The Ticket Chest

Blackhawks Win 4th in a Row, Top Columbus 3-1

Monday, December 15th, 2008 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL | No Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Sunday night, increasing their current win streak to 4 games. After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Blackhawks tied the game with 1 second left in the 2nd period on Patrick Sharp’s power play goal – his 17th goal of the season. The Blackhawks went ahead for good midway through the 3rd period on Martin Havlat’s 8th goal of the season. An empty netter by Brent Seabrook with 22 seconds left in the game finished off the scoring.

Cristobal Huet saved 31 of 32 Blue Jackets shots and has emerged as a #1 goalie once again. Ever since Nikolai Khabibulin’s injury at the end of November, Huet has gained more playing time and has lived up to the task. He has won his last 3 starts in a row, allowing just a total of 2 goals during that stretch. He is now 7-5-3 on the season.

The Blackhawks now have 37 points, which puts them in a tie for the 4th seed in the NHL’s Western Conference with the Anaheim Ducks. The team is 15-6-7 on the season and they’re on a 4-game winning streak. They are almost unbeatable at home – going 10-1-4 at the United Center – as they have sold out all 15 home games during the 2008-9 NHL season.

Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL

Blackhawks Defeat Blue Jackets in Shootout, Get First Road Win

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 | NHL, Sports | No Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks reached a couple of firsts for the 2008-9 NHL campaign on Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio. The Blackhawks defeated the Blue Jackets 4-3 in a shootout win. It marked the first road win of the season for the Blackhawks and it also marked the first time that the Blackhawks recorded a shootout win during the young 2008-9 season. Jonathan Toews scored a shootout goal for the Blackhawks, while Blackhawks Goalie Cristobal Huet saved all 3 Blue Jackets shots in the shootout frame to give the Blackhawks the victory. Huet had his best game of the season for the Blackhawks, saving 48 of 51 Blue Jackets shots during the course of the game. Once again, the Blackhawks had a balanced attack, getting all 4 goals from different players. Patrick Sharp scored his team high 7th goal in the 1st period, Brian Seabrook added the only goal of the 2nd period to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 edge, and then Martin Havlat scored a goal in the 3rd period to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. Although the Blue Jackets tied the game at with only 8 minutes left in the game on a goal by Kristian Huselius, the Blackhawks did not lose faith during the overtime stretch. The Blackhawks must have figured one of these games would finally go their way, and the persistence paid off.

The Blackhawks now start a 5-game homestand against some competitive teams – Colorado, Calgary, Boston, St. Louis and San Jose. The Blackhawks have not lost at home yet this season, and the homestand is important, because after the 5 games, the Blackhawks will go on their longest road trip of the year – 6 games that will take them through the month of November. The Blackhawks are 5-3-3, good for 13 points and tied for 5th place in the strong Western Conference.

Tags: Chicago Blue Jackets, Columbus Blue Jackets