Hawks Pound Stars Into Dust With 6-2 Win!

Nov 16, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate their victory over the Dallas Stars following the third period at the United Center. Chicago won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Hawks Pound Stars Into Dust With 6-2 Win!

Before the start of the game, the Blackhawks presented Brad Richards with an engraved silver stick and painting to commemorate his 1,000th NHL game.

[Source: NHL Blackhawks website]

As for the game itself, a scoreless second period was book-ended by four goals scored in the first and again in the third. The fact that all four of those third-period goals came from the Blackhawks made the difference in tonight’s win. Here’s the breakdown of the action:

FIRST PERIOD

The game started out promising for the Hawks, despite the face off win and early shot by the Stars. Duncan Keith scored the early goal a mere 78 seconds in, with assists from Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg.

But the Stars were quick to respond, scoring 2 goals in less than 2 minutes (Curtis McKenzie with his first NHL goal, and Shawn Horcoff).

Things then turned from bad to worse, with rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk getting badly hurt while blocking a shot a little over 6 minutes into the first period. Up to that point, TVR logged 2:19 of ice time. He went to the dressing room shortly after going to the bench and wasn’t seen again for the rest of the game.

The Hawks were able to change the mood – and the momentum – after Andrew Shaw’s fight with Antoine Roussel.

Trevor Daley got called for a slashing penalty a little over halfway through the period. Brent Seabrook scored the equalizer on the power play (assisted by Kane and Keith). That was the only man advantage that the Hawks managed to convert, out of a total of four, but it was a big one.

SECOND PERIOD

Did anyone nod off during this period? Yes? It’s okay, you didn’t miss much.

Two Dallas penalties (one halfway through and one toward the end of the period), but as mentioned above, no change in the score. On the other hand, the Hawks managed to not allow a short-handed goal, so that was a plus.

THIRD PERIOD

One word: floodgates. The Stars simply got swept away by the tide of goals the Hawks piled on in the final frame:

• Richards to Kane, a goal from a crazy angle that apparently only Kane can manage

• Jonathan Toews to Marian Hossa who was stopped, but the rebound came back to Toews who buried a wraparound goal

• Versteeg decided it might be fun to try a wide-open shot instead of passing for once and was rewarded

• Brandon Saad’s goal added the final exclamation point to the onslaught

Then again, the Hawks are known for following up a listless second period with a late flurry of shots. Thankfully the Stars’ goalie wasn’t nearly as solid tonight as his counterpart in another city from a few days ago, and ever so graciously let himself be scored on. Repeatedly. Crow only faced 5 shots on goal in the whole third period, but kept Dallas at bay up to the final horn.

• Bears and Hawks win their home games on the same day. The last time that happened? Exactly 364 days ago.

• According to Coach Joel Quenneville, TVR is going to be out a while. No definite timeline yet but sounds like it will be a few weeks at the very least.

• Tonight was the last home game before the annual Circus Trip. They’ll return to the United Center on December 3 to face the Saint Louis Blues.

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