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Blackhawks power their way to shutout victory

Sure it's been fantastic that the Blackhawks have been outshooting their opponents by enormous margins lately.

But that quantity hasn't led to quality and certainly hasn't led to the goals piling up for the Hawks, whether at even strength or on the power play.

That's why for the past week or so, coach Joel Quenneville could not have stressed more the need for his guys to get to the net and cause some traffic.

"As a team I still think we've got to get more guys going to the net without the puck," Quenneville said. "With the puck down low, we should be looking to take ourselves in that area. I just think we need to score some greasier goals than we have earlier this year."

Quenneville's theory became reality in a big way Tuesday at the United Center in the Hawks' 4-0 victory over Philadelphia.

"I thought it was our best game," Quenneville said. "I thought we were better in all aspects of our game. We did a lot of good things, and I think if you look at all areas tonight we were pretty pleased."

All 4 of the Hawks goals came from within five feet of the Flyers' net, including a pair on the power play from Patrick Kane, who was stationed at Steve Mason's side on each of them.

"I thought the power play was pretty good tonight - a lot of shots," Kane said of the Hawks, who finished 2-for-4 on the man advantage. "It was a good bounce-back game for the power play, especially after last game (0-for-5).

"But it's still a work in progress. It's still early."

Two of the guys Quenneville was looking to see crashing the nets more - Bryan Bickell and Brandon Saad - did just that Tuesday. The two new linemates made a spectacular debut by scoring minutes apart in the first period.

Their goals, for each their first of the season, were sandwiched by Kane's first PP tally, giving the Hawks a 3-0 lead by the midway point of the first period.

Bickell and Saad each finished with a goal and an assist, and center Brad Richards also got off the schneid with his assist on Saad's goal to open the scoring.

"That was a great start for sure," Kane said. "I don't know if last five minutes of the first and second periods were really what we wanted though."

Antti Raanta, who found out he would be starting Tuesday morning and may continue to for the short term because of Corey Crawford's upper-body injury, made his season debut a winning one by turning away all 32 shots he faced.

"A shutout is always special," a beaming Raanta said. "It's a good way to start my season."

"He stood tall and made some huge saves on some backdoor plays and some one-timers and really looked calm and composed," Kane said. "Good for him."

mspellman@dailyherald.com

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