The Morning After: Blackhawks, Bulls Bruised

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 18, 2010 3:00PM

Kings Thump Blackhawks
It was a bruising night for the Blackhawks as, for the second time in a week, they lost a player to a hard - and shady - hit and then lost the game, falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-2. The Ducks struck first just over four minutes in but Brent Seabrook answered for the 'Hawks to tie the game at 1-1. Early in the second, Seabrook got knocked out of the game when former Blackhawk James Wisniewski hit Seabrook high and hard, a retaliation for a hard hit Seabrook had just put on the Ducks' Corey Perry. The Ducks took a 2-1 lead on a short-handed goal in the second only to have Marian Hossa answer early in the third to tie the game. But the Ducks caught a break when an awful no-call on what should have been interference - as Corey checked Brent Sopol from behind while a deflected puck hung in the air - led to the Ducks' go-ahead goal. The Ducks would rub salt in the wound with an empty net goal in the final minute of the game. Corey Crawford saw his first action of the season in goal, giving up three goals and making 32 saves in the losing effort. The Blackhawks will try to recollect themselves in time to face the Kings tonight (9:30 p.m., CSN).

Bulls Lose Ninth Straight
For the second straight game, the Bulls managed to fight back from a 25 point deficit but still fell short, losing to the Dallas Mavericks 113-106, their ninth straight loss. The Bulls trailed by 25 late in the second and by 20 at halftime but managed to cut the lead down to seven halfway through the fourth. But the Mavericks were too much for the undermanned Bulls,still without Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah. Acie Law came off the bench to lead the team with 22 points. Next up for the banged up Bulls? Just LeBron James and the Cavs tomorrow night (7 p.m., CSN).

College Basketball

• Illinois got their NIT run off on the right foot beating Stony Brook 76-66. Four Illini starters scored in double-figures, led by Mike Davis with 17 points. Next up is Kent State next Monday.
• Northwestern wasn't as fortunate as the Illini as the Wildcats' season ended with a 76-64 loss to Rhode Island. Michael Thompson led Northwestern with 24 points.
• Reminder: You still have a little over an hour to sign up to participate in our Tournament Challenge. Details here.

Spring Training
The Sox ousted the Dodgers 5-1 while the Cubs got a rare day off.