Exciting Shootout Loss Gives Blackhawks Points in Seven Straight

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In the first period of last night's game, the Blackhawks outshot the Red Wings 17-6. They were completely dominant, and they had an excellent power play with over a minute and fifty of continuous offensive pressure. They did everything but score a goal in that first period, and it ended up costing them in the long run.

Blackhawks Sweep the Series with a Second Shootout Win Against Pittsburgh

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For the third time in four games, the Blackhawks have played beyond regulation. In two of those three games, they've gone to a shootout. This is the first time in this homestand that the Blackhawks have won in overtime, sweeping the series against the Penguins with a 2-1 shootout win.

Saad-Toews-Hossa Give Blackhawks Season Sweep of the Devils

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After back to back overtime losses, the Blackhawks should probably have come out stronger than this. Two sluggish first periods that looked a lot like the game against Vancouver gave the Devils a 1-0 lead into the third period, where the Blackhawks came to life, scoring three unanswered goals including the empty netter to secure their first home win since before the All Star Break.

Sloppy Hawks Almost Pull Off The Comeback

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It was amazing that the Blackhawks made it out of the first period of last night's game without conceding a goal, but an equally sloppy second period left them with a two goal deficit to make up. Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane both had multipoint night, and Hossa even scored in the last minute of regulation to force over time, but Daniel Sedin and the Canucks handed the Blackhawks their second overtime loss in a row just over a minute in.

Strong Performance from Mike Smith Downs Blackhawks in Shootout

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Marian Hossa scored twice, and Patrick Kane roofed a filthy backhander in the shootout, but that wasn't quite enough to beat the Coyotes, who came into the UC playing a much stronger game than the last time these two teams met, a 6-1 bloodbath in favour of the home team.

Hossa Breaks His Slump, Scores Two to Beat the Blues

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Eight time thirty goal scorer Marian Hossa has been struggling to put the puck in the net. His season shooting percentage is about half of his career shooting percentage, and previous to last night's game, he had only ten goals in fifty two games. That didn't stop him from scoring two goals back to back, including a game winner and the empty netter, giving the Blackhawks their first back to back wins since before the All Star Break.

The top line for the Blackhawks has been struggling. Prior to last night's game, they had only two points in their last four games (a goal each from Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews) but they came out with two goals and two assists in last night's game. If they can start producing like that regularly, then the Blackhawks won't have to lean as heavily on the second line (and especially on Patrick Kane, who got an assist on the 2-1 goal last night to keep his spot on the top of the league leader board.

The third and fourth lines I thought were also strong last night, goals from Marcus Kruger and Bryan Bickell giving the Blackhawks two separate leads against a strong St Louis team, with twelve wins in their last fourteen games. It was Kruger's first point since December 20th, and Bickell's first goal in nine games. With Quenneville able to roll four lines for the whole game (and six defencemen, too, David Rundblad playing almost triple the ice time he got during the Jets game, after a turnover led to a Winnipeg goal), the Blackhawks kept things tight, dominating the Blues in the third period with a 12-3 shot advantage, after being outshot 12-9 and 12-7 in the first two periods.

Corey Crawford has continued to be excellent, with a .926 save percentage and two goals allowed on twenty seven shots. The second goal was unfortunate; he tried to make a sprawling save on David Backes while TJ Oshie was lying on top of him, and the first goal against was a Vladimir Tarasenko breakaway. Can you really fault any goalie for not stopping one of those? He's been one of the strongest players over the last week or so, coming out with about a 9.20 save percentage and a 4-2-0 record for this roadtrip. In the shutout against the Wild, he had a .930 save percentage. Really, the only subpar game they've had from him this roadtrip was against the Kings, with two late goals being the difference maker in a one goal loss.

My Three Stars of the Game

3. Brandon Saad. Saad keeps quietly racking up points, with two assists last night and the game winner the game before. He's on pace for over fifty points, and he's been the driving force on that top line for several games now.

2. Bryan Bickell. Bickell's performance is a bit up and down this season, but with consistent linemates in Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw, he's been playing better, and this gives him twenty three points on the season, a rate of about 0.43 points per game, just over a point every three games. That's a pretty good pace for a third line guy.

1. Marian Hossa. Marian Hossa has been unlucky this season. That's all he is. He regularly leads the team in shots and scoring chances (for which he's currently seventh in the league). His two goals last night were his seventy eighth career multi goal game, and his ninth multi point game of the season. Hopefully they're a sign of more to come, and his lopsided shooting percentage to even out.

Next game: February 9th, vs. Coyotes

Kane Scores, Breaks Shutout Drought

photo from chicagotribune.com

I didn't write a recap for the Minnesota game on Tuesday. In all honesty, I didn't feel they deserved the attention, after the worst team effort of the season. Last night, they played like they deserved it. Led by Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks finally earnt a win against Winnipeg; it just took them until overtime to do it.

Kane scored the last goal that the Blackhawks scored, against Anaheim, in the third period. It seemed appropriate that he also scored the shutout drought breaking goal too, a breakaway in the second period, ending the drought at about 145 minutes of gameplay. He also assisted on the OT winner from Brandon Saad, giving him fifty eight points on the season and tying him for first place in the league. His longest streak without at least a point this season is two games, and of the 151 goals the Blackhawks have scored this season, Kane has a point on over a third of them. People are making noises about the Hart trophy, and while it's hard to make that argument when Kane is surrounded by players like Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews, it's not completely unfounded. Kane is carrying the Blackhawks through this period where they can't seem to score many goals, or string together more than two wins in a row.

