History: Chicago Blackhawks Win Again
On Friday night, history was made at the United Center.
And the game that set the record for the Chicago Blackhawks perfectly captured why this team has yet to lose in regulation through 17 games.
The Sharks came out with a physical, attacking first period that ended with a late Patrick Marleau goal giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
But the final 40 minutes were dominated by the Blackhawks.
Chicago was credited with 23 shots in the final two periods and took control of the ice. Viktor Stalberg got the Hawks on the board with his fourth goal of the season late in the second, a period in which San Jose only put six shots on net and the Hawks killed two penalties.
In the third, the Hawks were once again short-handed twice in the first six minutes. But the attacking penalty kill paid off when Brandon Saad beat Antti Niemi. It was the first short-handed goal of Saad’s young career, and also his first game-winner.
And that is what made this game a perfect way for these Blackhawks to set an NHL record.
The two goals in the game came from players that aren’t household names. Not only was Saad credited with the game-winner, but he had three hits and two takeaways in the game as well.
In net, the team’s would-be back-up netminder stayed undefeated (in regulation or overtime); Ray Emery made 26 saves, including 13 in the final period, to improve to 7-0-0 to begin the year.
Chicago’s penalty kill was perfect once again, and continued to rely heavily on Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger. Frolik skate 5:01 short-handed in the game, and Kruger contributed 4:02 to the kill while Jonathan Toews was only needed for 2:06 short-handed in the game.
For his part, however, Toews continued to dominate at the dot. The Blackhawks captain won 15 of 19 faceoffs.
In the second period, coach Joel Quenneville began mixing up the lines and it paid off. Andrew Shaw played a fantastic game and was credited with four hits and a takeaway, but was sent to the penalty box in the closing seconds after a dangerous hit from behind on Joe Pavelski.
The hit, right in front of the Sharks’ bench, was followed by Ryan Clowe leaving the bench to defend Pavelski. He was given a minor penalty for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct; there was a large rip in Shaw’s sweater as he skated to the penalty box.
There were outstanding performances all over the roster from the Hawks.
Patrick Kane, who assisted on Stalberg’s goal, was fierce on the forecheck and was credited with a team-leading three takeaways in the game. Kane has now registered a point in all but two of the Hawks games this year.
On the blue line, Quenneville was once again able to spread out the ice time effectively and it paid off. Duncan Keith led all Chicago defensemen in ice time, but only skated 22:29 in the game. Keith was credited with a secondary assist on Saad’s game-winner.
Johnny Oduya, who skated 20:13 in the victory, played a marvelous game. He was credited with three hits, three blocked shots and the secondary assist on Stalberg’s goal. Brent Seabrook played 21:17 and had two hits and two blocked shots in his return from a… lower-body… injury. And Niklas Hjalmarsson was credited with two blocked shots and one hit in 20:51 on the night.
Chicago killed all four San Jose power plays in the game, improving their perfect mark against the Sharks to 11 penalties successfully killed in three games. In the Sharks’ other 13 games, they’ve scored 14 powerplay goals in 67 chances (20.9 percent).
Dan Carcillo returned from injury in the game as well, and led the team with five hits in only 8:20 on the ice.
One number that was noticeable, though, was the ice time for Dave Bolland in the game. Bolland was limited to only 11:37 and won six of 10 faceoffs. After the game, Quenneville told the media that Bolland is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Hawks are having fun on the ice, and it shows. They’ve played a tough early schedule and have dominated.
And now, these Blackhawks are in the record books.
Tab – great game summary.
Blackhawks – great game!! “Keep on keepin’ on!”
(Did Bolland get injured?)
Excellent win by the Hawks…these are the kind of games that championship teams win…strong Defence and goaltending, and excellent transition game, aggressive to the puck with a great mixture of speed and physicality…plus scoring from secondary sources…a year ago, this is the exact type of game we would lose.
I echo your thoughts on Shaw…another outstanding game…the same for Saad, who even won a face-off…I thought Carcillo, especially for the first game back, was excellent playing 8 minutes on that 4th line (that’s going to become a very tough unit to play against).
When the Hawks keep the D fresh, they are very effective…Oduya at 20 minutes looked great…another good effort as well by the 3rd pairing, Leddy/Rozy.
I really like this team…they fly around the rink, but at the same time they are defensively sound, and play the body…and with this kind of goaltending, they may go awhile yet before they lose a game.
I will say it again, on a team with great depth, we shouldn’t fear injuries…they are simply opportunities for other’s to shine…if Carcillo didn’t get injured during game 1, the Hawks quite likely don’t really know what they have in Brandon Saad…if Bolly didn’t go down, the Hawks wouldn’t have found out how well Shaw bonded with Kaner and Sharp…and if CC didn’t have a concussion, none of us might have guessed that Emery could still play night in and night out, without losing a game…
If Bolly misses a few games, likely Shaw will get moved to line 2, Kruger up to line 3, and Mayers will get to skate with Carcillo and Frolik on line 4…that’s a very good line up.
