The Chicago Blackhawks, fighting to keep slim playoff opes alive, entered action last night in French Canada against the Montreal Canadiens, a team similarly engaged in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Thus, stakes were high for both teams. The game also featured a renewal of a minor rivalry between the Canadiens’ Carey Price and Chicago’s Corey Crawford, in recent years, two of the league’s premier goalies.
Blackhawks lines and pairings:
Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dylan Sikura
Dominik Kahun–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–Dylan Strome–Brendan Perlini
Chris Kunitz–David Kampf–Marcus Kruger
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
FIRST PERIOD
While the pace of the action was fast from the opening horn, it was also clear that checking woud be tight, with each puck and shot contested. There was no score in the period, with shots ending 13-11 for Montreal.
SECOND PERIOD
At 3:04 Connor Murphy pinched and gathered in a pass from Dylan Strome in the slot, beating Price high to give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, the red hot Brendan Perlini found the twine, giving Chicago a 2-goal cushion. 2-0 at 4:49.
Toward the end of the period, Montreal began to put some intense pressure on Crawford, but the Chicago netminder was more than up to the challenge, delivering several stellar saves.
The oeriod ended at 2-0, with shots favoring Montreal 17-8.
THIRD PERIOD
The intense Montreal attack continued unabated throughout the third, but again, Crawford came up big.Price was pulled in order to create an extra man advantage for Montreal, but to no avail. The Canadiens outshot the Hawks 18-5 in the period, yet prevailed in the game, final score 2-0. Shots were 18-5 for the third.
THE GOOD
Crawford and, to a certain extent, the Hawk defense.
THE BAD
48 shots allowed is way too many under any circumstances, and Chicago has given up too many shots all season long, though better of late. Notably, Erik Gustafsson’s minutes were reduced last night, with Murphy, Slater Koekkoek, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook all logging more TOI.
THE UGLY
None, both teams played well. Chicago’s goalie was simply the better of the two.
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