NHL - Hawks - Round Up - January 05-08, 2017

Buffalo Sabres @ Hawks 3-4 OT - Thursday, January 05, 2017
Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to their 10th straight win against the Buffalo Sabres at United Center. Anisimov tied the game late in the third period with his second goal of the night, and Kane scored 56 seconds into overtime to give Chicago a 4-3 victory. Ryan Hartman also scored, and Corey Crawford made 17 saves for the Blackhawks (24-12-5), who had lost two games in a row and were 1-4-1 in their previous six. Kane, who grew up in Buffalo, had two assists to give him 13 points in 12 games against the Sabres in his career. The Sabres (14-15-9) haven't won in Chicago since Jan. 10, 2007. Their seven straight road losses to the Blackhawks are the most in their history against one opponent. The overtime loss gave Buffalo its second point against Chicago in 10 games (0-8-2). Eichel gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead at 1:10 of the third period when he scored on a power play he created by drawing a hooking penalty against Brent Seabrook on a breakaway at 19:52 of the second. Anisimov, whose 18 goals lead the Blackhawks, tied it 3-3 with 2:04 left. Marcus Foligno and Kyle Okposo also scored for the Sabres, who got 39 saves from Anders Nilsson. Center Ryan O'Reilly had two assists in his first game since he had an appendectomy on Dec. 25. The Blackhawks dominated the first period, outshooting the Sabres 20-6, but each team scored a goal. Foligno put Buffalo up 1-0 at 7:21 on its second shot of the game, and Hartman tied it 1-1 at 16:20 with a great individual effort. The score remained tied until late in the second period, when the teams traded goals 18 seconds apart. Okposo made it 2-1 on a power play with 1:50 left, scoring his 12th goal, but Anisimov tied it 2-2 on the next shift with 1:32 remaining. The Blackhawks outshot the Sabres 43-20, including 3-0 in overtime.

* Kane decided to extend his shift in overtime before ending the game with his 12th goal and 40th point. "As I was backchecking there, some of the boys were telling me [Quenneville] was yelling at me to change, so I don't know if I kind of blew him off or what. But I figured we kind of had a chance there and decided to take it."

* Kane nearly tied the game with 5:56 left in the third period with a backhand to the short side of the net, but Nilsson slid over in time to stop it.  

* Eichel didn't get an assist, but his effort in the first period led to Foligno's goal at 7:21. Eichel's forecheck pressure created a turnover, and he also skated to the net to screen Crawford.

* Hartman did all the work on his goal late in the first period. He took the puck from Okposo, made a strong move to the inside against defenseman Taylor Fedun, and shot over Nilsson's glove while falling down.

* Keith's assist was the 400th of his NHL career. … Sabres forward William Carrier was sick and didn't play. … Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell was a healthy scratch for the second time in four games. … Blackhawks rookie forward Spencer Abbott played his second NHL game, first since Oct. 5, 2013, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. … Chicago forward Marian Hossa returned after missing five games with an upper-body injury.

"That was my childhood, right? Growing up going to Sabres games, sometimes you sit back and think it's surreal that you're actually playing against them. But it's always fun to play them, and I think we've had a pretty good record against them here at home. It was good to win here." said Kane, who scored off the rebound of a shot by Jonathan Toews.

"I liked the way we played tonight. We didn't give up many chances, but we seemed to be behind all game. But it was a very timely goal by [Anisimov] again, and great play (by Kane) to finish it off." Joel Quenneville said.

"I don't want to say I fell on my own, but I might've. There was a stick around the area." Ryan Hartman on falling to the ice while scoring in the first period

Carolina Hurricanes @ Hawks 1-2 - Friday, January 06, 2017
Scott Darling made 39 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 at United Center to sweep back-to-back home games. Jonathan Toews scored in the first period and Artemi Panarin scored in the second for the Blackhawks (25-12-5), who are 15-4-4 at home, including a 4-3 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres. Chicago was outshot 40-24 against Carolina. Darling made a season-high in saves: 19 in the first period, 11 in the second and nine in the third. Victor Rask scored, and Cam Ward made 22 saves in his 15th straight start for the Hurricanes (17-15-7). Carolina had a 19-9 shot advantage in the first period but Chicago took a 1-0 lead when Toews scored at 12:13 to cap a tic-tac-toe play with Marian Hossa and Vinnie Hinostroza. Darling made seven saves during a 2:13 span of the period that included the Blackhawks' second successful penalty kill. Carolina increased its advantage in shots to 31-16 in the second, but Chicago increased its lead to 2-0 on Panarin's power-play goal at 13:29. Rask made it 2-1 off a rebound of Rattie's shot with five seconds left, after Darling stopped Rattie on the breakaway with 1:45 left.

