Jan 24, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (81) celebrates after scoring the game winning goal against the Dallas Stars during the overtime period at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars hosted the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night in Dallas.  The Hawks pulled off a come-from-behind victory with relentless fury over the Stars, 3-2, after being down 2-0.

The Hawks got off to a fast start in the first period, completely controlling the pace and temp of the game throughout most of the first period.  Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped everything that was thrown at him in spectacular fashion.  The Hawks out-shot the Stars in the first period 12-6, and Lehtonen stopped them all.  The Stars’ Left Winger, Louis Eriksson, scored a shorthanded goal with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the first period.

Early in the second period, Dallas had an opportunity to double it’s lead on a penalty shot after center Ryan Garbutt was brought to the ice by Hawks defenseman, Brent Seabrook.  Garbutt however, failed to seize the golden opportunity laid before him, as Blackhawks goaltender, Corey Crawford stopped Garbutt’s shot.

The Stars did however take a 2-0 lead minutes later, when Hawks defenseman Michal Rozsival turned the puck over to Stars’ Left Winger, Ray Whitney, right in front of the net, where Whitney buried a backhand past Crawford.

The Hawks drew closer on a lucky Patrick Sharp power-play goal that deflected off of the skate of Dallas defenseman, Trevor Daley‘s skate and into the net.   Dallas nearly expaned their lead when Dallas defenseman, Alex Goligoski sent a slapshot that trickled through the pads of Corey Crawford, and was en route to the net, when at the last second, Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith saved the day by clearing the puck, just before crossing the goal line.

In the third period, the Hawks continued their game of relentless pace and tempo, only to be continually robbed by the stellar play in net from Kari Lehtonen.  Late in the third period, while on their sixth power-play of the night, Hawks captain/center Jonathan Toews tied the game, by beating Lehtonen with a wrist-shot.

The game went to overtime, where shortly into the overtime period, Stars captain/left winger, Brenden Morrow, took an ill-timed interference penalty, leaving the Hawks and Stars to play 3-on-3 hockey(Hawks d-man Niklas Hjalmarsson was in the penalty box on a tripping call) in the overtime period.  It didn’t take long for the Hawks to take advantage of the wide-open ice, as Patrick Kane fed Marian Hossa a beautiful pass, that Hossa slapped past Lehtonen, giving the Blackhawks a 3-2 victory.

Notes- 

Stars goaltender, Kari Lehtonen was nearly unbeatable all-night, making several great saves as the Hawks peppered him with 41 shots-on-goal.

Blackhawks defenseman, Brent Seabrook had an off night, turning the puck over and getting beat by Stars forwards most of the night.  However his longtime defensive partner, Duncan Keith bailed him(and the rest of the team) out of trouble with a stellar night.

The Hawks went 3 for 7 on the power-play

It was a great night for all of the Hawks’ special teams.  Along with success on the power-play, the Hawks were 2 for 2 on the penalty kill.

Jonathan Toews continued his strong play in the face-circle, going 13 for 20, while Dave Bolland showed improvement, going 12 for 20.

Patrick Sharp had a strong night, with a goal and two assists.  He also drew two penalties on the night.

The Blackhawks(4-0-0, 8pts) are off to their best start in 40 years.  They will travel to Columbus to take on their central division rivals, the Columbus Blue Jackets(1-2-1, 3pts) on Saturday.  Puck drop is set for 8:00 PM CT.

Mar 16, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) makes a save on Dallas Stars left wing Brenden Morrow (10) during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Blackhawks are facing the Dallas Stars tonight so to prepare for the action I had a Q & A session with Melissa Grissom Editor and George Royal writer of BlackoutDallas the fansided Dallas Stars s 

Are you a passionate NHL fan? Do you want an outlet for your creativity? Do you want a soapbox to talk about what is right or wrong with your favorite team? Then join the Fansided NHL family.  Our network is looking for some lead writers for a few of our team sites.  We have opening for the following teams:

Anaheim Ducks

Boston Bruins

Colorado Avalanche

Dallas Stars

Detroit Red Wings

Los Angeles Kings

Minnesota Wild

Montreal Canadiens

Nashville Predators

Philadelphia Flyers

Vancouver Canucks

Winnipeg Jets

If you are a fan of any of these teams and would like to be heard, please contact Frank Rekas at therattrick@gmail.com

Also, if you would like to contribute to Blackhawk Up we are always looking for some more voices to add to our mix.  I am looking for someone who would like to run our Hub as well.  If you have a good eye for videos, Tweets, articles and quotes from all over the internet this could be the job for you.  Please contact Frank as well to help out on Blackhawk Up too.

Photo courtesy of http://www.casinoslotsgames.org

Step right up, place your bets, place your bets!

