Hawks Outshoot, Outscore Oilers

The Blackhawks started the Canadian portion of their road trip with a win last night against the Edmonton Oilers. Falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Hawks rallied for two in the second and an insurance tally in the third to win 3-1.

Cam Barker and Dave Bolland provided the scoring in the second period with long blasts. Barker's came on the power play about three minutes into the second and Bolland scored his with about four minutes left. On Bolland's goal, Matt Walker made a great play to retain possession for the Hawks and Bolland displayed great patience faking twice, then unloading a bullet into the net.

The Hawks had some anxious moments in the third period while holding onto a one goal advantage. Outshooting the Oilers 32-13 after two periods, it was still only a one goal lead and when you don't take advantage of chances on the road, the game usually ends in an unfavorable fashion. Even with a couple good Edmonton chances, the dominance continued through the final period and the Hawks ended up with a 20 shot advantage. We know Canadians can take some shots, but enough was enough.

Cristobal Huet was in goal for Chicago and the only goal he let in looked like it was straight out of a Jordan-Bird commercial. From behind the net the puck bounced off what seemed like 10 things, then somehow went off Huet's brain-case and into the net. Other than the Globetrotter action, Huet was great. I always hear how hard it is to not face a lot of shots, and though I understand the principle that it's hard to stay alert, I also find that when you face less shots, you typically let in less goals, so I don't know how much I agree with all those announcers. But if they're right, he had a hell of a game.

Now it's on to Calgary Thursday night and to Vancouver this weekend.

Hawks get a Significant Win

The Blackhawks had lost three straight coming into a couple games against Anaheim and Detroit. It was a three game losing streak with what seemed like an opponents' option for five.

Patrick Sharp scored late in the first period to give the Hawks a lead going into the first intermission. Then the Ducks tied it up in the second when Selanne scored. Chris Pronger gave the Ducks the lead less than a minute into the third period and the Ducks started to shut things down for Chicago. Anaheim has turned this into an art the past few seasons. They control the puck and get physical when they don't have it, making it seem like you have no chance to score.

When Anaheim went on the power play with just under eight minutes left, it looked like they had a chance to put the game away. However, Ryan Getzlaf picked up a slashing penalty about halfway into the power play to make it 4-on-4. Chicago took advantage and showed that these are not your 2007-08 Blackhawks.

Duncan Keith jumped into the play, took a pass from Kris Versteeg, then fed Martin Havlat for a one-timer to tie the game. After most of the period was dominated by Anaheim, Chicago had stolen the momentum. With 1:35 left in the game, Versteeg made a great pass through the crease and found Jonathan Toews open for the game winner. Cristobal Huet, who made great saves all night, made one last point blank stop and the Hawks added an empty net goal for the 4-2 win.

This is the kind of win that gives you confidence the rest of the season. Sure, Giguere wasn't in net for the Ducks, but to come back against a team of this caliber after you've lost three straight lets you know that it can be done again.

Blackhawks Impressive in First Win

Breathe easy, Hawks fans; the Blackhawks will not go winless this year. In fact, it looks like the team could actually live up to some of the preseason hype. A few things stood out in the win:

• Khabibulin was a monster in the net. He has at least earned consideration to share time equally with newcomer Huet. Bulin made 29 saves on 30 shots, many of them were spectacular, including a sprawling save after doing a 180 and a pad save (and a beauty) on a rebound during a 5 on 3. Sometimes it takes great goaltending to get a team going and when Khabibulin made a handful of great saves while only giving up one goal, the team picked him up.
• There were also some huge hits. Dustin Byfuglien was his usual bad-ass self and rookie Aaron Johnson laid out a Coyote player in the second period. If guys like these two can continue to bring the physical play while Havlat, Toews, Kane, and Sharp provide the scoring, the Hawks will be playing more than 82 games this year. Sometimes a big hit can really get a team going. See where I'm going?
• Finally, the playmakers made plays. The Hawks got goals from Havlat, which was an amazing goal as you can see in the highlight, Sharp, and Campbell last night. Havlat's one man show for a backhand goal opened the scoring for the Hawks and as Toews mentioned, really loosened things up on the bench. Sometimes it takes great goals from your playmakers to get a team going.

A great all-around performance from the Blackhawks. The challenge will be to sustain this kind of effort throughout the season, as they struggled through a couple horrible losing streaks last year. Maybe the huge play from Havlat is a sign that he really can be the player the Hawks thought they were getting when they signed him. It was a good night for Chicago, let's see if they can keep it going. The next game is Saturday at St. Louis.