Blackhawks Bury Penguins At Snowy Soldier Field
By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 2, 2014 4:00PM
Saturday night's 5-1 win by the Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL's Stadium Series was everything fans were expecting and more. A matchup of two of the NHL's marquee teams before a nationally televised audience and a hot crowd outside at Soldier Field was heightened by a persistent snowstorm that began two hours before faceoff.
The Hawks and Penguins got an idea of what the Bears and their opponents have to deal with every football season as skated in a 15 mph headwind for much of the game in challenging outdoor conditions. Ice crews routinely cleared the ice of snow and up to an inch of powder could be found on the goalmouth, according to Sun-Times Blackhawks beat writer Mark Lazerus. The windswept conditions often made it hard for either side to develop an offensive rhythm. “There was no real system or structure to our game," forward Patrick Sharp said after the game. "Basically just hoisting the puck around, slapping it around and having fun doing it. … Our team took this game seriously, we wanted to win. But at the same time, we’re out there having fun.”
The two teams also engaged in some early physical, chippy play reminiscent of Park District rat hockey leagues before Sharp struck first blood in the first period, sinking a beautiful pass from Jonathan Toews in the net for a 1-0 lead. The Hawks seemed to settle down after that and took control of the game in the second period. Toews gave Chicago a 2-0 lead midway through the period with a backhand shot. Kris Versteeg made the score 3-0 with a wrist shot, set up by feeds from Patrick Kane and Michal Handzus.
The Penguins finally managed to score in the third period on a backhander by James Neal but the Hawks put the game out of reach with goals by Bryan Bickell and Toews in a four-minute span. Crawford was his usual steady, bend-but-not-break self between the pipes despite wondering about the whereabouts of his custom made mask for the series. Crawford had 31 saves on the night while Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury was peppered throughout the game and faced 40 shots.
The game also had playoff implications as both teams are jockeying for position in their respective conferences. The win gave the Hawks a two-point lead over St.Louis in the Central Division and moved them to within three points of Anaheim for the top seed in the Western Conference. Pittsburgh still remains atop the Eastern Conference standings with a five-point margin over Boston.