The Chicago Blackhawks coughed up their lead late in regulation, but Marian Hossa ensured that they would get both points in the standings as he scored an overtime goal to give them a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Blackhawks didn’t exactly get off to a good start to the Circus Trip, only managing three shots on goal in the first period, but they still managed to keep things tied up at 0-0. Corey Crawford made several good saves in the period, including a couple on an Edmonton power play, and despite facing 11 shots in the period he kept the game scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
The Blackhawks seemed to find their groove early in the second period, and seven minutes into the stanza the team scored to take the lead. Artemi Panarin made a quick cross-ice pass to a wide open Patrick Kane, and the Hawks’ winger fired a slap pass to the netfront that Duncan Keith deflected into the back of the cage to put Chicago up by a score of 1-0.
Marian Hossa had a chance to give the Blackhawks a two-goal cushion a few minutes later, but Anders Nilsson made a big save to keep Edmonton in the game. The Oilers tried to take advantage of the momentum they got from the save, but Crawford continued to make big saves as the Oilers had several big possessions.
Late in the second period, the Blackhawks were able to thank Crawford by extending their lead. Panarin forced a turnover in the corner, and quick tic-tac-toe passing moved the puck from Kane to Artem Anisimov and back to the Russian rookie. He flipped a wrist shot past Nilsson in the front, giving the Blackhawks a two-goal edge.
A few minutes later, a bad change by the Blackhawks allowed open ice, and the Oilers scored a late goal. Jordan Eberle got a breakaway off a quick stretch pass through the zone, and he fired a shot just underneath the crossbar to make it a 2-1 game after the end of two periods.
The Oilers continued to pound away as the third period got underway, and a great individual play by Darnell Nurse helped them to tie the game up at 2-2. Nurse held onto the puck through the zone, drawing in Trevor Daley, and after Benoit Pouliot blew past Michal Rozsival, he grabbed a pass and slid the puck past Crawford to even the score.
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At a critical turning in the game, it took an excellent play by Andrew Shaw to give the momentum back to Chicago. Tanner Kero found the winger with space in the slot, and although Shaw fell to the ice after attempting his first shot, his second attempt beat Nilsson high, and the Blackhawks found themselves with a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, they couldn’t hold onto their lead, and the Oilers tied things up with less than three minutes to go. Taylor Hall won a puck battle in the corner of the ice, and Leon Draisaitl cleaned up the mess as he flipped the puck past Crawford to tie things up at 3-3.
After Crawford made an insane glove save to rob Hall of an overtime goal, Marian Hossa ended things. Brent Seabrook found him with a stretch pass, and Hossa fired a slap shot past Nilsson on the stick side to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 victory.
