Hawks lose lead, Toews in final period

It was a third period to forget for the Blackhawks at the United Center Wednesday night.

Not only did the Hawks kick away a 2-1 lead because of penalties and breakdowns, they lost captain Jonathan Toews six minutes into the period after a crushing check by Vancouver defenseman Willie Mitchell.

Defenseman Brent Seabrook also left late in the third as the Hawks lost to the Canucks 3-2 to put their losing streak at two.

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville offered no specifics of Toews' injury other than to call it an upper body.

"We'll see how he presents (today)," said Quenneville, who also said he thought Seabrook would be fine.

Mitchell was leaving the penalty box seconds after Toews took a pass in the neutral zone. Towes never saw Mitchell coming.

"It was a clean hit, but he came out of the box and it looked like he had clear ice there," Quenneville said.

"I thought the hit was clean," said Mitchell, who appeared to hit Toews on the chin with his shoulder.

The Hawks led 2-1 at the time, but the hit helped turn the game around.

Kris Versteeg jumped Mitchell, earning an extra minor penalty for roughing, but the Hawks killed it.

They couldn't kill Dustin Byfuglien's double-minor penalty for high-sticking Kevin Bieksa at 8:52. Michael Grabner ripped a shot past goalie Antti Niemi at 12:16 to tie it.

Minutes later a turnover by Patrick Kane following a poor passing exchange with Brian Campbell in their own end was picked off by Mikael Samuelsson, who beat Niemi with a hard wrist shot from inside the left circle with 4:42 to play.

"We had momentum there and kind of lost it because of penalties," Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith said.

Quenneville sees a trend of penalties being taken by his club in third periods.

"I just look at the last two games and we've taken four and five penalties in the third period," Quenneville said. "There's no reason to be careless and give up so many power plays."

Byfuglien also took a roughing penalty after a whistle late in the first period that led to a power-play goal by Steve Bernier early in the second to make it 1-1.

Part of the mess that was the third period for the Hawks was another missed 5-on-3 power play chance of their own early. The Hawks led 2-1 when they got a two-man advantage for 66 seconds only to get nothing.

"That was the turning point in the game," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said.

The Hawks are 0-for-4 on 5-on-3s in their nine games.

"Certainly we've got to cash in there," Quenneville said. "If we score there we're in good shape."

Quenneville thought Niemi played well in a 28-save performance.

"He gave us a chance and kept us in the game," Quenneville said.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Canucks 3, Blackhawks 2</p> <p class="News"><b>Three stars</b></p> <p class="News">1. Duncan Keith, Hawks: Goal and assist and was his team's best player.</p> <p class="News">2. Mikael Samuelsson, Canucks: His goal was the game-winner with 4:42 to play and he also had an assist.</p> <p class="News">3. Willie Mitchell, Canucks: His hit on Jonathan Toews early in the third period with the Canucks trailing 2-1 knocked the Hawks' captain out of the game and changed the momentum.</p> <p class="News"><b>Key stat</b></p> <p class="News">The Hawks were outshot for the first time this season 31-20. The Canucks outshot them 25-10 over the final two periods.</p> <p class="News"><b>Power outage</b></p> <p class="News">The Hawks were 0-for-4 on the power play, failing on a 5-on-3 in the third period that lasted 66 seconds. The Hawks are 0-for-4 with the two-man advantage this season, all of them lasting 55 seconds or longer.</p> <div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=330873">Hawks not used to seeing only one Sedin<span class="date"> [10/21/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>