The Habs of Montréal invaded United Center on Wednesday night in a battle of Original Six franchises. Injured Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari were in the house for the game if anyone cares. The game marked the only meeting between the Canadiens and Blackhawks this season. Corey Crawford was back in goal for the first time in two weeks for the Hawks after Ray Emery played the last 7 games going 5-1-1. For the Habs, Peter Budaj got the nod in goal. Scratches for the Blackhawks were Marcus Kruger who was injured by a dirty elbow on Tuesday night, Sami Lepisto, and John Scott. Pittsburgh’s Deryk Engelland has a Thursday hearing with the NHL regarding the elbow on Kruger. Dan Carcillo was put on injured reserve today with a head injury. Rockford call up Brandon Pirri was in the lineup for the Hawks. Pirri is Rockford’s leading scorer on the year and he is in the top ten in American Hockey League scoring.
The Hawks came out with a lot of energy and had some good chances early in a fast moving first period of play. Recent Rockford call up Jeremy Morin had the best early chance for the Hawks. Corey Crawford made a good save early on Michael Cammalleri from point blank range in his first action in two weeks. Duncan Keith ripped one off the post just before the Cammalleri chance and the game remained scoreless. Montréal got a late power play when Viktor Stalberg went off for hooking at 16:56. The Hawks penalty killers were up to the task and the game remained 0-0 after one period of play. Shots were an even 7 apiece in the first.
Chicago got an early power play when the Canadiens shot the puck into the crowd for delay of game. The Hawks couldn’t get much going and the Habs killed the penalty. The Hawks got a penalty shortly after when Michael Frolik ran into Budaj and was whistled for goaltender interference at 4:42. The Canadiens cashed in on the power play with Andrei Kostitsyn tipped a shot off the post and in for a 1-0 Habs lead. Viktor Stalberg drew a penalty when Michael Blunden hooked him coming through the neutral zone at 8:15. The Hawks couldn’t establish any puck possession zone time and the Canadiens killed the penalty. The Hawks finally got some good puck movement in the offensive zone and Andrew Brunette made the Habs pay throwing a backhand off a Canadiens defenseman to tie the game at 1-1. The goal was credited to Jonathan Toews who was in the area at the time. Just 21 seconds later, Patrick Sharp and Brandon Pirri on a 2 on 1 and Patrick Sharp ripped one by Budaj for a 2-1 Hawks lead. Corey Crawford made a spectacular save with just over 6 minutes to go in the second to keep the Hawks in the lead. The Canadiens got a late power play when Patrick Kane went off for high sticking at 18:39 of the second. The Hawks killed off the remaining time in period number two. Shots were 12-11 Chicago in the second period.
Montréal had 39 seconds of power play time remaining to start the third period. The Hawks killed the remaining power play time and continued to lead 2-1. Marian Hossa had a great chance from the slot early but it deflected up and over the net and out of play. Crawford made a huge save on Erik Cole on a partial breakaway to keep the Hawks ahead a little over 4 minutes into the third. At 10:29 of the third it was Viktor Stalberg putting a rocket by Budaj off a sweet feed from Bryan Bickell for a 3-1 Hawks lead. 3 minutes later Toews and Kane off a steal had a 2 on 1 break but Toews couldn’t quite get a shot off and it remained 3-1 Hawks. The Habs pulled Budaj with 90 seconds to play. Jonathan Toews dented the empty net to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead. Bryan Bickell got a late goal with 11.8 seconds to play on a 2 on 1 break with Viktor Stalberg on a play the Canadiens quit on. The Hawks outshot the Habs 9-3 in the third period.
The Hawks improved to a National Hockey League leading 22-9-4 record after a solid 60 minute effort. Chicago is now a superb 12-2-3 on home ice. The Hawks will have the next 4 days off for the Christmas holiday and will host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at United Center. Corey Crawford had a solid return to the net allowing just 1 goal on 20 shots to earn the win against his hometown team.
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