Blackhawks get hosed by Canucks
It wasn’t their best effort Saturday night, but the Chicago Blackhawks probably deserved a better fate on Saturday night, as they dropped to 1-1 on their road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
The Hawks struggled to find consistency on Saturday, failing to capitalize on some key opportunities that could have netted them a win (or at least a point by pushing the game to overtime) – not the least of which was the failure to convert on a 5-on-3 opportunity in the second period.
But the officials did Chicago no favors either – as replays showed Vancouver’s first goal came on an offside shot, a Blackhawks goal was disallowed over an interference call that replays clearly showed no interference on, and a phantom holding call late in the second period that led to a game-tying power play goal.
You know, I’m looking at this as a Hawks fan and I’m sure there were some calls that changed things negatively for the Canucks too. But this is the NHL and the officials need to be held to a higher standard. Maybe the Hawks didn’t bring their “A” game to this one, but neither did the zebras – and that’s a shame.
Marty Turco got his second-straight start in goal and turned in a solid performance, making several impressive stops. While his game was solid though, some of those impressive stops were countered by somewhat “soft” goals, showing that right now his game isn’t at the level it takes to play at playoff levels and it may be time to go back to Corey Crawford and see if he has what it takes. Right now Chicago is on the outside looking in at the playoffs, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference. Even if they are just a point out of that last playoff spot, this is a team that needs to start racking up some wins and doing it now. Turco just doesn’t seem to have the spark to rattle off the consecutive wins the Blackhawks need.
The power play was another problem for Chicago, with Vancouver notching two of its goals with a man advantage, while Chicago was 0-for-5 – including that two-man advantage for 47 seconds in the second period.
“We have to find a way to get points out of this game,” Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “Our penalty kill and power play could have done a better job. It was the special teams that made the difference, but five-on-five, I think we played real well. Everyone battled hard and we looked pretty good out there.”
Pretty good, yes -- just not good enough to beat the league’s top team.
Overall, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist to lead the Hawks offense, while Dave Bolland and Nick Boynton added goals and Brent Seabrook had two assists.
“We worked hard,” Toews said. “We’re not going to get too negative with each other about that game, because we did some good things. We have to bring that energy and that work ethic every single night. You can see what we can do against one of the best teams in the conference. If we get that level of play every single night, we’re going to get a lot of points.”
Points, yes. Playoff spot, probably. Another Stanley Cup, don’t count on it unless this team can find another level to step up to – just like Vancouver did.
Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, right, makes a glove save as Chicago's Patrick Kane looks on during the third period Friday night in Vancouver. Luongo was sharp, stopping 42 shots as the Canucks rallied past Chicago, 4-3.
But the officials did Chicago no favors either – as replays showed Vancouver’s first goal came on an offside shot, a Blackhawks goal was disallowed over an interference call that replays clearly showed no interference on, and a phantom holding call late in the second period that led to a game-tying power play goal.
You know, I’m looking at this as a Hawks fan and I’m sure there were some calls that changed things negatively for the Canucks too. But this is the NHL and the officials need to be held to a higher standard. Maybe the Hawks didn’t bring their “A” game to this one, but neither did the zebras – and that’s a shame.
Marty Turco got his second-straight start in goal and turned in a solid performance, making several impressive stops. While his game was solid though, some of those impressive stops were countered by somewhat “soft” goals, showing that right now his game isn’t at the level it takes to play at playoff levels and it may be time to go back to Corey Crawford and see if he has what it takes. Right now Chicago is on the outside looking in at the playoffs, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference. Even if they are just a point out of that last playoff spot, this is a team that needs to start racking up some wins and doing it now. Turco just doesn’t seem to have the spark to rattle off the consecutive wins the Blackhawks need.
The power play was another problem for Chicago, with Vancouver notching two of its goals with a man advantage, while Chicago was 0-for-5 – including that two-man advantage for 47 seconds in the second period.
“We have to find a way to get points out of this game,” Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “Our penalty kill and power play could have done a better job. It was the special teams that made the difference, but five-on-five, I think we played real well. Everyone battled hard and we looked pretty good out there.”
Pretty good, yes -- just not good enough to beat the league’s top team.
Overall, Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist to lead the Hawks offense, while Dave Bolland and Nick Boynton added goals and Brent Seabrook had two assists.
“We worked hard,” Toews said. “We’re not going to get too negative with each other about that game, because we did some good things. We have to bring that energy and that work ethic every single night. You can see what we can do against one of the best teams in the conference. If we get that level of play every single night, we’re going to get a lot of points.”
Points, yes. Playoff spot, probably. Another Stanley Cup, don’t count on it unless this team can find another level to step up to – just like Vancouver did.
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