The blackhawks powerplay woes continue, failing to convert three separate 5 on 3s during the game, including two in the first period, against the 28th ranked pk no less, but still managed to score 4 even strength goals on their way to their 20th win of the season.
Anti Niemi registered his 3rd shutout in just his 7th start of the season, stopping 18 shots, though he faced several good scoring chances, especially early in the game, from Martin St.Louis and Steve Stamkos.
About 5 minutes into the first, Hossa had a glorious chance to open the scoring when he & Kane worked a nice give & go down the right side with Hossa penetrating the zone, then dropping a pass back for the oncoming Kane. Hossa then moved to the slot, and Kane found him wide open by sliding a nice backhand pass between two defenders. Hossa, with time & space, moved to his left as he patiently waited for Nittymaki to go down, leaving Hossa with an open net, however his shot along the ice was stopped by Tampa's Zenon Konopka getting his stick down on the goal line just in time.
On Kane's next shift, he did open the scoring on "Patrick Kane Bobblehead" night, taking a pass from Duncan Keith at center after Keith had intercepted a breakout pass. Kane moved in from the right wing and blistered a wrist shot off the far post & in, beating Nittymaki stick side for his first goal in 10 games, though he had 6 assists over that stretch.
The lightning had a chance to tie seconds after the ensuing faceoff when St. Louis was sent in alone. Apparently wishing to imitate Hossa's earlier move on Nittymaki, St.Louis waited for Niemi to make the first move, but Niemi stood his ground & stopped a fairly weak shot attempt.
A few minutes later, on a subsequent hawk powerplay, Kane was injured & left the game. With Ohlund already off for hooking, Matt Smaby followed Kane into the corner & with his stick took Kane's right skate out from underneath him, causing him to fall awkwardly to the ice. Kane was unable to brace himself, with his shoulder hitting the ice hard, along with his helmeted head. He stayed down on the ice, grasping his forehead, which sustained a cut above his left eye, when his visor apparently hit the ice. Kane left the game & did not return, though Quenneville suggested after the game it wasn't too bad beyond the few stitches he took.
The hawks failed to capitalize on the subsequent 5on3 or 5on4 pp and could not score despite having over 4 straight minutes of powerplay time, including 1:53 minutes where they had a two man advantage. What is particularly disconcerting is the lack of urgency & imagination shown on the powerplay - shots from the point on a 5 on 3 seemed wasted, especially when they failed to get thru and when the opportunity to isolate at least one open man down low for an optimal scoring chance would seem readily achievable to the talented group the hawks can put on the ice. Even more puzzling is how they can create good chances at even strength, but appear to fail to create chances of similar quality with the man advantage. The only explanation is that they aren't bearing down enough & don't have the same urgency with the man advantage as they do at even strength, which is not a good attribute for a team with as high aspirations as the hawks have.
Hawk's Brouwer had a good point blank chance to open the second, but was stoned by Nittymaki. The hawks then got into some penalty trouble of their own, taking three consecutive minors early in the 2nd, including 18 seconds where they were down two men, however, thanks to Niemi, they were able to keep Tampa off the score sheet. Between Tampa powerplays, Niemi made a couple of sparkling point blank saves on James Wright, about 5 minutes into the period. Niemi also was fortunate as Stamkos rung one off the right post that could have tied it and changed the complexion of the game.
Halfway through the 2nd, Hossa chased down a loose puck that was dumped into Tampa's right corner with former hawk Matt Walker & 2nd overall pick Victor Hedman back to defend for the lightning. A communication breakdown between the two defenders however, allowed Hossa to get to the puck in the corner uncontested, and neither dman covered the front of the net either, where Eager was headed. Eager took Hossa's centering backhand pass & fired it past a sprawling Nittymaki on his stick side, to make it 2-0. Hedman, who appeared to be taking Hossa as he skated into the Tampa zone, hesitated & backed off for a split second, and that moment of indecision caused Walker to vacate the front of the net, in an apparent attempt to switch coverages with Hedman, however, they both ended up between Hossa & Eager, not covering either hawk.