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the Stanley Playoffs that much we know.  Who they are going to play in the 1^st round is still a complete mystery.   The Blackhawks will not know who they are playing or where they are going until after the final regular season games are played on Saturday.  The Hawks could be the 4^th seed, the 5^th seed or the 6^th seed and could play one of six teams.

The Blackhawks are going to need some help getting either the 4^th seed or the 5^th seed.  The Detroit Red Wings have the 4^th seed right now and lead the Hawks and the Nashville Predators by just one point.  The Wings have 3 games remaining; at the St Louis Blues on Wednesday, home against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and the Blackhawks on Saturday.  That is a pretty tough final stretch for the Wings.  Nashville also has 3 games left; home games against the Minnesota Wild tonight and the Dallas Stars on Thursday and they finish at the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.  The Blackhawks have a disadvantage since they just have two games left at Minnesota and Detroit. If they do move out of the 6^th seed they will play either Detroit or Nashville in the opening round.  We all know how bad the Hawks have been versus the Preds going 2-4 against them.  I wouldn’t mind a matchup versus the Wings; the Hawks have gone 3-0-2 against them this season.

The most likely scenario has the Blackhawks in the 6^th seed and playing the winner of the hot mess that is the Pacific Division.  Going into the final 5 days of the regular season the Los Angeles Kings have 93 points, followed by the Phoenix Coyotes with 91 points, the San Jose Sharks with 90 points and the Dallas Stars still have a shot with 89 points.   The Kings have given the Hawks some problems this season.  The Hawks are 1-2-1 versus LA and goalie Jonathan Quick has shut them out twice.  The Hawks have the same 1-2-1 record versus the Coyotes.  They are 2-2 against both the Sharks and the Stars.

The Blackhawks are a combined 6-8-2 versus the possible Pacific opponents.  I feel the most favorable post season matchup is against the Detroit Red Wings.  The Hawks have played them tough all season, including 2 wins without Jonathan Toews.  I would love another playoff series against the hated Wings, not only because of the rivalry but because it is a winnable series.   The Hawks will need some luck to draw the Wings in the 1^st round.  They will need to win at Joe Louis arena on Saturday and hope either or both the Blues and Devils can beat the Wings in regulation.  Before we can worry about that the Blackhawks must issue a little payback on the Wild on Thursday.  After last season, I am happy just knowing the Hawks have their spot locked up going into the final week of the year!

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Let me start off by quoting yesterday’s game preview:  ”And would it kill Dave Bolland to show up on the score sheet?  He does have 2 goals against the Stars this year, so this could be the night.”  It took Dave Bolland all of the 10 seconds to answer the bell and give me a big middle finger, which I will gladly accept.  The Blackhawks have been sluggish out of the gates more times than not this season but that was not the case last night.  Patrick Sharp’s 1st of 2 goals on the night gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead just a 1:45 into the game.

The Blackhawks had a hellish four game stretch where they played the Rangers, Kings, Blues and the Stars.  The Hawks took 7 out of 8 possible points, all without the services of Jonathan Toews.  You have to be encouraged by this.  The Blackhawks welcome the train wreck that is the Washington Capitals tomorrow night to the United Center.  This will be a game the Hawks should win, so hopefully there will be no let down.  I think the best spot for the Hawks is the 6th seed.  I would much rather play Dallas or any team from the Pacific than Nashville or Detroit.  Let the Preds and the Wings duke it out in the first round and get one of those two teams out right away.

• Corey Crawford was solid between the pipes last night.  He didn’t get much action in the 1st period or the 3rd period either.  Half of the Stars 22 shots came in the 2nd period where Crow stopped them all.  He was flailing around a little too much for my liking but I will not complain about the results.  So it looks like it’s Crawford’s turn to ride on the Blackhawks goalie carousel.  It is never a good thing when you don’t know who your number goalie is after 72 games.  Hopefully Crow can cement his spot as the starter but we have seen this act before.  I just want one of our two goalies to step up and say “I got this.”

• The Hawks were finally able to get the minutes for the defensive core down to where they should be.  Having a 4 goal lead in the 3rd period will help the cause.  Johnny Oduya continues to impress and stabilize the back end.  Duncan Keith was not very good last night but hopefully a few more games with less ice time will remedy that.  He took a bad penalty after losing the puck that nullified the back end of a 4 minute double minor.  His turnover in the 3rd period ended Crawford’s bid for the team’s first shutout of the season.

• Niklas Hjalmarrson can still not figure out how to clear his zone.  Hjammer and Dylan Olsen were an adventure to say the least last night.

• It was refreshing to the Hawks come out in the 3rd period and bury a team, especially after what happened the last time the Stars were in town.

