The Ticket Chest

Blackhawks Start Post All-Star Break Run With 3-2 Win Over Ducks

Thursday, January 29th, 2009 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks got off to the right start on Wednesday night with a 3-2 win over the Ducks in Anaheim. It was a great win for a few reasons. First, the Blackhawks had lost 3 of their last 4 games, so it was good to get a “W” under their belts. Second, the Blackhawks avoided a post-All-Star Break funk to start off the 2nd half of the season with an all-important victory. Third, the trip to Anaheim marked the 1st game of an 8-game road trip, so every win on the road will be a big one for the Blackhawks in their chase for a high seed in the NHL’s Western Conference.

The Blackhawks held a 2-1 advantage after the 1st period on goals by Adam Burish – his 3rd goal of the season – and Patrick Kane – his 17th goal of the season. The Blackhawks extended the lead to 3-1 just 3 minutes into the 2nd period on Jonathan Toews 14th goal of the season. Duncan Keith – in his first action in several games since suffering a concussion – assisted on the Toews goal. Blackhawks Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin did the rest. He allowed only 1 more goal the rest of the way to preserve the 3-2 win for the Blackhawks. Overall, Khabibulin saved 36 of 38 shots on goal and improved his record to 14-4-5 on the season.

Next up for the Blackhawks is another game tonight in the L.A. area – against the Kings at the Staples Center. The Blackhawks still hold the 4th seed in the Western Conference with a 46-26-12 record and 60 points. They still have a lot of work to do if they want to catch the Detroit Red Wings for the Central Division title – they trail the Red Wings by 9 points – but they still have a nice 7-point cushion over the Ducks and Coyotes for the 4th spot in the playoffs.

Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, NHL

Blackhawks End Circus Road Trip on Down Note

Monday, December 1st, 2008 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments

After a promising 3-0 start to the annual “Circus Road Trip”, the Blackhawks ended up losing the last 3 games of the road trip to finish at an even .500.
On Friday, the Ducks blanked the Blackhawks 1-0 – the 1st shutout suffered by the Blackhawks all season long.  Despite out-shooting the Ducks 26-21, the Blackhawks never found the net, and they wasted a good outing by Cristobal Huet.  Huet has been starting in goal for the Blackhawks ever since Nikolai Khabibulin suffered a lower-body injury in the Blackhawks loss to the San Jose Sharks a few days earlier.  Huet saved all but 1 shot by the Ducks, as Ryan Getzlaf’s 9th goal of the season just 5 minutes into the 2nd period ended up being the game-winner for the Ducks.  Ducks’ Goalie Jonas Hiller is 4-0 in his last 6 games and he saved all 26 Blackhawks’ shots.   During that 6-game span, Hiller has saved 131 of 138 shots faced.
On Saturday, the Blackhawks fell behind the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 early in the 1st period.  Later in the period, Patrick Sharp tied the game at 1 with his 13th goal of the season and Patrick Kane gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the game with his 12th goal of the NHL season.  It went all downhill from there.  The Kings tied the game in the 2nd period and then put on an offensive barrage in the 3rd period, scoring 3 goals to put the game away.  The Blackhawks ended up losing 5-2.
Cristobal Huet did not fare so well in this game for the Blackhawks.  He saved 23 of 27 shots, but is only 3-4-2 on the season.
Seven of the last 9 games for the Blackhawks have been 1- goal games.  The Blackhawks have won only 2 of those 9 games.  Blackhawks fines were ecstatic about the 3-0 start to the Circus Road Trip, but have to be disappointed with the way the Blackhawks finished off the trip.  I know that the Sharks are probably the NHL’s best team, and the Ducks are one of the elite teams in the NHL too, but getting routed by the Kings (a team with less points than the Blackhawks) was frustrating for me to watch.  The Blackhawks are 10-6-6 on the NHL season and they have 26 points – good for 7th place in the NHL’s Western Conference.  3 of the Hawks next 5 games are at home, so let’s hope they can get off to a good start with a win over the Ducks on Wednesday night at the United Center.

Tags: Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, NHL