Chicago Blackhawks Today

The Columbus Blue Jackets were able to enforce their will physically on the Chicago Blackhawks until the very last second of the second period Sunday night in Chicago. But, a Patrick Sharp powerplay goal with 0.4 of a second left in the middle frame tied the game at one goal a piece and jump started the Blackhawks to a 3-1 victory.

Cristobal Huet kept the Blackhawks within striking distance with a resoundingly strong performance, holding Blue Jackets star Rick Nash to zero goals on four shots, the biggest stop being a game changing save with the left pad to deny Nash on a breakaway.

The Blue Jackets came out and surprised the Blackhawks, with Freddy Modin scoring on the third Columbus shift. Modin missed the morning skate for the Blue Jackets and it was rumored that he would miss the game with an injury. He did not, and his score was the difference for thirty eight minutes and twenty five seconds.

The Blackhawks were unable to create any offense in the first two periods against the dominant play of the Blue Jackets, who doubled the Blackhawks shots in the first period and held a 24-17 lead in that department after two periods.

The Jacks, who play an old NHL style, rely on the dump-in to get the puck deep in the zone, allowing their defenders to enter the play. The Blackhawks were able to take advantage of Columbus’ lack of neutral zone defense, but were unable to turn any of their many breakouts into much of anything when they met the wall of the Columbus defense and were swarmed by a strong Columbus backcheck. It was not until the final minutes of the second period that the Blackhawks were able to control the puck inside the Columbus zone to set up good offensive chances.

The Blackhawks were given a powerplay opportunity to end the second period when Rick Nash took down Brent Seabrook with a trip. The Blackhawks carried over their newfound offensive prowess and were able to sustain some pressure on the Columbus penalty killing unit for the final minute plus of the period, but to no fruition on the scoreboard. Cam Barker fired a slapshot from the point that Steve Mason, the Columbus goaltender, was able to deflect to the boards behind the net. Patrick Sharp fired a wrist shot back towards Mason, who was out of position, with roughly more than a second left in the period. The lamp lit behind the net, and much to Mason’s surprise it was not the green light, which signals the end of a period, but rather the red light and the sound of the USS Blackhawk’s horn. The puck had bounced off Mason’s leg pads and deflected into the back of the net with .4 seconds remaining in the period, tying the game at 1-1.

The goal was Patrick Sharp’s 17th of the year, which puts him in the top five goal scorers in the league, among the likes of Thomas Vanek of Buffalo, Jeff Carter of Philadelphia, Phil Kessel of Boston and Alex Ovechkin of Washington, who Sharp tied tonight. Not bad for a player drafted in the third round and traded for Matt Ellison, who has scored eight goals this season…for Dinamo Riga of the KHL. Sharp’s play the past two seasons has made his trade to Chicago one of the most lopsided in Blackhawks and recent NHL history.The Blackhawks came out in the third period and were able to match the spunk the Blue Jackets were displaying for the first two frames and were able to break the tie halfway though the period, when Martin Havlat and Duncan Keith had a flawless double give and go that Havlat finished with a one time goal that beat a defenseless and confused Mason.

It took a perfectly executed play and a lucky desperation shot to beat Mason on the evening, as he was unflappable for the entire game, save two moments. Mason, the 20 year old London Knight and Kitchner Rangers alum has taken the starting job away from Pascal LeClaire, who was as solid last season as he has been beatable this campaign. The rookie Mason is in the league’s top three in goals against average and top ten in save percentage. He stopped several point blank goal scoring opportunities for the Blackhawks on Sunday, but was hung with the loss in his third straight start.

Brent Seabrook was able to toss the puck into an empty net from deep inside this own defensive zone in the final seconds of the game, finishing a frantic final ten minutes for the Blackhawks, who were under constant bombardment from a relentless Columbus club who was unable to break through with the tying goal

The victory was the first in regulation against a central division foe for Chicago, who are in second place in the division. It was also the fourth consecutive win overall for the Hawks, who have taken 11 of the last 12 possible points. Columbus was riding a two game winning streak, which was halted with the loss. The Blackhawks now hold a four point cushion on third place Nashville and lead the Jacks by eight points and the cellar dwelling St. Louis Blues by ten. The Blackhawks have the most points of any non division leader in the Western Conference, with 37.

