The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night in St. Paul in a nationally televised battle of the two best teams in the Western Conference. Ray Emery got the nod in net for the Hawks and Niklas Backstrom manned the pipes for the Wild. The game got off to a good start for the visitors who outshot the Wild 11-2 in the scoreless and penalty free first period. Niklas Backstrom was sharp early to keep the Hawks off the board.
Things got going in the second period early when Dan Carcillo and Brad Staubitz dropped the mittens in what could be the start of the new Minnesota/Chicago rivalry with both teams in the same Conference when the NHL realigns next season. The two combatants went right to center ice and exchanged knuckle sandwiches. Staubitz appeared to get the best of Carcillo in that battle but nothing beats a good ole hockey scrap.
The Hawks got the first power play of the game when Mikko Koivu went off for tripping at 7:06 of the second. Patrick Sharp had a golden opportunity with Backstrom down but couldn’t elevate the puck. The Hawks would then get a two man advantage when Matt Cullen went off for unsportsmanlike conduct at 8:20. Cullen on a shorthanded break thought he was hooked but it was just a good play by Duncan Keith. Matt Cullen stated his displeasure from the bench to the referee and was shown the box. The Hawks called timeout and looked for the lead with 46 seconds of two man advantage time. The Hawks failed to convert on the two man advantage, but after the first penalty expired, Marian Hossa gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead on the power play at 9:19. Big Hoss drove hard to the net and slammed home a puck that Patrick Sharp had thrown off Jonathan Toews. Just 89 seconds later, it was Michael Frolik giving the Hawks a 2-0 lead as he put home a Marcus Kruger pass into a wide open net as the Hawks were coming in numbers. But the Wild would battle back. Kyle Brodziak cut the lead to 2-1 at 13:10 when he was left wide open in front of the Hawks net and beat Ray Emery. The Hawks bench was furious after the goal as the linesman had his hand up for icing and then dropped it late. Just two and half minutes later it was Matt Cullen avenging his unsportsmanlike penalty and tying the game at 2-2 at 15:41 of the second. Minnesota caught the Hawks in a change and Cullen and Hawk killer Cal Clutterbuck made Chicago pay with Cullen finishing. Steve Montador would get a late penalty for high sticking which Chicago would kill. Shots were 10-10 in the action packed second period.
Jonathan Toews would give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead early in the third period in a great individual effort Toews stepped out of the corner, side stepped a hit, and beat Backstrom with a wicked wrister at 6:54 of the period. Dan Carcillo would go off for elbowing at 8:01 but the Hawks penalty killers who have been good in recent games were up to the task again to keep Chicago in the lead 3-2. But at 14:56 the Wild would strike with Mikko Koivu scoring from the slot on a delayed penalty to tie the game 3-3. The Wild outshot the Hawks 16-7 in the third period.
In overtime, it was back and forth with both teams exchanging chances. The Hawks outshot the Wild 3-2 in the scoreless 5 minutes of action. In the shootout it was Ray Emery stopping Matt Cullen and Danny Heatley. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both scored for Chicago for the shootout victory. Patrick Kane made about 100 moves on his attempt and completely undressed Nik Backstrom in a highlight reel, Sports Center moment, goal of the year type fashion to seal the victory for the Hawks. See the goal with the link below:
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=35&id=142355
The Blackhawks improved to 19-8-4 overall and 10-6-1 on the road two move within 2 points of the Wild for the best record in the National Hockey League. Chicago is now 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Chicago returns home to play Anaheim on Friday night at United Center. It will be the third of four meetings against the Ducks this season for the Hawks. The Hawks have won the first two games against Anaheim who has won just 2 games on the road this season.
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