advertisement

Hawks light up scoreboard against Colorado

After six weeks games of games in which fans often were bored to tears by the lack of scoring at the United Center, the 22,007 in attendance Sunday night certainly got their money's worth in a 6-3 Chicago Blackhawks victory over Colorado.

The goal horn sounded eight times in less than 39 minutes, with fans dancing to "Chelsea Dagger" six times, and the Hawks raced to their seventh straight victory.

Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa scored 2 goals each, and Brandon Mashinter and Jonathan Toews also got in on the fun. Corey Crawford made 34 saves, and the Hawks (27-13-4) are now within 4 points of first-place Dallas in the Central Division.

For Hossa, it was just his sixth and seventh goals of the season, giving him 493 during his illustrious career.

"It's been such a long time," said Hossa, who hadn't scored in 14 games. "Definitely it felt good. I try to work hard and (I'm) getting opportunities and the puck doesn't go in. Try to stay positive. I'm glad tonight (they) went in."

Hossa, who will turn 37 on Tuesday, said he was hoping he'd score again as a 36-year-old. After the first goal, Kane made it seem like Hossa was 26 again … or even 16.

"He was starting to dance a little bit after he scored that first one. He was fun to watch," Kane said.

The fun for fans (who saw an average of just 3.8 combined goals in the last 12 home games) began early and often as Mashinter, Kane and Hossa started the avalanche of goals, staking the Hawks to a 3-0 lead before the game was 22 minutes old.

Colorado made it 3-2 when Matt Duchene beat Crawford twice in just more than four minutes, but goals by Kane (at 12:25 of the second period), Toews (at 14:31) and Hossa (at 18:42) put the game away.

"They (the Hawks) have so many weapons that can hurt you every night," Duchene said. "When they're all going, it's really scary."

The Avs' Nathan MacKinnon made it 6-3 with 4:58 remaining, but it was too little too late.

Kane, who has never recorded a hat trick in the regular season, said he was "absolutely" looking to try and score a third time.

"It would have been nice to get one more," Kane said. "I think I had a few chances."

The Avalanche came in winners of three straight, and their goalie, Semyon Varlamov, has owned the Hawks over his career, compiling an 11-3-1 record before Sunday. Varlamov, though, gave up 4 goals on Dec. 31 as the Hawks won 4-3 in overtime and he lasted only 32 minutes Sunday. He stopped just 16 of 20 shots.

"He's got our number over the years," Hossa said. "He's played extremely well against us. We are glad we (broke) that streak and we got a couple wins and a few goals against him."

The Hawks close out their four-game homestand Tuesday against Nashville, then play nine of the next 11 on the road.

• Follow John on Twitter at @johndietzdh.

Toews says being an all-star always an honor

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.