Chicago Blackhawks 5 Thoughts On Shootout Victory Over Dallas

The Chicago Blackhawks took 65 minutes and a shootout to pick up 2 points against the Dallas Stars at the United Center on Thursday night. Here are 5 Thoughts on the Chicago Blackhawks victory.

5. Energy Level Wasn’t There Tonight

Let’s be real honest here, after the Chicago Blackhawks had to storm back in back to back games in the third period to come from behind to win against the Colorado Avalanche and force overtime against the Vancouver Canucks, it’s not surprising that the energy level wasn’t high.

It was odd though to have Mike Kitchen state from the Chicago Blackhawks bench before the third period that he thought the energy level was low. The Hawks are playing every other night now until the end of the season so look for them to find their legs real soon.

4. The Shots On Goal

For all of you that are fancy stat people.. I know that over an 82 game season they normally pan out that the team with the most shots and most possession usually wins, but the last two games were the exact opposite. Against the Canucks, the Hawks owned the puck and possession yet left the U.C. with only one point. On Thursday night they were out shot by 18 and skated away with 2 points, so sometimes you have to get the bounces going your way.

3. The 4th Line Was Solid

The 4th line had Tanner Kero Jordin Tootoo and Dennis Rasmussen on it, and I thought they had a real nice game. They had some puck possession and one real good scoring chance that just missed. The hawks are always at their best when Joel Quenneville can roll out 4 lines with regularity, and not start double shifting the Kane or Toews line.

The real question is when Artem Anisimov gets back from injury who will be filling out the bottom six roles, but it seems like whoever he throws out there Coach Q will trust them a lot.