Blackhawks Tie NHL Points Streak In Shootout Thriller
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 20, 2013 4:00PM
Blackhawks 4, Vancouver 3 (SO)
The Blackhawks made another entry in the NHL record books Tuesday night, tying the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks for the best start to a regular season by earning points in their first 16 games. More satisfying was the Hawks did this against the hated Vancouver Canucks in a 4-3 shootout win.
Ray Emery was the star of the game. The goalie, starting again in place of Corey Crawford, stopped 29 shots and faced a series of breakaways in the first period with only a goal from Daniel Sedin getting past him.
Chicago tightened its defense in the second period and untracked the offense. Patrick Sharp struck first blood at the 6:36 mark with a slap shot. Then Marian Hossa scored a power play goal at the 13:48 mark and followed 3-1/2 minutes later with a beautiful backhand.
Hossa had to leave the game in the third period after Jannik Hansen hit him in the back of the head in a play that has local sports talk hosts debating whether it was a clean hit or a dirty play. Hansen eventually was assessed a roughing penalty on the play when Hossa didn’t get up immediately and Hawks captain Jonathan Toews lobbied the refs for the penalty.
Hansen’s shot sparked the Canucks, who tied the game thanks to goals from Alexander Edler and Kevin Bieska. Bieska’s goal came with 2:01 in regulation. After a scoreless overtime period, Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw put the puck past Vancouver goalie Corey Schneider. Emery stopped a shot from Ryan Kesler to seal the win.
The NHL is meeting with Hansen Wednesday to discuss his hit on Hossa. The hit, in our opinion, appears worse than it is, with of Phoenix’s Raffi Torres’ shot on Hossa in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs still fresh in the minds of hockey fans. The Blackhawks will know more about Hossa’s status for Friday’s game against San Jose. At 13-0-3, the Blackhawks have earned 39 of a possible 32 points and Tuesday night’s game was a complete performance. They showed grace, toughness and guile in pulling out the win against a Vancouver team that’s easy to hate and routinely takes chippy shots against opponents.