Thursday 24 November 2016

NHL - Hawks - Western Canada Round Up - November 18-21, 2016

Hawks @ Calgary Flames 3-2 - Friday, November 18, 2016

Marian Hossa scored the game-winner, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Ryan Hartman and Brent Seabrook also scored for the Blackhawks (12-4-2), who have split the first two of their seven-game "Circus Trip" and are 10-1-2 since Oct. 22. Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan scored, and Chad Johnson made 21 saves for the Flames (7-11-1), who lost for the first time in three games. Johnson got a piece of Artemi Panarin's initial shot with his glove, but the rebound sailed into the air behind him, and Hossa directed it over the goal line for his Blackhawks-leading 10th goal to put Chicago up 3-2 with 2:23 left in the third period. Hartman scored on a partial breakaway to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead at 7:42 of the first period. Artem Anisimov got the assist to earn his first point in four games since his 11-game point streak ended Nov. 6. Bennett and Monahan each ended a nine-game goal drought when they scored on consecutive shots in the second period. Bennett pushed a loose puck in the crease over the goal line to tie the game 1-1 at 3:33, and Monahan's centering pass through the crease deflected off the skate of Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling and into the net to put the Flames up 2-1 at 7:03.
Bennett has been playing with Monahan and Troy Brouwer since Johnny Gaudreau fractured his finger against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

* Seabrook stopped a pass from Duncan Keith before sending a slap shot by Johnson's glove, off the post and in from the top of the right faceoff circle to tie it. "He really steps into it," Crawford said. "That one was another hard one there. Key point of the game too, I think. We needed a big goal at that point. He got it for us."
* Johnson stopped Panarin's initial shot, and Mark Giordano swiped away Jonathan Toews' rebound attempt before it crossed the goal line 54 seconds into the third to keep the game tied 2-2. Video review was inconclusive in determining if the puck crossed the goal line.
* The Blackhawks went 3-1-2 during their "Circus Trip" last season and are 29-12-4 since coach Joel Quenneville was hired in 2008. They opened the trip Tuesday with a 4-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. … Chicago has earned at least a point in 19 of its past 20 games against Canadian teams (17-1-2). … Calgary is 5-8-1 against the Western Conference this season and 3-4-0 against Central Division opponents.
"It was another big goal by him. Very timely as well. He's scored some goals from right around that net here to get us a point or two, and tonight's a good illustration of how important he's been for us." Joel Quenneville

"I think now the new guys and the younger guys are more understanding what the coaching staff wants from the system. Now everyone is syncing to the same page, everybody understands the system better, and right now I think we're playing better."
"Great, hard shot by [Panarin]. I saw there was a rebound coming. I don't think the goalie knew exactly where the puck was, and the defender tried to put his stick out. I tried to hook on his stick so he didn't touch the puck, and the puck just bounced close to the goal line and I just tried to put it underneath me in the net. It worked." Hossa said.


Hawks @ Vancouver Canucks 4-3 OT - Saturday, November 19, 2016


Two rookie forwards helped the Chicago Blackhawks rally from three goals down in the third period, and veteran Marian Hossa finished it off in overtime. Hossa scored on a rush 4:04 into overtime to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 at Rogers Arena, but was more impressed with the rookies who led the comeback.
After Artemi Panarin scored 2:53 into the third period, Vinnie Hinostroza scored his first NHL goal 1:13 later and set up fellow rookie Ryan Hartman for the tying goal with 4:14 left in the period. Hinostroza also had an assist on Hossa's game-winner. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews appeared to win the game 31 seconds into the overtime, but the goal was called back after review because the Blackhawks were offside entering the zone. Hossa, who hit a post in the third period, finally won it after a wild overtime with breakaway saves at each end, using Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler as a screen and beating goalie Jacob Markstrom low on the blocker side. It was Hossa's 10th goal in the past 12 games and the 81st game-winning goal of his career. Bo Horvat scored on a shorthanded breakaway with 2:57 left in the second period and Brandon Sutter scored on a 2-on-1 rush 1:24 later to give the Canucks a 3-0 lead. But despite playing on consecutive nights after defeating the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Friday, the Blackhawks outshot Vancouver 17-3 while rallying to tie the game in the third period. Loui Eriksson scored and Markstrom made 28 saves for the Canucks (7-10-2), who failed in their bid to win consecutive games for the first time since a four-game streak to start the season. Scott Darling made 24 saves, including five in overtime, in his second start in the past four weeks for the Blackhawks (13-4-2), who are 10-1-1 in their past 12 games.


