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Hawks speed past Sharks in 4-2
win
SJ outplayed at home, lose in
regulation
1/31/09 - By Mike Lee
A
determined Chicago Blackhawks team had lots to prove on Saturday night. After
getting thumped by the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, the Blackhawks
handed the Sharks their second regulation loss on HP Pavilion ice this season.
Chicago outplayed the Sharks in every facet of the game, taking a 4-2 win after
opening up on San Jose in the 2nd period.
The win was the first for
the Blackhawsk over San Jose since October of 2005, and the first win at HP
Pavilion in 6 years.
"They were faster then we were," said Sharks head
coach Todd McLellan. "I thought we were second to a lot of pucks. We spent any
type of energy that we had in our end defending, so when we were on offense we
were tired and looking for a change."
Jonathan Toews continued his hot
hand against the Sharks by scoring a pair of goals in the win. Toews wasted
little time getting on the board, converting just 48 seconds into the game.
Toews raced in on net and chipped a shot past Evgeni Nabokov, who lost for only
the 6th time in regulation this season.
The goal also put an end to
Nabokov's franchise record scoreless streak, which now stands at 170 minutes,
58 seconds.
Things turned whacky midway through the period, when Kris
Versteeg cracked Jonathan Cheechoo across the face with a high stick. Referees
Don Koharski and Chris Lee missed the infraction, so play continued. David
Bolland scored on the sequence, but the Sharks protested to both officials.
Linesmen are allowed to call high sticking infractions when consulted, so a
consultation with linesmen Ryan Galloway and Don Henderson confirmed the
penalty. Cheechoo was also brought out of the dressing room to show off his
bloody mug.
Versteeg was sent off with the double minor, and the
Bolland goal was taken off the board. The sharks would know the game up on the
ensuing power play, when Christian Ehrhoff scored his third goal in as many
games.
Ehrhoff's goal came before the first of Versteeg's penalties
expired, so the Sharks had another 2 minutes to try and turn the tide on the
game, but the power play came up blank.
That was a turning point for
the Blackhawks, who stepped up the tempo to end the period, then really turned
up the heat after the first intermission.
A Duncan Keith slashing
penalty put the Sharks on the power play at 6:58 of the 2nd period, but a
series of miscues would result in another Chicago lead. Ehrhoff tried putting a
puck on net from the left point, but he whiffed on the shot, coughing it up to
Bolland at the blueline. Ehrhoff had to chase Bolland down, but his attempt to
swat the puck away upended the Blackhawks forward.
Bolland was able to
get a shot on net while sliding on his backside, but Nabokov gave up a big
rebound. Versteeg beat Joe Pavelski down the ice and easily deposited the
rebound in to the net for the short handed goal.
Nabokov would take a tripping penalty later in the
period, upending Patrick Kane in front of the net. Chicago would cash in a
minute later when Toews roofed a shot over Nabokov's left should from a tight
angle down low.
Ehrhoff would help the Blackhawks extend their lead to
4-1 with an interference penalty that put Chicago back on the power play midway
through the 3rd period. Keith would pump a shot past Nabokov from the left dot
for another power play goal.
Milan Michalek answered 10 seconds after
the Keith goal by taking a feed from Pavelski while splitting two Blackhawk
defenseman in the slot. Michalek raced in on net and put a backhand shot past
Khabibulin for his 14th goal of the season.
Dustin Byfuglien took a
tripping penalty with 1:42 remaining in regulation and Sharks head coach Todd
McLellan immediately pulled Nabokov for the extra attacker. San Jose came no
closer than a Cheechoo shot that Khabibulin denied with a block that trickled
through the crease, only to be swept away by Keith.
"It was a huge
game and I like the way we played tonight," said Blackhawks head coach Joel
Quenneville. "We had a lot of enthusiasm and we had a lot of puck support and
we won a lot of puck battles. We did some good things and this is not an easy
place to come play"
Game Notes:
Dan Boyle missed his
3rd consecutive game, continuing to nurse what has been rumored to be a wrist
injury.
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What did you
think of this game? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CHI |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| SJ |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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| 1st period -
1, CHI, Toews 15 (Ladd, Campbell), 0:48. 2, SJ, Ehrhoff 5 (Clowe, Pavelski),
12:06, (pp). |
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| 2nd period - 3, CHI,
Versteeg 14 (Bolland), 7:56, (sh). 4, CHI, Towes 16 (Kane, Barker), 16:15,
(pp). |
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| 3rd period - 5, CHI,
Keith 6 (Seabrook, Versteeg), 14:34, (pp). 6, SJ, Michalek 14 (Pavelski,
Blake), 14:44. |
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| 1st period - Versteeg,
CHI (high sticking - double minor), 10:59; Clowe, SJ (roughing), 17:42. |
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| 2nd period - Keith, CHI
(slashing), 6:58; Nabokov, SJ (tripping), 15:06. |
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| 3rd period - Barker, CHI
(hooking), 5:15; Ehrhoff, SJ (interference), 13:08; Byfuglien, CHI (tripping),
18:18. |
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Shots |
Saves |
| CHI - Khabibulin |
34 |
32 |
| SJ - Nabokov |
29 |
25 |
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1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| CHI |
9 |
9 |
11 |
29 |
| SJ |
12 |
9 |
13 |
34 |
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| Referees: Koharski,
Lee. Linesmen: Galloway, Henderson. |
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