Or they will move Kruger to 2nd line, Mayers center 4th line…
I wouldn’t mind seeing Hayes brought up for 4th line Wing/ Mayers/ Fro— or Hayes centering Frolik and Bollig/Cbomb.
Hayes has been playing a lot of Center (Hogs)- and by the way is tearing it up since Hayes up to 17 or 18 goals now.
Emery has been way better than I thought he would be… But that 1st period was his worst since 1st game… lost the net 3 times… but he/Hawks recovered nicely.
Actually, it was Kruger who spent most of the 3rd centering the 2nd line. I thought he looked pretty good there.
Oz- you are right Kruger was on 2nd line… actually looked real good-
I have always been a 16 Fan… w/ 88-10 he can skate, pass, good instinct- but can he finish/ shoot??? His shot is one of his weaknesses IMO-
short term 16 can play w/ them– but unless he develops receiving (Kane pass)/shooting he is not the long term answer.
Long term- (when 36 can’t be resigned) Teuvo (maybe Danault) will be a great fit w/ Kane
or perhaps the Ryan O will happen- would be nice… but doubtful.
These guys are human – ripe for an emotional letdown against the lowly BJs on Sunday. Wouldn’t be surprised if they stumbled then. Course, I believe the Nash two-step (Dubinsky & Anisimov) are both on IR so the Hawks will be catching Columbus when they’re wounded.
If they get past Columbus Sunday night, they get the Oilers Monday night who will be without Taylor Hall, as he serves the second game of his suspension. We all know the trouble the Hawks have had with those speedy young turks from Edmonton the last couple years, so to catch them without their speediest young gun is a nice break for the Hawks to catch.
Has Stan been sleeping on a horseshoe?
Wow, what an accomplishment! Although we are in the record books for season start, I am more impressed with the fact the team seems to be well aware that this doesn’t really matter- it’s the Cup that counts. Deep and balanced on D makes a huge difference for this team as minutes are spread more responsibly, and I am encouraged/impressed to to see the club throwing around some physical weight during games. Shaw cracks me up, although his hit on Pavs was not smart. I am a Carcillo supporter and was glad to see him back in the lineup as he brings toughness and an edge the Hawks need. Leading the team in hits in 8 mins is right on, (hopefully he resists the dumb stuff), and he is fast and has tools as well. I know Toews likes him on the ice, which is ’nuff said. If Bickell could be as phsyical as his frame allows that would be a huge plus for the team. Not sure why he is so inconsistent in that respect? On D- Monty back? Crowded back there. Nice problems to have. But the BIG story is goaltending. Emery and Crawford both playing so well?! Incredible. Don’t wake me until it’s over…
Our defence is set…we have no room or need for Montador…I am not sure how this plays out, but, I can’t see Montador back in the bigs…simply put, he just isn’t good enough….
Agree on Monty Brad… unless 2 or more injuries on back line + we will to release some cap next year to sign 25/16/ + others.
this week-
Teuvo – 2 assists + Shootout winner in a 0-0 game!!!
Hayes -2 goals last nite
Danault- 1 goal + 2 assists last nite
We look even better in the future… and we look pretty damn good now!!!!
I think Hawks would be unstoppable this year if we pick up a legit net presence for PP!!! I know I want everything.
I’m so high on this team right now. I love their game. Their passing and their speed in all three zones is unbelievable.
It’s actually pretty difficult to find an MVP or most improved player on this team right now which, I think, speaks volumes about how every individual has over-achieved so far this season.
I agree with the assessment on Krugs playing with Kane. We don’t need a playmaker with Kane. We need a second finisher. You could actually do 20-19-88 then 10-16-81. But 19-81 is a strong pair and I like teams having to pick their poison in trying to shut down either 19 or 88 (right now, 10-36-88 are being met with tougher competition). It’s a fancy problem for Q to figure out how to spread and maximize the talent. I have total confidence in this team. Go Hawks!
It is great to see how much we’ve been able to spread the minutes out among the Dmen.
That can only benefit us long term, even in a shortened season
Let it be said about the streak, we weren’t exactly playing the dregs of the league. It has been a pretty damn tuff schedule if you go back and look at it.
So does Mayers “center” the 4th with Kruger moving up to the 2nd or is it Shaw with Pirri centering the 3rd line?
Pirri would be a better finisher for Kane… but he Pirri-Kane in the Hawks zone could be ugly!!!
It will be 16,
but I would like to see Hayes come up and show us growth- but only if we have a long term Injury.
Another 2 goals and 2 assists for Danault tonite!!!
Danault is going to make a very good pro…I really want to see him up in Rockford next year, meaning that he could be in a Hawks uniform in 2 years time…
I too would like to see Jimmy Hayes up here…I thought that he showed he earned it last year, and has been lights out in Rockford since everyone departed for the big team…