Toews' winner one for the books
Five games, five overtimes.
Hard to imagine a series much closer than this one.
But the Blackhawks clearly weren't ready for golf season yet and they played the third period and overtime like they didn't want to dust off the clubs Sunday.
Nick Leddy scored midway through the third period to tie it at 1-1 and then Jonathan Toews pulled off a game-winner for the ages in overtime, and the Hawks stayed alive with a 2-1 victory in Arizona on Saturday night in Game 5.
Toews won a faceoff 2:37 into the extra period, but the puck squirted to the half-boards where a scrum ensued. The Hawks captain beat two Coyotes and emerged with the puck in his skates.
He managed to untangle himself and looked up to find an open lane to the net. Toews walked in below the dot while Bryan Bickell tied up Phoenix defenseman Rostislav Klesla, leaving Toews alone with goaltender Mike Smith.
As Toews took a peek, Smith left him almost nothing to shoot for, but Toews knew Smith would likely go down. He did, giving Toews a 10-inch hole in the top left corner.
In true Mike Bossy fashion, and a shot worthy of any playoff sniper in NHL history, Toews buried it high stick-side, just inside the post where it meets the crossbar, and the Hawks were alive to fight another day.
That day is Monday, with an 8 p.m. start scheduled for Game 6 at the UC.
“I had a feeling that something good was gonna happen,” Toews said. “We had the feeling in this overtime that this was our game and we went out there to take it.
“We want to feel like this is a turning point in the series for us and we're happy to be going home for the next one.”
The Hawks would prefer to win the next one in 60 minutes, but if it has to go to overtime again, so be it.
“Tough on the ticker,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville with a smile. “Never a dull moment, but at least we didn't have to pull the goalie this time.”
No, Leddy's goal through a Dave Bolland screen at 9:15 of the third tied the game at 1-1, and the Hawks had chances in the last five minutes of regulation to win it.
“I thought we played our best game of the series tonight,” Quenneville said. “Even though we were down 1-0 going into the third, I liked the way we were playing after 40 (minutes).
“We stuck with it. We kept talking about shots and traffic.”
Shots getting through is still a problem because the Coyotes are so committed to blocking them, and traffic is almost nonexistent as the Hawks can't get shots and bodies to the net at the same time.
But facing elimination in the third period, and when the Hawks really needed it, they got both.
“Going into tonight's game, one thing we stressed was that we hadn't played our best yet, and I think there's another level we have to get to and when we get it, it's gonna feel great and taste great,” Quenneville said. “I think we're getting there and this was a major step in the right direction.”
Not a moment too soon.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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