Later, it appeared that Smaby and Eager got into a bit of shouting match, and shortly afterwards, Konopka challenged Eager to a fight - Eager was able to land a couple of rights, one of which seemed to stagger Konopka, who recovered his footing while Eager lost his, and Konopka ended up on top of the hawk forward, tho no further damage was done. Each got assessed majors for their trouble.
In the last minute, the chippiness continued, as Smaby, who had taken Kane's skates out from underneath him in the first, nailed Jonathan Toews in the slot in front of Nittymaki after the hawk captain had fired a shot on goal. While the hit was high, it appeared to be a clean though perhaps late shoulder that sent the hawk captain flying. Toews, off balance, fell heavily & awkwardly to the ice head first, with his helmet also flying off. As Toews got up, he went after Ohlund, who happened to be the closest Tampa player, with Toews perhaps thinking it was Ohlund (& not Smaby) who had nailed him, and they both got roughing minors for their shoving match. (Later in the 3rd period, Toews lined up Smaby in the Tampa corner, putting a solid hit on him, presumably sending a message that he wasn't backing down or going away.)
On the ensuring 4on4, Patrick Sharp's cross-ice pass attempt to Hossa on the left side of the Tampa zone deflected off a defender's stick high into the air. Hossa appeared to glove the puck away from the other Tampa dman and to his left, down toward the ice, and proceeded to bat it out of mid-air with his stick and in behind a surprised Nittymaki to make it 3-0. A pretty nifty display of hand-eye coordination on the part of Hossa, though it also appeared that he actually caught the puck with his glove and then moved it away from the Tampa defender before dropping it, which could have been a penalty for putting his glove/hand over the puck. That said, no one from the Tampa side put up an argument on the play, so the goal stood.
Tampa actually outshot the hawks in the second period, 9-7, however were outscored 2-0 and down by 3 heading into the 3rd.
Just over 5 minutes into the 3rd, Toews & Byfuglien combined for the hawks' final goal, with Toews leading Byfuglien with a pass down the right wing. Byfuglien moved into the zone & fired a shot on net, with Nittymaki giving a big rebound that Toews promptly got to first as he drove to the net, and deposited behind Nittymaki to make it 4-0.
With the game now out of reach, the lightning seemed more interested in extracting a pound of flesh, with Downie, Smaby & Fedoruk taking minor penalties, the latter for falling on top of Niemi with just over a minute left, which also earned him a 10 minute misconduct. That caused a scrum around the hawk goal, tho no further damage was done.
On the Smaby penalty, Brouwer got a partial breakaway, with Hedman back - he managed to get a shot off, tho Hedman reached around to try to poke the puck away with his stick, eventually losing it and turning Brouwer around. Brouwer was generously awarded a penalty shot, tho his wrister was right at Nittymaki's blocker and he made a routine save.
Then on the Fedoruck penalty, Versteeg was robbed of a goal as Nittymaki just barely got to a rolling puck on the goal line with his stick, after Versteeg's shot had trickled through the Tampa goaltender. The puck was cleared to the corner, where Hedman elbowed Versteeg for yet another Tampa penalty that gave the hawks another brief two man advantage, in which they threatened but failed to put one behind Nittymaki.
While the hawks did manage to score 4 at even strength, their failure to take advantage of opportunities, particularly 5on3s, is troubling. Their lack of bearing down & urgency is also evident in the defensive zone, where they again made several unforced turnovers after having possession, which gave Tampa more opportunities than they should have had. Fortunately, Niemi was sharp, particularly with the game still in doubt, or the outcome might have been different.
With the win, the hawks move 4 points up on idle Nashville in the tough Central division, and two points back of LA & SJ, who are tied each with 45 points and 34 games played. Colorado jumped into 2nd in the conference (& first in the Northwest) with a win over Calgary, leaving the flames in 5th with 42 points, one behind Chicago, tho the hawks have a game in hand.
It is clear that the western conference is even tougher this year, when you consider that 5 teams currently in playoff positions didn't even make the playoffs last year.
The hawks homestand continues on Wednesday against St. Louis, the hawks first meeting this year against the blues. The hawks will honor Stan Mikita (again).
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