Brandon Saad ended a six game goalless streak last night. With his game winner, he became the last skater on the top line to score against the Jets this season, and he's second on the Blackhawks in game winning goals with four, only one behind Kane's five. He's currently fourth on the Blackhawks in scoring, with thirty three points on the season. He's on pace for fifty one, which would surpass his previous career high of forty seven, set last season, and is set to score twenty goals for the first time in his career.

The defence for Chicago was better last night than they've been in a few games, allowing only twenty one shots in sixty three minutes of play. However, after a turnover from David Rundblad led to a goal, he was benched for essentially the rest of the game, and they played with five defencemen from that point on. Johnny Oduya and Michal Rozsival had strong games for the first time in several games, on the ice for both goals and Rozsival picking up an assist on the game winner.

Corey Crawford was strong in this game too. He's been strong the whole roadtrip, really, but a couple of bad bounces and more than a couple of bad periods from the guys in front of him have caused the team to struggle. None of the losses this trip are on him, and if he hadn't made a couple of key saves (most notably on Dustin Byfuglien, the Jets' best player), the Blackhawks would have had bigger than a one goal deficit to overcome.

My Three Stars of the Game

3. Brandon Saad. Saad's been one of the few players that's been stepping up for the Blackhawks during their offensive struggle. Though he was held without even a shot on goal in the game against the Wild, he led the team in shots on goal against Anaheim with seven, and had four in the loss to San Jose. After going without a point in four games, he broke the streak in spectacular fashion with his OT game winner from Kane.

2. Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien has been a game changer for the Jets this whole season, and he was solid again last night. It's only his second game back at forward after spending the bulk of the last month or so on the blue line because of all the injuries Winnipeg had to their top four defencemen, and it looks like he can be the best player on the ice no matter where he's playing.

1. Patrick Kane. Once again, Kane is at the top of everyone's list for best player on the Blackhawks. After going two games without a point, he broke the streak and then assisted on the gamewinner to join Jakub Voracek at the top of the league in points.

Next game: February 8th, vs. Blues

Raanta's Road Struggles Continue in Shutout Loss to San Jose

photo from suntimes.com

We've seen this game three times already this season. The Blackhawks give up an early goal, and spend the next fifty five minutes trying to tie it up, to no avail.

Patricks Lead Blackhawks Past League-Leading Ducks

photo from blachawks.nhl.com

It was a game of milestones last night for Chicago. Duncan Keith scored his 400th NHL point. Patrick Kane took sole possession of second place in the league after a two goal, three point night, and Patrick Sharp matched his career high of four assists, last achieved in November 2013. The Ducks never stood a chance.

Late Goal gives Kings the Edge over Blackhawks

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Three times the Blackhawks had a lead in LA last night, and three times the Kings tied it right back up, before a late goal by Jake Muzzin gave them their first lead of the night, and that's all they needed.

Exciting Shootout Win Carries Blackhawks into All Star Break

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After a one sided win against Arizona, the Blackhawks got into Pittsburgh early yesterday morning to play the Penguins. Last time they had to travel during a back to back, they lost 5-2  to the Oilers. This time, they got an early lead, before giving up a couple of goals, and holding off a motivated Pittsburgh team through a furiously paced overtime period. Crawford shut the door in the shootout to give the Blackhawks back to back wins heading into the weekend break.

Shaw, Kane lead Blackhawks past Struggling Coyotes

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It's been a while since the Blackhawks had such an offensively dominant game. The last occasion would probably be the first meeting with Edmonton, a 7-1 rout that left the Oilers scrambling. This was more of the same, with six different Blackhawks registering at least two points in their first meeting this season against the Coyotes.

Blackhawks Finally Fall To The Stars

photo from chicagotribune.com

Last night's game was frustrating. Another loss where the Blackhawks outshot their opponent massively, but none of the bounces were going their way. Three third period Dallas goals, including the empty netter and a power play tally put Chicago away for good, and gave them their second loss in a row.

Blackhawks Fall Again To The Jets

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The third meeting this season between the Blackhawks and the Jets started off much better than the previous two, but a bad penalty and two goals thirty seconds apart in the third period left the Blackhawks with a 3-1 deficit to climb out of with ten minutes left to play.

Blackhawks Bounce Back Against Wild

photo from chicagonow.com

Last night the Blackhawks went out feeling like they had something to prove. After a disappointing loss to the Oilers on Friday and a lucky win against Minnesota, they wanted to break this mini-slump, and they succeeded.

Tired Blackhawks Drop Forgettable Game To The Oilers

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Last night the Blackhawks looked like what they were: a tired group who had played the night before, and didn't get into the hotel until 2.30am. They didn't really get outplayed by the Oilers. They just looked exhausted.

Another Goalie Win for Chicago

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Last recap, I said that Corey Crawford had to be better. Last night, he made forty two of forty four saves. I don't know if he's magically turned his slump around after one game, but I do think the momentum from this win will carry him forward. If he has another good game on Sunday (Antti Raanta is likely starting the game tonight against Edmonton) then it could do a lot for his mental game.

Bad Start Buries Blackhawks

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It took less than a minute for Colorado to score the game winning goal last night. Twenty four seconds later, they added an insurance goal. Fifty four shots on Semyon Varlamov later, the Blackhawks have nothing to show for it, and that's game, folks.

OT Winner From Sharp Steals Two Points for Blackhawks

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For the second time this season, the Blackhawks have taken a win out from under the noses of the Dallas Stars, overcoming 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 deficits to force overtime, before Patrick Sharp buried the game winner.

Sloppy First Period Shoots Blackhawks in the Foot

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It seems to be happening all too often recently. The Blackhawks are conceding two or more goals early in the first period, and find themselves playing catch up for the rest of the game. It feels like they're struggling to come out of the locker room ready to play, and they have to rely on their second and third periods. In this case, good goaltending from Washington and a late power play goal were the final nails in the coffin for Chicago.