Blackhawks come back multiple times in overtime win over Stars

The Dallas Stars led the Chicago Blackhawks by scores of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3, yet it was the latter club that would eventually emerge victorious in their first tilt since their disappointing Winter Classic appearance on Thursday. While it wasn't always the prettiest of performances on Sunday evening, the Hawks simply never went away in stealing a 5-4 victory against the upstart team from Dallas.

The Stars had came into the United Center having taken four in a row and working their way into the wild card picture in the Western Conference after a slow start to the season. Their offensive prowess that they've been lauded for all season was certainly on display on Sunday, particularly after they fired 25 shots on goal in the latter two periods after a slow start. Of course, it wasn't quite enough to overcome the Hawks.

The only time the Blackhawks held a lead in this one was at the final horn, as Patrick Sharp netted the game-winner in overtime. His goal, while an incredibly soft one allowed by Kari Lehtonen, was set up beautifully by Duncan Keith, who fired a pass to Sharp, who was heading toward the net, while seemingly the entire Dallas team was thinking 'shot'. It landed on Sharp's stick, and he put it through Lehtonen's right armpit for the win.

It wasn't the greatest of performances for the Blackhawks from a defensive perspective. They had 11 turnovers overall on the night, including four alone by Brent Seabrook, and didn't aid Corey Crawford as much as he would have liked, as he surrendered four goals on 34 shots.

Jamie Benn started the scoring off early for the Stars, giving Dallas a 1-0 lead less than five minutes in. He was a nuisance all night for the home team. Brandon Saad brought things back to even before Jamie's brother Jordie Benn notched his first goal of the year barely two minutes into the middle frame. Patrick Kane netted his 19th of the year off of a sweet feed from Patrick Sharp for yet another equalizer. Erik Cole and Bryan Bickell traded goals later in the second, with Cole adding another early in the third period off of a beautiful redirect that Corey Crawford had no chance on.

From there, the Hawks must have just decided that putting the puck on net in any form or fashion was the way to go against Lehtonen. Brad Richards potted on from the endine, scoring on an absolutely absurd angle, to even things at four and force overtime. Both sides had great chances early on in the extra period, with Patrick Kane nearly putting one home before Crawford made a poor pass from behind his own net that very nearly resulted in a Dallas goal. They evaded disaster, though, and Sharp put home the game-winner to get the Blackhawks back in the win column.

As for our #TeuvoWatch, Teuvo Teravainen was rather quiet throughout the night. He logged barely over 10 minutes of ice time on the night and bounced up and down the lineup, as Joel Quenneville switched up the lines quite a bit. He did get with Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa for a spell (something many were in favor of during the summer given the defensive strength of each), but it was extremely short lived.

Overall, while the Hawks were a bit of a mess in their own end more than you'd like to see, they completely overpowered the Stars in the shot attempt and chance departments, meaning anything other than a win in this situation would have been a tremendous disappointment, regardless of their lack of a lead. They'll next meet up with the Colorado Avalanche at home on Tuesday night. Onto the stars, but not of the Dallas variety.

Three Stars of the Night

3. Brad Richards

By virtue of his equalizer in the third period alone, Richards finds himself on the Three Stars for the game. He threw the puck at Kari Lehtonen from an absurdly horrible angle and came out looking pretty good. He had a goal and an assist, which was second on the team behind Patrick Sharp. His CF% for the game was right at 70, which is something of a trend with this trio.

2. Duncan Keith

For one, Keith set up the game-winner on a beautiful feed that had the entire city of Dallas (or at least those that may actually watch games on television) thinking he was shooting the puck. But, alas, the puck found its way to Sharp who potted the winner. Additionally, he finished with a CF% of 70 for the night, as well as the two assists. The best part? He played less than 23 minutes for the game.

1. Patrick Sharp

We'll give the top spot here to the man who notched the game-winning goal for the Blackhawks. Sharp had a fine game in moving back up to the top six, after spending more time than he would've liked down in the bottom units. In addition to setting Patrick Kane up with a sweet feed in the second period, and scoring the game winner off of a heck of a pass from Duncan Keith (great awareness on his part), Sharp was no. 2 among Hawk forwards in the Corsi department, going for a CF% of 70 for the evening. Strong night for him.