* Panarin's goal was a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle.
"Got a great pass from [Patrick Kane]," Panarin said. "I was looking for [Artem Anisimov], but at the last moment I changed my mind and decided to shoot."

* Kane got a breakaway early in the second period but Ward stopped a forehand-backhand move at 1:11 to keep it 1-0.

* Prior to Panarin's goal, defenseman Duncan Keith reached to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Kane got it and passed to Panarin.

* Darling preserved a 1-0 lead at 3:10 of the second period by making a stop against Jordan Staal on a shorthanded 2-on-1.
"They told us before the game their [penalty kill] is top of the League in shorthanded goals, so they're not just going to dump it in," Darling said. "They're going to try and make plays, so we were ready for it."
* Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell returned to the lineup after being scratched against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. … Former Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell (illness) did not make the trip with the Hurricanes. … Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm (upper body) missed his fourth straight game. … Kane played his 700th NHL game; his assist gave him 704 points. … Toews tied Bill Mosienko for ninth in Blackhawks history with 258 goals.

"I don't think with our skill we should ever become used to that. I guess it's gotten to the point where if you're outshot numerous times, we still feel comfortable and confident we can win games with our goaltending and our defensive play, and not really giving up too much quality around our net." said Toews, who scored his third goal in the past seven games.

"Our goaltending has put us in a great spot this year. [Darling] was great again. That could be the difference to where our record is and where it could be by playing so much in our own end." Joel Quenneville said.

"I went to poke check because I didn't think he was going to be able to settle it, but he made a great play. Fortunately it hit me right in the forehead." Scott Darling on his second-period save on a breakaway by Ty Rattie

Nashville Predators @ Hawks 2-5 - Sunday, January 08, 2017
Ryan Hartman scored a natural hat trick in the third period, including the final two into an empty net, to help the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators at United Center. Hartman's first goal broke a 2-2 tie with 8:11 left. The next two were scored with Predators goalie Pekka Rinne on the bench for an extra attacker. Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson scored goals for Chicago (26-12-5), which has won three in a row. Patrick Kane had his 10^th multi-point game of the season with three assists. Corey Crawford made 25 saves for his 15th win. Austin Watson made it 2-2 at 2:01 of the third for the Predators (17-16-7), but Hartman put Chicago back in front with his first goal. It withstood a video review that determined the puck hit his left hand and crossed the goal line before the net was dislodged. Mattias Ekholm scored and Mike Fisher had two assists for Nashville, which got 26 saves from Rinne.

Chicago led 2-1 on goals by Panarin and Hjalmarsson after a first period that had 13 combined shots. Panarin made it 1-0 at 7:45 on a one-timer from the left wing, and Hjalmarsson put the Blackhawks up 2-1 at 14:04 with a shot from the blue line for his NHL career-high fifth goal of the season. Ekholm tied it 1-1 at 8:30 for Nashville, 45 seconds after Panarin's goal. After going 1-4-1, the Blackhawks have defeated the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Predators to begin a four-game homestand.

* Hartman's goal came seconds after Panik made a high-skill play in front of the net by shooting the first of two attempts between his legs. His second attempt sent the puck in the air, where it hit Hartman for the goal. "[Panik] made a good play at the net, and I don't really know how it came to me, but I was trying to get to the net and I just felt it go off my hip," Hartman said. "So, a lucky one."

* Panarin had a chance to give the Blackhawks a two-goal lead late in the second period, but Rinne kept the score 2-1 with a sprawling left pad save with 1:56 left.

* Artem Anisimov finished provided a great screen of Rinne on Hjalmarsson's goal in the first period. He finished with a plus-2 rating in 17:49 of ice time.

* Panarin's goal in the first came off Kane's feed and was scored with a one-timer from outside the left faceoff circle. "That's one of the better shots you'll see, ever," Kane said. "His backside might've been touching the boards. What an amazing shot."

* Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville coached his 1,500^th NHL regular-season game. … The Predators played without three injured forwards: James Neal (upper body), Viktor Arvidsson (upper body) and Colin Wilson (lower body). … Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban (upper body) missed his 11^th straight game. … The Blackhawks are second in the NHL with 16 home victories.

"[Kane] came up to me and said, 'You got two tonight?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'All right. I'm going to get it to you.' He did."
"It's not really how you draw it up, but they count. I don't think anyone is going to remember that in a couple days." said Hartman said of his final two goals, which he scored at 18:46 and 19:28.
"It was a skating race with [their] guy and the puck was going straight to the net, so my first thought was, 'I can't take this from him.'" Blackhawks forward Richard Panik on not touching a puck shot by Ryan Hartman