Feathers in the Headdress

Patrick Sharp was everywhere for the Blackhawks Sunday night and his desperation goal was without a doubt the spark plug the Blackhawks needed to get into gear. He also had two hits on the game, and had several breakout opportunities. He earned the yellow feather for third star of the game.

Brent Seabrook was able to match the physical play of the Blue Jackets for the entire game and had an empty net goal to boot, but his linemate Duncan Keith earned the green feather for second star of the night. Keith had two assists on the evening, led the Blackhawks in icetime (what’s new?) and blocked four shots on the evening. He was the role model defender on a Blackhawks team that held the Blue Jackets to a -6 shot differential in the third period. His double give and go with Martin Havlat was picture perfect and earned the orange feather for the game’s best play.

Cristobal Huet was the first star of the game, again, earning the red feather for his 31 save performance. Huet has had Columbus’ number this season, which is good news for the Blackhawks, who will play the Jacks four more times this season. Columbus is a team that peppers the goalie with shots, wearing him down until Rick Nash can show them up. Huet was peppered and tested by Nash four times. Huet won all four times, making spectacular saves in the process. Huet’s play in the game allowed the Blackhawks to get together and win the game, but in the first two periods, it was Huet vs Columbus. The win was Huet’s third straight, giving Joel Quenneville a tough goalie choice, Huet or Khabibulin, for Friday’s game in Calgary.

The Kurtenblog

Say hello to your new number one goaltender Blackhawks fans. Cristobal Huet was just short of flawless in the win and if Khabibulin struggles in his next one or two starts, he might be packing his bags for a separate city instead of the Blackhawks’ next roadtrip.

The fourth line was the only line able to make any progress against the physical Blue Jackets for the first two periods and Colin Fraser had his best game of the season, blocking a shot and tallying a takeaway on the evening. He was also seven for ten on faceoffs, a stat that the Blackhawks as a team won 30-20, quite possibly one of the main differences in the game.

Much was made of the battle between rookies Kris Versteeg and Derick Brassard, who go trade the rookie scoring lead seemingly every night. My vote right now would go to Versteeg, but unless he is able to break out of his recent slump, which I think he will, I will have to change my vote to a Columbus Blue Jacket- Steve Mason. The fact that this kid is not getting any Calder hype is riduclous.

This was one of the best defensive games the Blackhawks have played all season. It was not a shutout, or a dominant performance, but Columbus seemed to be inside the Blackhawks’ defensive zone for the entirety of the first two periods and the final ten of the third, but only had one goal to show for it. Brent Seabrook was fantastic, as was his linemate Duncan Keith, and, I can’t believe I am saying this, Brent Sopel. Sopel had two hits, two blocked shots, and a takeaway on the evening, playing himself out of the doghouse. Matt Walker, who has had some throwbacks to decency in the past few weeks, will hopefully be the odd man out when James Wisniewski rejoins the team. Walker had three giveaways on the night and some boneheaded defensive plays he was lucky enough to clean up himself. He won’t be able to continue to get away with those mistakes, and it will cost the team sooner, rather than later. Wisniewski had a hat trick and four points in Rockford’s win over the Chicago Wolves earlier on Sunday and expects to join the Blackhawks for their next game. The hat trick was the Wiz’s first in his professional career. The Blackhawks will want to ween him in slowly, as the NHL game is faster than the play in “the A,” perhaps Quenneville will scratch a forward and dress seven defensemen for the evening when the Hawks take on the Flames in Calgary on Friday.

And, yet again, this game was another incidence of the Blackhawks getting better as the game went on. At this point, it is becoming baffling. That’s really all one can say about this phenomenon.

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