Hawks Fall in the Shootout to the Champs 3-2

With Marian Hossa out of the line up with an upper body injury Viktor Stalberg returned to the lineup for Chicago for his first appearance of the regular season.  The Hawks and Bruins played a chess match early on as the two NHL heavy weights tried to feel each other out early.  The Hawks killed a power power play when Stalberg went off for tripping at 9:17 of the first period.  The kill seemed to spark the home team who had the better of the chances the second half of the period.  Bryan Bickell cashed in on a breakaway for the only goal of the period to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead over the defending Stanley Cup Champions after one period of play.  Corey Crawford returning after taking the game off against Winnipeg and was sharp stopping 13-13 shots in the period. 

The Hawks continued their sluggish early season start on the power play by giving up a shorthanded goal to Chris Kelly on a 2-1 break.  Patrick Kane capped off a 2 minute plus shift with some hard work and his second goal of the year to put the Hawks back on top 2-1 early in the second period.  The Hawks had the better of the play for the rest of the period killing a Bruins power play and just missing on a shorthanded chance of the their own as Patrick Sharp couldn’t connect with Jonathan Toews on a 2-1 shorthanded break.  Corey Crawford was sharp in the second period controlling rebounds and not providing second chance opportunities.  The Hawks are starting to look a lot like the 2009-10 edition early on.

The third period was tight and chippy with the Hawks failing to cash in on a power play after Michael Frolik was boarded by Patrice Bergeron.  Nathan Horton tied it for Boston at 7:56 of the third period.  The Hawks fell asleep in the third and the majority of the period was played in the Bruins offensive zone.  Boston outshot Chicago 10-7 in the third period.  The Hawks got a late power play chance with 3:35 remaining but that was nullified when Sharp went off for holding at 17:33.  The Hawks were able to kill off the ensuing power play time despite Boston hitting the post to force overtime. 

In overtime both teams had a few chances but Corey Crawford made the save of the game stopping Rich Peverley on a breakaway to keep the Hawks in the game.  Tim Thomas made a good save on a Seabrook shot in the last minute of overtime to send the game to a shootout. 

In the shootout Thomas stopped Jonathan Toews when he failed to elevate the puck as it rolled at the last second.  Tyler Seguin tallied for the Bruins as he went five hole on Crawford.  Patrick Kane was denied by Thomas who closed the five hole to make the stop.  Patrice Bergeron mishandled on an attempt to keep the Hawks alive.  Patrick Sharp was denied and the Hawks fell to the Bruins 3-2.

The Hawks fall to 2-0-1 at home and 2-1-1 on the season.  Chicago travels to Phoenix for a date with the Coyotes on Tuesday night.  In the game give the edge to the Hawks for two periods but Boston looked very alive in the third period and caught the Hawks napping.  Coach Q will need to remind Chicago that games are 60 minutes for a reason.