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| photo from huffingtonpost.com |
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
