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Blackhawks fall to Maple Leafs despite ending their power play drought

After getting whistled for a penalty within the opening seconds of overtime, the Chicago Blackhawks fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in overtime Wednesday at the United Center.

It’s the fourth straight loss for the Hawks, and their second straight loss in overtime. Despite a late push to tie the game in the third period, Jeff Glass was not able to stop the first shootout attempt of his career.

Things started pretty well for the Hawks in this one when Brent Seabrook tallied a power play goal that snapped an 0-for-16 slump with the man advantage for Chicago. The one goal lead was preserved shortly after Connor Carrick’s goal for Toronto was disallowed when James van Riemsdyk bumped into Glass in the goal crease.

Toronto’s Jake Gardiner extended his point streak to four games after his shot redirected off Mitch Marner to tie it 1-1 with 3:23 left in the opening period. But the goal shouldn’t have counted as Patrick Marleau sent the puck down from Toronto’s defensive zone, but there was no icing call once Seabrook hit the hash marks. Seabrook gave up on the play and was not a happy human on the bench with officials after the goal.

The second period provided a decent amount of entertainment, but no production as both teams were given two man-advantages a piece.

At least we got this beautiful moment between Patrick Sharp and Travis Dermott:

With both teams looking sluggish early in the third, a Tomas Jurco penalty set up Toronto’s power play with a chance to take the lead. The Leafs capitalized, as Nazem Kadri scored his fifth power play goal of the season to boost Toronto into the lead.

Chicago would find the equalizer a few minutes later, after Seabrook caught a stick in the face to create a power play opportunity. Nick Schmaltz would tie the game with his thirteenth goal of the season, and suddenly the Hawks had life in a 2-2 tie. Toronto tried to argue that goaltender Frederik Andersen was interfered with, but the call on the ice stood after a review.

After sending the game to overtime, a penalty shot whistled against Duncan Keith was the game winner for Toronto. William Nylander’s penalty shot was the first career penalty shot that Jeff Glass has faced in the NHL, and resulted in the second straight loss for Chicago in overtime games.

Chicago travels to Detroit to face the Red Wings tomorrow night.

CHI Goals: Seabrook (3), Schmaltz (13)
TOR Goals: Marner (7), Kadri (15), Nylander (10)

3 thoughts

Power play produces (twice!)

As we explained earlier in the recap, the Hawks were 0 for 16 with a man advantage heading into tonight’s contest. That changed with goals by Brent Seabrook and Nick Schmaltz, which is a MUCH welcomed sight. Special teams will be a key factor of production as Chicago continues to push for the playoffs.

Nick Schmaltz is a valuable asset for the future of this team

When it seems like the Hawks are slow and uninspired, Nick Schmaltz has come to save the day. Tonight, he earned two points including the game tying goal midway through the second period. He’s been a big reason why Patrick Kane is continuing to play well, he’s been a big reason why the second line has produced game in and game out, and he’s going to be a player than Stan Bowman needs to build this team around moving forward.

Uninspired play got called out

If you were watching the NBCSN broadcast, there were many comments made about how the Hawks were playing like they were “watching a movie” during the opening minutes of the third period. This came after a rather lackadaisical effort from Chicago in the second period, along with a mental lapse by Brent Seabrook that led to the first goal of the game for the Leafs. Watching this team stammer through games at this point in the season is not only unnerving, but frustrating as well.

3 stars

1. William Nylander (TOR) — Game winning goal in OT

2. Nick Schmaltz (CHI) — 1 goal, 1 assist

3. Frederick Anderson (TOR) — 34 saves

Talking Points