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.


Antti Raanta played a good, solid game, stopping eighteen of nineteen shots. The one goal that the Sharks scored actually bounced in off of Duncan Keith's stick after Raanta had already made three point blank saves during the sequence. This gives him a record of 7-4-0 on the season, and he still has yet to win a game on the road. (He remains unbeaten at home this season). The guy on the other end of the ice was great too, Antti Niemi stopping all thirty one of the Blackhawks shots, including an incredible stick save on a breaking Jonathan Toews, who had time for three or four shots after the initial stop before the play is blown dead.

While Raanta was good, the rest of the team was not so good. It was their third game in four nights against three tough California teams, and they came into San Jose playing a well rested team. They looked tired, they took ill advised penalties, and the passing was probably some of the worst I've seen from this team. They weren't playing terribly (like they did against Edmonton a couple of weeks ago), but they definitely were not playing the kind of hockey that they need to beat San Jose, who are pretty hot at the minute.

The penalty kill looked strong for a first time in a few games, killing off all four minor penalties, and they're back on top of the league in penalty kill percentage, with 87.6%. Their power play was unsuccessful though, going 0 for 2. They're currently sitting at fourteenth in the league.

Johnny Oduya had a particularly weak game, I thought. He failed to clear the puck from their end a half dozen times, resulting in some excellent chances for the Sharks. He seems to be going from bad to worse this season, and pairing him with Michal Rozsival doesn't seem to be helping.

Last night's game was not a disaster. There were a lot of things wrong with it, but it was an understandable loss, if frustrating. They have two days off to rest now, before playing their next game against a significantly less tough opponent.

My Three Stars of the Game

3. Antti Raanta. There was nothing he could have done about the lone goal scored on him. He was forced out of position to make the initial saves, and when the puck bounced into the blue paint, it was knocked in by Keith on a clearing attempt with Raanta sprawled out to the side of the net. He was great the rest of the game, if a little unsure looking on the ice.

2. Joe Thornton. They stripped him of his captaincy during the offseason, but it doesn't seem to be affecting his play. He currently has forty one points on the season, good for third on the team, thanks to his two point nights against first Anaheim, then Chicago.

1. Antti Niemi. The other Antti had an outstanding night, becoming the fourth goaltender this season to shut out the Blackhawks. He made some outstanding saves, including the highlight reel stop on Toews, and several other point blank chances for the Blackhawks.

Next game: February 3rd, vs. Wild