• The power play still needs major improvement.  Can we please stop sending Andrew Shaw out there?  If you are going to put one of the kids on the power play used Jimmy Hayes.  Let him plant his giant ass in the goalies face and fire at will from the point.

• Breaking news: Steve Ott is still a penis!  He is this generation’s Dino Ciccarelli.

• It was good see Patrick Kane able to shake off some pain and finish the game after scaring the crap out of everybody.

My Blackhawks Player of the Game

Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

Patrick Sharp lived up to his nickname of  ”Shooter” last night.  He scored his 27th and 28th goals of the season.  He was a puck shooting machine taking 8 of the Blackhawks 31 shots.  We all know what a streaky player Sharpie can be so lets hope he getting on one of hot streaks heading into the post season.

My Turd of the Game

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The Dallas Stars wore special St. Paddy’s Day jerseys during warmups with fun Irish names on them.  Jake Dowell was McDowell, Tom Wandell was O’Wandy and Ryan Garbutt was O’Garby.  Jaime Benn wore McChubbs on the back of his jersey which I’m sure has a back story that I don’t want to know about.  Mike Ribeiro was McRibs which made all the fat girls in the crowd dream of BBQ sauce.  Adam Burish gets the TOTG for wearing an O’Legend jersey.  What exactly are you an O’Legend of Burish, being a bag o’douche??

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

7:30 PM American Airlines Center, Dallas, Tx

TV: Comcast Sports Net Chicago+

Radio: 720 AM WGN

The Blackhawks make their first trip to Dallas since opening the season there in October.  Tonight’s matchup is a possible playoff preview.  If the season ended today the Stars and Hawks would meet in the first round.  The Stars are red hot going 8-1-1 in their last ten games. They had won six in a row until a 5-2 loss in Winnipeg Wednesday night.  This hot streak has propelled them to the top Pacific Division and the 3rd seed in the Western Conference.

The gauntlet of hot goalies the Blackhawks have been facing won’t change tonight.  Kari Lehtonen, who started the season opener and is 8-0-1 in his last 9 games, will get the start.  Lehtonen has been a big key to the Stars’ succes this season going 29-15-4 with a 2.21 GAA and a .925 save %.  Dallas is one of the few teams that converts on their power plays less than the Blackhawks.  They come in with just a 14.7 % conversion rate.  Stop me if you’ve this one before,  Sheldon Souray is expected to miss tonight’s game with an injury.  Radek Dvorak will also miss tonight’s game with an ankle injury.  The Stars don’t score a ton of goals but they do have a collection of solid players.  Mike Ribeiro always plays big against the Hawks.  He has 21 (8 G, 13 A) in 28 career games and 3 assists so far this year against the Hawks.  The over/under on how many times a yell “F&*$ you, Steve Ott” tonight is 4.5, so place your bets.

There is no new update on Jonathan Toews and still no set date for a return.  The Blackhawks have been doing a good job keeping their heads above water without their captain.  Niklas Hjalmarrson will make the trip but not sure if he will play tonight.  Corey Crawford will get the start in net tonight for the Hawks.  Crow has started all 3 games against Dallas this season.  Ray Emery has the flu and will not make the trip.  Carter Hutton has been called up from Rockford to backup Crawford tonight.  The Stars always provide a tough matchup for the Blackhawks.  If the Blackhawks play the same game they played on Tuesday,  against St. Louis, they should be just fine.  Get the puck deep, win the races to puck, and use your speed to draw penalties and create scoring chances.  Seems simple enough, right?  And would it kill Dave Bolland to show up on the score sheet?  He does have 2 goals against the Stars this year, so this could be the night.

]]> http://blackhawkup.com/2012/03/16/game-preview-blackhawks-vs-dallas-stars-31612/feed/ 0 http://blackhawkup.com/2012/02/24/observations-from-section-321-shes-out-back-counting-stars/ http://blackhawkup.com/2012/02/24/observations-from-section-321-shes-out-back-counting-stars/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:44:20 +0000 Greg Boysen http://blackhawkup.com/?p=8006   Blah! That is exactly how I felt leaving the United Center last night.  It’s a feeling I experienced many times leaving the UC last season.  A complete let down.  I think I jinxed it with a conversation I had with my buddy who I took to the game.  There was a stoppage of play [...]

Observations From Section 321: She’s Out Back Counting Stars - Blackhawk Up - Blackhawk Up - A Chicago Blackhawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

 

Blah! That is exactly how I felt leaving the United Center last night.  It’s a feeling I experienced many times leaving the UC last season.  A complete let down.  I think I jinxed it with a conversation I had with my buddy who I took to the game.  There was a stoppage of play with 14 minutes left in the 3rd period.  We both agreed that a 2-0 lead would be good, but one should be enough.  At that point the Stars had 11 shots on goal through 46 minutes.  I said the only way the Stars would score would be off a deflection or a fluke goal.  I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut some times!

