game.
Four minutes after the Fast goal, Chris Kreider ran Ryan Hartman from behind.
Kreider with a hit from behind on Hartman. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/qTyho5ez6T
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 14, 2016
Hartman took a moment to get to his feet and tried to skate back to the bench but ultimately was sent directly to the dressing room, while Kreider was sent to the box for boarding. Unfortunately, the Hawks wouldn’t get a power play; they were called for too many men.
During the 4-on-4 that followed, the Blackhawks did a nice job passing the puck in a circle and skating with it, but never got a shot on net.
Darling and Raanta continued to hold strong on either end of the ice until Panarin and Brian Campbell attacked the net. Campbell made a terrific pass to Artem Anisimov to put the Hawks up 2-1 inside the final two minutes of the second. The goal is Anisimov’s 13th of the season; Panarin picked up a second assist in the period as well.
Darling faced 16 shots in the second period, stopping 15.
Keeping an eye on how coach Joel Quenneville used Toews, Chicago’s captain skated 11:58 through two periods and won six of eight faceoffs. By comparison, Anisimov skated 12:02 and won three of seven at the dot.
Toews started the game between Hartman and Marian Hossa, but Richard Panik replaced Hartman for the final few minutes of the second period while Hartman was being evaluated.
Through two periods, Seabrook had skated 16:31 with two hits in his return from a three-game absence.
Thankfully, Hartman returned for the start of the third period and got a good piece of Kreider in his first shift of the final frame.
The goaltending show continued well into the third as Darling and Raanta put on a show on either end of the ice. With three minutes left in regulation, Darling made a huge save on a Mats Zuccarello shot to keep the Hawks on top by one. He made another enormous stop 45 seconds later to rob Jimmy Vesey on the doorstep.
Raanta skated to the bench with 80 seconds left in regulation and the Rangers burned their timeout moments later. With the extra attacker on the ice for the home team, the Hawks did a magnificent job of making it nearly impossible for the Rangers to get the puck out of their defensive zone and hung on for a big road victory.
Darling was fantastic throughout, stopping 33 of 34 in the victory. Chicago picked up their 12th one-goal win of the season, beating one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
After the morning skate, Quenneville said Toews “probably” wouldn’t skate 20 minutes. The returning captain was “limited” to 18:09 in the win, winning eight of 13 faceoffs. He was also credited with one takeaway and one blocked shot.
Patrick Kane led the way with five shots on net while Anisimov and Tyler Motte were credited with three each. Anisimov and Panarin had two-point nights, and Hossa led Chicago with three takeaways. Andrew Desjardins and Richard Panik were credited with a team-high three hits. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Campbell led the Hawks with three blocked shots each.
#HockeyHugs for a lights-out performance. pic.twitter.com/lYRS22AalI
— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) December 14, 2016
Well, well, well, well. Elite.
Havnt ever seen a team get away with 5min boardings, 1 per game. That scare me.
Terrific game to watch on the tube. Nail biter, jump up, oh no!, YES !..kinda game. Good cardio for me.
How about Hossa sweeping the puck out of the crease, …sure is too bad he’s over the hill and “lost so many steps” eh?
Keep ‘er goin’ …we are looking mighty fine.
That was a real Blackhawk game if you know what I mean.
Bowman was right on Vesey. He is a stud and only getting better. Hats off to Darling tonight.
Scott Darling!
Team defense was pretty good … but Scott Darling! Yes!
Thoughts going through T.V.R.s head when the puck ended up on his stick,..,.,What,the,Fuuuuuuuuk,,,, Aahhhhhh,sheeeeeit shooooooot ,..,fall down,..,breath .
Team was 55% in the dot (even Hinostroza was 3 for 5). Benedict Arnold Stairwell Hayes was 3 for 12.
So I guess their are not any major or game misconduct penalties called in the NHL? Where all those that said Hossa was 1 or 3 steps slow and should be sent to the third line and kill the cap? You “experts” and future tellers owe the old guy an apology.
If Vesey wanted to learn from a pro he’d watch which franchise hoss chose to ride to grace & glory.
Team defense and system getting better. That’s 9 of 11 with 2 or less.
2/1/2/1/3/3/2/0/1/1/1
Hossa is a freak to be skating that well at 37, especially for a bigger guy, and I hope he keeps it up for the whole year. He still has 5 years left. and 12 year contracts were ridiculous.
The Hawks need his two way play and I hope he stays healthy, but as we all know it gets harder as you age in general let alone in today’s crazy fast NHL.
Kids looked good again… Hino- were did he get the sudden bursts of “physicality”???
Motte- always good for at least one block/deflection… and near break away rush… kid has very good acceleration… Hartman -continues to play well…
Darling was excellent again.
Doctor Wall-
Toews- skated and engaged much better than last few games before being out…
How long will his back hold up??? Never know- backs- are very tricky!
Hey dipshit dec. 1st doesn t change the fact he goes to sweden its just a league agrement that changes the blackhawks obligations dumbass
Hawks play Ranger tough in MSG and Rangers play Hawks tough at UC. A big win for the guys last night. They also played another good 1st period which is a welcome change from what we have grown accustomed except the past few games. Let’s hope they keep that up.
Good for Hartman getting after Kreider. Anyone catch Hossa getting hit up high by Girardi? That should have been 2 min for roughing easy.
These Hawks-Rangers games have been really entertaining. Lots of back and forth rushes, both teams getting strong scoring chances, and some outstanding goaltending.
Comforting to see the Cpt. back on the ice. Hawks puck possession seemed better last night. Cycling the puck returned as well. Would be nice to see more shots generated off those possessions though. Anisimov line just looks dangerous all the time. Would be hell to try and defend those guys.
Hawks just have to find ways to score some more goals. Our d men need to be better getting shots on goal. Keith has been especially errant with shot accuracy lately imo
How can we not be pleased with the development of this “new look” Hawks roster? Winning lots of close games is impressive. Strong goaltending sure doesn’t hurt…
Lets Go Hawks!
The Dolt is like Christmas Cake, it never goes away.
Well, I can admit when I’ve been too quick to judge. 38 is more than a journeyman in training. I was blinded by the Schmaltz, and wasn’t giving this guy the credit he deserved, but he’s been solid all year and has an unexpected mean streak that fits nicely on this team. This team isn’t winning on flash, that’s for sure. They’re winning with elite D and goaltending, and grinding out one more goal on O. They’re winning by playing like winners, and Hartman’s been on board since game 1. I didn’t intend that pun, but I’ll go with it. Anyway, it’s too far into the season to call this a fluke, and with considerable depth on D and G, one or 2 injuries here and there aren’t having much effect, so there’s no indication the needle is pointing down. The corsi numbers are not great, but they’re beating the guys in front of them. I don’t get to watch a lot of games but I wonder how much corsi applies to this team. I bet if there were a stat for completed passes + corsi the Hawks would look better, I don’t see the Hawks scrambling in their D zone a lot, yet they’re not flinging shots all over the place, they must be doing something right with the puck. I’ll take a smart shot, vs a “corsi event” that starts a breakaway the other way, any day of the week.
RAG corsi is bottom 10 or 5 and their a top 5-10 team. Seems like the good bigger and physical teams are in top 10 in corsi stuff.