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Any Number Can Play: Blackhawks 2, Kings 1 (OT)

Posted on by Mil Savich

Purple and white clad scarves, signs and warm-up jerseys set the stage at the United Center for Hockey Fights Cancer night. Both the Chicago Blackhawks and the Los Angeles Kings honored individuals and their families who are battling cancer. The mutual support from both organizations sparked a bit of positivity before puck drop.

Although it was an emotional night, the Blackhawks sent the fans home happy, snapping their four-game winless streak with a 2-1 overtime victory.

While both teams showed plenty of physicality in the first 20minutes, the game headed into the first intermission with no score.

It almost took 13 more minutes into the second period before the tie was broken, thanks to a goal by Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson:

However, the Hawks did not hold their lead for very long. Just a few minutes after the Blackhawks broke open the scoring, the Kings made it a 1-1 game with a goal by Blake Lizotte:

The third period saw no goals from either side. The storyline soon became the rock solid play of Blackhawks netminder Arvid Soderblom, who kept the game tied and helped send his team to overtime.

Soderblom continued to play well in the overtime period. After a fantastic play by Jake McCabe, Jonathan Toews extended his point steak to seven games when he found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season.

Soderblom secured his first ever NHL win as the Hawks snapped their four-game skid with a 2-1 overtime win over the Kings.

Notes

  • Hockey Fights Cancer night is always a good reminder that life is much bigger than sports. It’s also a great reminder that sports can make life just a little bit better, even if just for a few hours at a time. Well done, NHL.
  • There wasn’t a whole lot of action in this game. However, early as it may be, this Hawks team as a unit looks vastly different from the last few seasons. Regardless of winning or losing, most of the time — particularly in the defensive zone — the players look as if they know where they should be. It makes this product a bit easier on the eyes.
  • Toews is riding a 7-game point streak and has 7 goals in 11 games to start the season. We love to see it.
  • Soderblom put on one hell of a performance. It’s hard to say if this is a sign of things to come or just a one-off game. Only time will tell if he has a place in the Hawks long-term plans, but tonight’s game was encouraging.
  • With me being the jersey guy here at SCH, well, these two shirts did not go unnoticed. Love to see an old school CCM Gunzo’s Stu Grimson. Good stuff. No comment on the other sweater, though: /

Game Charts

Three stars

  1. Arvid Soderblom (CHI) — 32 saves, first NHL win
  2. Jonathan Toews (CHI) — game winning goal in overtime
  3. Jason Dickinson (CHI) — 1 goal, 1 takeaway

What’s next

The Blackhawks head to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Saturday afternoon at the Canada Life Centre for a 2 p.m. puck drop.

Talking Points