Corey Crawford had another strong night, the second line delivered yet again and Jonathan Toews scored in overtime for the third time this season to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over the Sharks on Sunday night.
Chicago took the ice tonight looking to take a 2-0 lead in the season series against San Jose. The Blackhawks, who defeated the Sabres 3-2 in a shootout yesterday, have not fared well in back-to-backs this season, taking only two, while being swept in three and splitting two others. Martin Jones was in net for the Sharks and, in a bit of surprise move, Coach Q opted for Crow in back-to-back starts. Crawford has been virtually untouchable this month and is 6-1 in his last seven games with only six goals against. The team opted to stick with the hot hand. Marian Hossa was a scratch with an upper body injury and Andrew Shaw took his place on the top line.
The first period opened with neither team establishing offensive zone presence. Four minutes in Artem Anisimov put one past Martin Jones off of a turnover below the goal line giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, a long stretch pass off a faceoff win caught a streaking Joonas Donskoi, who evened the score midway through the first period. Suddenly, at 11:35 of the first, former Shark Brandon Mashinter and Mike Brown dropped the gloves at center ice and after a few punches, both headed to the box. At 12:27, Shaw was sent off on a suspect call and the Sharks took the lead on a shot by Chicago native Tommy Wingels.
Patrick Kane wasted no time answering and after an unsuccessful Shark challenge on the goal, the period ended in a 2-2 tie. SOG were 13-11 in favor of San Jose at the end of one period.
The pace accelerated in the second period and though the Hawks created some quality chances the score remained tied midway through the period. Toews did a great job maintaining net front presence as the Hawks put pressure on a Sharks defense that continued to answer the call. With five minutes to play, the Sharks kicked it into gear and after a flurry in the zone that featured a couple of strong chances, Joe Pavelski put one in the back of the net and the Sharks were up 3-2. Crawford drew a goalie interference penalty at 19:48 and the Hawks made a last second push on the power play but came up empty. SOG were 25-24 in favor of the Hawks at the end of two periods.
The Hawks began the third period with 1:49 of power play time but despite a couple of chances were unable to take advantage and the score remained 3-2. Less than a minute after their man advantage, Trevor van Riemsdyk was called for holding and the Hawks were shorthanded. The Hawks turned in a strong kill and then quickly found themselves back on the kill after a high stick by Patrick Kane. Urged on by a chanting crowd, the home team killed off their second penalty in four minutes. A minute later, Shaw dug one out of the corner and tied it up on an assist by Phillip Danault, who picked up his first NHL point on the tally.
Crawford was stellar as the third period wound down with 11 saves on 11 shots as part of a 33-of-36 effort. With one minute remaining in regulation, Toews had a tremendous chance at a game winning goal, but was denied by Jones. For the second time in as many days, the Hawks guaranteed themselves a point and headed to OT. That’s where a beautiful pass from Kane set up Toews for the game-winning goal in his 600th NHL game.
With the win tonight, the Blackhawks have won seven of their last nine games and are tied for second place in the Central Division with the St. Louis Blues.
The Blackhawks will take on the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday night.