Sharp shoots and, happily for him, this time he scores
Patrick Sharp admitted all those misses were running through his mind when he skated down on Colorado goalie Craig Anderson in another shootout with the Avalanche on Wednesday night at the United Center.
Sharp didn't miss this time.
With the game on his stick in the third round, he beat Anderson to give the Hawks a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Avs.
It was the third game between the two teams this season decided in a shootout.
Sharp had been 0-for-3 in shootouts and also missed a penalty shot Oct. 14 against Edmonton.
"I was thinking about it, and not just that, you could probably throw in about five breakaways 5-on-5 as well or short-handed," Sharp said. "It was definitely going through my mind, but I was bound to score sooner or later. Something about it today just felt right.
"It's nice to finally help out at a timely moment."
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't hesitate to come back with Sharp in the shootout, mostly because of a good move he made during a shootout drill at Tuesday's practice.
"I kind of liked the move he made yesterday," Quenneville said. "It kind of gave the coaching staff confidence that he was part of the order.
"We know he can score on breakaways."
It wasn't a masterpiece by the Hawks, although they did make a big third-period push, outshooting the Avs 15-3.
The Hawks weren't very crisp, particularly defensively, in the first 40 minutes and were lucky to get through the second period behind only 2-1 thanks to the play of goalie Cristobal Huet.
"He made a lot of big saves to keep us in the game," Hawks defenseman Cam Barker said. "For some reason we were kind if scrambly tonight. I'm just glad we were able to come back."
It was Barker who fueled the comeback with a pretty third-period goal that tied the game at 2-2.
Barker took a pass in his own zone, passed the puck to himself off the boards around Avs defenseman Kyle Quincey, cut in from the right side, and beat Anderson from in tight with a shot under the crossbar.
"That's probably my nicest NHL goal, that's for sure, and it came at a good time there," Barker said. "I was kind of on my backhand there for a little bit so I didn't think he expected me to get it up top like that."
The Hawks fell behind 1-0 at 9:44 of the first period when Huet couldn't stop Kyle Cumiskey's shot that banked in off him from behind the net.
Patrick Kane, who was jumping all night, tied it at 15:20 of the first with his first goal in six games. Kane beat Anderson with a wicked wrist shot under the crossbar from the low right circle for his fifth goal of the season.
Colorado regained the lead at 13:10 of the second period when Wojtek Wolski scored on a rebound.
"We lost some momentum in the second period and had to find a way to dig out of it," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said.
"Our third period got us in position to get the 2 points," Quenneville said.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Blackhawks 3, Avalanche 2</p> <p class="leadin">Three stars</p> <p class="News">1. Patrick Kane, Hawks: Had the puck on a string all night and scored his first goal in six games.</p> <p class="News">2. Cristobal Huet, Hawks: His 22 saves in the first two periods kept the Hawks from being run out of the rink.</p> <p class="News">3. Cam Barker, Hawks: His third period dash not only tied it but was one for the highlight reels.</p> <p class="leadin">Key stats</p> <p class="News">The Hawks killed all 4 Colorado power plays and won 65 percent of the faceoffs with Jonathan Toews going 17-5.</p> <p class="leadin">Extra time</p> <p class="News">All three games between the Hawks and Avs have been decided in shootouts, going a combined 20 rounds.</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=336004">Bowman stands pat with injuries<span class="date"> [11/11/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>