Rexall Place is normally not a fun place for the Blackhawks to visit. There have been quite a few embarrassing losses that have taken place there, but tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight was utter dominance by the Blackhawks, winning 7-1, and making it look easy. Five players had multi-point games tonight, making it pretty tough to just choose 3 stars. Sometimes this blogging thing is tough, guys. I’m sure you all feel just horribly for me. Well, wish me luck. Here goes.
3. Corey Crawford
Lost in all the scoring hype of this one was a pretty great performance by Crow. He looked solid in net all night long, and preserved a shutout for almost 50 minutes. The only Oilers goal came on a rebound by David Perron after Crow made a tough save, so its hard to fault him on that one. Crawford has been performing extremely well this season, and it’s great to see that continue. Hopefully he will only continue to improve as the season goes on.
2. Patrick Kane
Kane was one of the 5 ‘Hawks with multiple points tonight, tallying an assist on Kris Versteeg’s goal in the 2nd period and scoring himself in the 3rd. He now has goals in 4 straight games, giving him 8 on the year. He has looked great on a line with Versteeg and Brad Richards, and the team has been performing since they’ve been together. It appears as though the line blending may be coming to an end, which is good news for Kaner. If he stays on a line with Richards, and Patrick Sharp joins them when he gets back from injury, we could see a great year from number 88.
1. Marian Hossa
After struggling mightily to get into the scoring category earlier in the season, Hossa finally exploded tonight with 4 points (1G, 3A). It’s the most points in one game in his tenure with the ‘Hawks. It’s sure to be a big relief for him, as he had been expressing frustration with his scoring struggles over the last few days. It’s good to see him have a big game, and hopefully he will continue to perform well. Having Hossa playing at his best will certainly be important for the Blackhawks going forward. And let’s be honest, games are more fun to watch when Marian Hossa is doing Marian Hossa things.
Adam Hess is the editor and publisher of Feathers in the Hat, and a contributor to Second City Hockey. You can follow him on twitter at @FeathersInDaHat.