Panarin, Tootoo both score, but Hawks fall
With just three games remaining in the regular season and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference wrapped up, the only thing the Blackhawks should be worried about at this point is staying healthy for what they expect to be a long playoff run.
So when Patrick Kane left the ice during warmups Sunday morning before the Hawks dropped a 3-2 decision to Boston, a palpable sense of panic erupted across the social-media universe.
It turned out to be nothing - he was simply hit by a puck and left with a bloody lip - but it reminded everyone that health is the No. 1 priority at this time of year.
Joel Quenneville talked before the game about limiting players' ice time to keep everyone fresh, but he certainly didn't hold back against Boston as Duncan Keith (25:54), Kane (22:00), Jonathan Toews (21:48) and Artemi Panarin (21:13) all saw significant ice time.
"The real hockey's going to start here in a week, 10 days, and we want to be rolling and playing our best hockey, and that's what these (last) games are for," said Brent Seabrook, who assisted on both Hawks goals.
The only thing left to play for from a standings perspective is playoff positioning with the top teams in the East. Washington (112 points) basically wrapped up the Presidents' Trophy on Sunday, but the Hawks (107 points), Penguins (107) and Blue Jackets (106) are all in a tight race for the league's second-best record.
Boston, which improved to 43-30-6 and greatly helped its playoff chances, grabbed a 2-0 lead after one period.
The Hawks made it 2-1 at 18:12 of the second period on an Artemi Panarin goal that included an assist by Richard Panik that may go down as the craziest point in NHL history. After colliding with defenseman Brandon Carlo, Panik slid into the Bruins' net and stayed still, covering his face as the play continued.
Panarin proceeded to hit Panik in the right shoulder with a shot, and when the puck bounced back to Panarin, the Russian star ripped home the rebound for his 29th goal.
"One of the all-time great passes by Pans," coach Joel Quenneville deadpanned afterward.
Panik, who didn't even feel the initial shot by Panarin, covered his face because he was shook up from the hit by Carlo.
"I got an elbow to my right jaw," said Panik, who now has 21 assists to go with 22 goals. "I wasn't real happy about that, but as soon as we scored I was happy."
Boston made it 3-1 when Kevan Millar scored at 9:15 of the third period, but the Hawks made it a 1-goal game again when Jordin Tootoo scored 25 seconds later. It was just Tootoo's second goal of the season.
The Hawks couldn't get the equalizer, though, and closed out the home portion of the schedule with a 26-10-5 record at the United Center. They finish the regular season with a three-game road trip to Colorado, Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Asked what he's looking for down the stretch, Quenneville said: "Play the right way, keep everybody fresh and focused on what we need to do to be the best we can starting the following week. But we want to make sure (that with) our habits and the simple things (that) we're doing right things."