UA-59049186-1 Blackhawks 6, Sharks 2 - Recap - Good if it Goes

Blackhawks 6, Sharks 2 – Recap

On Satruday afternoon, Andrew Desjardins stepped in for the suspended Joakim Nordstrom to take on his former team, the San Jose Sharks. Early on, the Sharks dominated the action, preventing the Hawks from getting anything going offensively. The Sharks got the game’s first power play 3:46 in after Bryan Bickell was sent to the penalty box for holding Brent Burns’ stick. The Hawks were able to kill off the penalty and shortly after, scored the game’s first goal when Antoine Vermette hit Patrick Sharp with a pass, leading to a breakaway for Sharp. Sharp’s original shot was denied by Antti Niemi, but Sharp picked up the rebound and went Thin Mints on Niemi.

After the goal, the Hawks would get a couple more looks in their offensive zone, but for the most part, San Jose controlled the action until Melker Karlsson was sent off for holding the stick of Teuvo Teräväinen just over ten-and-a-half minutes into the period, leading to a Chicago power play. The Hawks were unable to get anything going on the power play and the Sharks were able to kill off the penalty.

With 3:11 left in the period, the Sharks tied the game when Karlsson got a shot past Corey Crawford. That would be the final goal scored in the period, and we would go into the first intermission tied at 1.

The Sharks controlled the action early in the second period and got a power play a little over a minute in after Vermette was called for interference. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty, but would be unable to capture the momentum. They would be able to do so after Brendan Dillon was sent off for interference a little over seven-and-a-half minutes in. Prior to the power play beginning, the Hawks had a great possession in the San Jose zone with the extra attacker. The Hawks would convert on the power play when Duncan Keith beat Niemi 8:45 into the period for his 8th goal of the season. The Sharks would get a chance to answer just under eleven-and-a-half minutes into the period after Jonathan Toews tripped Logan Couture. The Sharks would convert when Joe Thornton’s hit Brent Seabrook’s stick and got past Crawford. The Sharks would pretty much control the action for the rest of the period, limiting the Hawks to just four shots in the period. However, neither team would score, and after forty minutes, the teams were tied at 2.

The Hawks took the lead less than ninety seconds into the third when Brandon Saad got in behind the defense and beat Niemi five-hole. The Hawks would expand their lead a few minutes later when Bryan Bickell beat Niemi after a great pass from Brad Richards. Following the Bickell goal, the Hawks controlled the action and would head to the power play just under eleven-and-a-half minutes into the period after Thornton hooked Bickell. The Hawks would come up empty on the power play, but would get another one two seconds later when Barclay Goodrow tripped Sharp. The Hawks would convert on the power play when Patrick Sharp lit the lamp for the second time in the game. The Sharks, now behind three, would pull Niemi in favor of the extra attacker with a little under four minutes to play. The Hawks would score on the empty net when Niklas Hjalmarsson fired down the ice, missing the net, but Marian Hossa made it down to prevent an icing call and tap the rebound from the boards into the net. With 18 seconds left and the game well in hand, the Hawks were caught with too many men on the ice. The Sharks would come up empty on the man advantage, and the Hawks would win 6-2.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Corey Crawford, G, CHI (33 SV, 2 GA, 1 A)

★★ Brandon Saad, LW, CHI (1 G (GWG), 1 A)

★ Patrick Sharp, LW, CHI (2 G)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

293 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *