Seabrook does it all in Hawks' victory
It was Brent Seabrook's laser beam of a game-winning goal that drew most of the attention to him at the United Center on Friday night.
But a closer examination of the the Blackhawks' 3-2 win over the Red Wings showed what a deeper role Seabrook played.
How about no shots on goal for Detroit stars Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen, two-thirds of the Red Wings' first line that faced Seabrook and defense partner Duncan Keith most of the game.
“We always try to be prepared for the defensive part of the game playing against these guys,” Seabrook said. “It's nice if we can contribute at the other end of the ice.”
The Hawks' eighth win in 10 games kept them first overall in the NHL standings and gave them a little breathing room in the Central Division by extending their lead over Detroit and St. Louis to 5 points.
Twice the Hawks came back from 1-goal deficits with Seabrook giving them their first lead on his rocket past Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard's glove at 1:52 of the third period.
“I'd say we were on our game tonight and so were they,” Jonathan Toews said. “To play with a 1-goal lead for as long as we did in the third period, we did a good job keeping them in their zone and making sure their dangerous players weren't too much of a factor there.”
Toews and Marian Hossa, reunited as linemates with Daniel Carcillo, were the two best players on the ice.
Hossa's 17th goal at 7:30 of the second period made it 2-2 and showcased the kind of night he had when the puck never seemed to leave his stick.
“Hossa had a monster game, as Johnny did,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
“I thought Hossa and Toews were dominant for them tonight,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.
The Hawks were trailing 1-0 late in the first period when Toews scored his 21st goal of the season on a penalty shot after he was hauled down by Nicklas Lidstrom.
Toews beat Howard through the pads with a hard wrist shot the goalie said he knew was coming.
“That's his move, to go five hole, so I was prepared for it,” Howard said. “I just didn't get the legs closed fast enough. I knew exactly what he was doing. I've faced him a couple of times on penalty shots and that's what he does every single time, so I figured that's what he was going to do.
“I mean he fires it. He zips it there, but I thought I should have had it.”
Toews smiled when told what Howard said.
“Just keep doing what I'm doing, I guess, and they'll have to figure it out,” Toews said. “Whether I'm going to make a move or try that shot, I'm just happy it went in.”
The Hawks won despite going 0-for-5 on the power play, including three straight failures in the third period with a 1-goal lead.
The Red Wings were given just 1 power play, but Babcock wasn't complaining.
“We got outplayed, so any way you look at it that's not good enough,” he said. “We just didn't have enough sustained play in their zone.”