* Hinostroza, who said he missed the game in Calgary because of a concussion, toe-dragged around Edler and into the slot for a quick shot, then converted his own rebound.
"It takes a bit to get confident as a younger guy," Hinostroza said. "There are so many great players in here that you don't know when you should chip in or what you should say in the locker room. Every day, you get more comfortable on and off the ice."


"Hossa continues to do what he's been doing for us all year, scoring huge goals. It's a tremendous comeback."
"The thrills and excitement of that overtime, I don't know how many A-plus chances there were both ways. It was pretty amazing." Joel Quenneville said.


"That was a great goal by our young guys. This group will find a way to win a losing game. There is so much leadership in this room, never give up. That was a great example." Hossa said of Hartman's tying goal, which came after a drop pass from Hinostroza off the rush.


"Hossa is winning puck battles, he's out skating guys, he's out competing guys. As young guys, it's really cool to watch and definitely something to learn from." Hartman said.

Hawks @ Edmonton Oilers 0-5 - Monday, November 21, 2016


Cam Talbot made 31 saves for his third shutout of the season and Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist for the Edmonton Oilers in a 5-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Rogers Place. Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera and Anton Slepyshev scored for the Oilers (11-8-1) in their second straight win after ending a five-game losing streak at the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Connor McDavid had two assists to take over the NHL scoring lead with eight goals and 24 points in 20 games. Corey Crawford made 22 saves for the Blackhawks (13-5-2) in the fourth game of a season-long seven-game road trip. It's the second time in four games the Blackhawks have been shut out; they started the road trip with a 4-0 loss at the Winnipeg Jets last Tuesday. Klefbom scored 2:39 into the first period to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead, taking a pass off the boards from McDavid and beating Crawford with a slap shot from the left circle. Klefbom has scored in three consecutive games. He appeared to score again on the power play at 19:26 to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead, when he picked the corner on Crawford on a shot from the point. The goal was originally given to Klefbom but later awarded to Draisaitl, who tipped it on the way past Crawford. Sekera gave Edmonton a 3-0 lead with 7.6 seconds left in the second period just as a tripping penalty to Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger expired. Sekera beat Crawford with a shot from the point through a screen in front set up by Oilers forward Patrick Maroon. Slepyshev scored at 7:17 of the third period to give the Oilers a 4-0 lead, shooting the puck past Crawford off a rush down the right side. Draisaitl scored a power-play goal at 18:35 to make it 5-0.

* McDavid went on a rush down the right side and took the puck around the Blackhawks net before banking a pass off the boards to Klefbom, who shot it past Crawford to give the Oilers an early lead.
* Klefbom took a pass from McDavid at the point on the power play and his shot was tipped by Draisaitl in front past Crawford.
* Talbot has two career shutouts against Chicago. … The Oilers are 9-3-1 with defenseman Kris Russell in the lineup.
"Our first periods have been a concern most of the year but I think here tonight, it was one of those first periods where if we get a power-play goal, we're still in the hockey game. We seem to be getting better as the games go on, but tonight that wasn't the case." Joel Quenneville
 
"When you look at it, you're down 4-0 in Winnipeg, you're down 3-0 in Vancouver and 5-0 here. We came back in Vancouver, but it's not the recipe for success, especially on the road. I think for us, we want to make sure we try and get the lead and play with the lead." Patrick Kane
 
"That wasn't our team, it was a tough loss and we just have to forget about it and worry about the next game. I don't take anything away from this one. We created a few good chances, but it was one of those games were nothing was going right. Everything they touched was going in and it just felt like one of those games." Crawford said.


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