Jeremy Morin Leads The Blackhawks To A 4-2 Victory

Right from the start this game was physical with Andrew Shaw throwing his body all over the place, and one time Jeremy Morin launched himself at a Blues player but missed and went flying into the Hawks bench.  Shaw got caught early retaliating and it cost him first a two minute powerplay and in the end a 1-0 lead for the Blues when Jaden Schwartz followed up his own shot and beat Corey Crawford.  Joakim Nordstrom was finding the puck in great scoring chances but didn’t cash in.  The play of the period was on the Blues powerplay when Marian Hossa turned on his 35 year old jets got past the Blues defense and almost stuffed one in past Elliott.  The Hawks out shot the Blues 11-3 and were very aggressive with the body now they just need to score some goals in the 2nd period.

Apr 3, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Jeremy Morin (11) skates with the puck during the second period against the Minnesota Wild at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The second period was the Jeremy Morin’s period for sure. Of course he may make the highlight reel because of his missed check and flying into the bench, but what he did in the second period was on the scoresheet! The Peter Regin line with Bickell and Morin played great in the 2nd period.  The Blackhawks tied up the game when Bickell stepped around a check fired it on Elliott who gave up a rebound and Morin was Jeremy on the spot for the tying goal.  In the middle of the period Ryan Reaves and Brandon Bollig had a useless fight with a tap ing this after which set Eddie O into a tale spin saying this isn’t the point of fighting! In the final minute after an icing call Morin, after an Andrew Shaw play on the boards, led a 2 on 1 and perfectly set up Patrick Sharp for the go ahead goal.  At the end of 2 the Hawks lead 2-1 on the big board and 23-11 on shots.

The third period started out as good as it could possibly start withe Nordstrom streaking down the wing and firing one that hit both posts and the back side of Elliott and Marcus Kruger got the easy tap in goal.  The Hawks used their possession game to kill most of the period with Marian Hossa throwing in his 2nd highlight reel play both of which didn’t score but both were highly impressive.  The Blues got a goal back with 2 minutes to play when a shot Crawford should have stopped got by him just to add to the final minute stress level.  The Hawks would make sure the home crowd went home happy when Ben Smith scored an empty net goal with 3.3 seconds left (0.4 second difference than the Columbus game)

Hawks win 4-2 and have beat the Blues 2 straight games!! Two days off before the Hawks the Montreal Canadiens in the final home game of the regular season.

-Morin had his first two point game of his Blackhawks career

-Nordstrom was very good all day.  He looks totally different from the player we witnessed at the beginning of the year

-Regin-Bickell-Morin line is a great line that will unlikely see the playoffs.

-The Hawks are 3-0 without Toews and Kane.  Franchise Depth is a great thing, but we still want 19 & 88 back healthy

-Brandon Saad was a healthy scratch for the first time since the 2013 season opener when Daniel Carcillo started instead of #20

-The Hawks simple game is leading to wins right when the calendar demands that you Win Games!!

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