(more…)

]]>

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

7:30 PM United Center, Chicago, IL

TV: Comcast Sports Net Chicago

Radio: 720 AM WGN

It’s been awhile since the Blackhawks have seen the Dallas Stars.  The Hawks and Stars have not met since a home and home series to kick of the regular season.  Dallas was a surprise team starting the year off at 11-3.  They have since fallen back to earth and find themselves 2 points out of a playoff spot.  This puts them a weird position come the trade deadline on Monday.  Are the buyers or sellers?  That is a tough call for GM Joe Nieuwendyk. They do have some valuable players like Steve Ott and Mike Ribiero, who I would take either on the Blackhawks in a second!  With Dallas in town all the rumors about the Hawks reacquiring Adam Burish are back.  Personally I feel there is no reason to get Burish back.

(more…)

Jean-Yves Ahern-US PRESSWIRE

It is no secret the Blackhawks are in the market for a defenseman before the February 27th trade deadline.  In the past 24 hours two defensemen have been moved.  Last night the Dallas Stars traded Niklas Grossman to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2nd round pick in 2012 and a 3rd round pick in 2013.   Reports are saying the Blackhawks were in on Grossman but the Stars wanted Brandon Saad.  If this is true am glad Stan Bowman told Dallas to shove it.  Plus, I am not too thrilled about another Grossman playing in Chicago, I still have mental scars from the last one.

(more…)

Sometimes, watching hockey truly is poetry in motion. After reading the tweets of @TheBearsInHaiku, I got some inspiration for this post. I decided to preview 30 NHL teams with 30 unique haikus, staying true to the 5-7-5 syllable rule.  Everyone in the blogsphere will have their previews, so I thought I would throw in a twist and veer away from the norm. Without further ado…

Anaheim Ducks
Eighth-seeded upstart
Bobby Ryan has emerged
“Mighty” Ducks again?

Atlanta Thrashers
My name is Ilya
Management doesn’t help me
Can we win games, please?

Boston Bruins
Game Seven stunner
Got rocked by a Hurricane
Still one of East’s best

Buffalo Sabres
Count on Ryan Miller
Injuries cost them playoffs
Need to stay healthy

Calgary Flames
Picked up Bouwmeester
But Flame burns with Iginla
Will miss Cammalleri

Carolina Hurricanes
Surprise playoff run
Can they carry momentum?
Now’s not time to Staal

Chicago Blackhawks
Pat beat up cabbie
Hossa investigated
Won’t matter one bit

Colorado Avalanche
A brand new GM
Plus a spankin’ new head coach
Equals no more mess?

Columbus Blue Jackets
Nash got big contract
Young Mason won the Calder
Jackets on the rise

Dallas Stars
Modano’s last round?
Crawford now behind the bench
Veterans drive team

Detroit Red Wings
Wings on the decline?
Everyone keeps saying that
Still the team to beat

Edmonton Oilers
Got spurned by Heatley
But built Khabibulan Wall
Hoping to regroup

Florida Panthers
Just missed the playoffs
And now have a revamped team
Still optimistic

Los Angeles Kings
Held first Hockey Fest
There is hockey in L.A.
Kings need to prove it

Minnesota Wild
Spent big for Havlat
Lost Marian Gaborik
Is that improvement?

Montreal Canadians
High expectations
For Habs after tough season
And are a safe bet

Nashville Predators
The team is aging
With no true starting goalie
Headed toward last place

New Jersey Devils
Brought back Jacque Lemaire
From past Stanley Cup glory
But lost key players

New York Islanders
Tavares gets hype
But Isles have nothing else
On that crappy team

New York Rangers
Back to big spending
To bring Gaborik on board
Hoping for big things

Ottawa Senators
Unhappy Heatley
Says he’ll play out his contract
But is still an ass

Philadelphia Flyers
Sexy pick to win
By acquiring Pronger
To bolster defense

Phoenix Coyotes
Big off-season Clash
“Should I stay or should I go?”
NHL says “stay”

Pittsburgh Penguins
Sid the Kid brought Cup
Malkin added heroics
But can they repeat?

San Jose Sharks
Crushing first-round loss
President of West needs to
Step it up come playoff time

St. Louis Blues
Young and talented
Looking to make move in tough
And loaded Central

Tampa Bay Lightening
Cut off The Mullet
Rolled dice in free agency
For coach Gambler

Toronto Maple Leafs
Burke rebuilding team
And it’s all about defense
To instill toughness

Vancouver Canucks
I hate the Sedins
I hate the Sedins a lot
Can’t stand the Sedins

Washington Capitals
Ovechkin thinks sex
Helps before and after games
I tend to agree

Follow me on Twitter: @blackhawksup