The Chicago Blackhawks played to a scoreless draw during regulation for the second straight game, and for the second straight game it was Jonathan Toews that broke the deadlock as the captain scored to give the team a 1-0 victory Monday night.
Corey Crawford scored his second consecutive shutout for the Blackhawks as they won their fourth straight game.
The game got off to a frightening start for the Blackhawks as Sami Vatanen uncorked a shot that drilled Corey Crawford in his mask, but the goaltender was able to shake off the cobwebs and remain in the game despite the close call.
As the period wore on, the Blackhawks had several chances to get things going in their direction, but they were unable to get on the board. A power play about five minutes into the game fell by the wayside as David Rundblad was whistled for holding the stick, and the team managed to generate just four shots on goal through the first 16 minutes of the period.
A late push did result in a scoring chance for Jonathan Toews, but Frederik Andersen made the save and kept the game tied at 0-0 after 20 minutes of play.
Early in the second period the Blackhawks did get more quality scoring chances, but Andersen was in top form. Andrew Shaw’s low shot resulted in a juicy rebound in front of the net, but Andrew Desjardins couldn’t quite get a shot off on the loose puck. Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov also registered quality scoring chances in the period’s opening minutes, but neither would go as the game remained scoreless.
Penalties and sloppy passing were the hallmarks of the rest of the second period, and the Blackhawks continued to have difficulty in generating chances. They did get a 3-on-2 rush late in the period, but Toews was stopped after a gorgeous pass from Marian Hossa and the game stayed knotted up.
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The Blackhawks got several good chances early in the period, but the Ducks were able to keep them at bay. Eventually Anaheim was able to get some positive momentum going on offense, but Hampus Lindholm’s shot rang loudly off the crossbar and Cam Fowler was denied by a Crawford stop to prevent a Ducks power play conversion.
Late in the period, the Blackhawks appeared to have scored a goal, but it was immediately waved off. Andersen kicked off of the left post and knocked the net off its moorings before a shot from Panarin went into the cage, and the officials ruled that the goal did not count, much to the chagrin of the United Center faithful.
Both the Hawks and Ducks had good chances in the closing seconds, but Andersen and Crawford each made a couple of critical saves to keep the game tied heading into the overtime period.
Crawford denied Fowler and Ryan Getzlaf chances early in the overtime period, and at the other end of the ice, Toews expressed his gratitude. Flying around Getlzaf, Toews fired a high shot off the inside of the post and into the back of the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 victory.
The Blackhawks will next take the ice on Thursday night when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Jets. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
