Hawks snap skid but lose Hossa to injury
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Chicago Blackhawks goalie Marty Turco, right, blocks a shot by Los Angeles Kings' Michal Handzus (26) during the first period in Chicago Wednesday. Associated Press |
It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the Blackhawks will take it.
On a night when the Hawks were not only a bit sloppy again in their own end but lost Marian Hossa with an upper body injury to boot, goalie Marty Turco was the difference in a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center.
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Hawks' Campbell enjoys first day on ice Quenneville has no problem mixing up his linesThe Hawks have needed secondary scoring and got it with goals from fourth-line center Jake Dowell and third-line winger Viktor Stalberg to snap a two-game losing streak.
Turco made 15 of his 33 saves in the third period, many off scrambles in front, to protect a 2-1 lead until Patrick Sharp’s clincher with 2:05 to play.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got pucks out of dangerous areas when he wad to and kept them off the score sheet in the third period,” captain Jonathan Toews said. “That’s how you win hockey games.
“We’ve played with a lot of leads in some of these games we lost and we found a way throw it away in the third period.”
Hossa left early in the second period and didn’t return after playing only 10 minutes. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said Hossa would be re-evaluated today.
“He came off and I don’t know if it was a direct blow or not,” Quenneville said.
Normally, Quenneville reveals if an injury isn’t serious, but he wasn’t ready to do that.
“It’s too early to tell,” he said.
The goals from Dowell and Stalberg were big in that it was the third and fourth lines producing offense.
Dowell opened the scoring at 5:16 of the first period with his first goal of the season on a backhander from a tough angle that deflected off a stick and past Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier.
It was 1-1 when Stalberg got his third goal of the season 1:18 into the second period on a Duncan Keith rebound.
“It always seems whether you get a short-handed goal or you get contributions from those guys that don’t have a lot of production, usually you find a way that you’re going to be successful,” Quenneville said. “You find those goals are a lot bigger than those that are predictable or expected.”
Dowell and Stalberg played only 10 minutes each but were key factors in the victory.
“I don’t think Sharpie is going to wind up with 82 goals, so obviously someone has got to pick it up a little bit, and hopefully I can be one of those guys that provides some secondary scoring for this team,” Stalberg said.
Said Dowell: “The big guys are going to score consistently, but we still need some secondary guys to chip in too.”
Sharp’s goal was his NHL-leading ninth of the year. He blew around defenseman Ron Scuderi to tuck the puck past Bernier.
“He’s off to an amazing start,” Quenneville said.
