Hawks ride Byfuglien to OT win over Rangers

Most of Dustin Byfuglien's goals are the result of him camping in front of the net.

That wasn't the case in overtime Wednesday night.

Making like Bobby Hull flying down left wing, Byfuglien scored a spectacular goal 3:43 into OT to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers at the United Center.

Byfuglien picked up the puck in full stride in the neutral zone, flew by Rangers defenders Matt Gilroy and Marian Gaborik, cut in on goalie Henrik Lundqvist and tucked the puck through Lundqvist's pads.

"That was maybe the highlight of the year," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

"I just got on my horse, took off, got a clear lane to the net and drove and got it between the five hole," Byfugflien said. "They were tired at the end of their shift and I just got out there and put the jets on, see what happens. I got a shot and it turned out pretty good."

Best goal of Byfuglien's career?

"I'd probably have to say so, wouldn't you?" Byfuglien joked.

Tired or not, that was a 257-pound runaway train bearing on Gilroy and Gaborik.

"He kind of just took off there and the guys couldn't do anything about it," Hawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "He's got a lot of speed when he wants to get going."

It was Lundqvist frustrating the Hawks deep into the third period with it looking as if Chris Higgins' first-period goal would hold up.

But on their third power play of the third period, the Hawks cashed in with Jonathan Toews scoring the tying goal with 5:55 left in regulation.

Toews dug out a rebound in the crease with help from Marian Hossa and flipped a backhander over a sprawled Lundqvist.

The Hawks outshot the Rangers 37-16 in regulation and 41-18 for the game.

"Chicago's the best team we've faced all year," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "They had the puck all night and we weren't strong enough to take it away from them. We were totally void of competing with the Hawks."

The Hawks trailed 1-0 after the first period despite outshooting the Rangers 16-5. The Hawks had 14 more shots in the second period, but again Lundqvist saw them all.

"We had a lot of chances and a lot of shots and their goaltender was making good saves," Keith said. "We just stuck with the program."

Despite the win, the Hawks' high-flying offense has hit some bumpy air with just 10 goals in the last six games.

Byfuglien's goal was his third in 14 games. Patrick Kane none in eight games, Patrick Sharp 2 in 16, Andrew Ladd none in nine and Troy Brouwer 1 in nine.

The Hawks looked sloppy on their first three power plays until early in the third period when John Madden, Brouwer and Byfuglien had a good flurry to get things going.

Byfuglien hit the crossbar on a tip on a power play but he more than made up for it later.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p> <p class="News">Blackhawks 2, Rangers 1 (OT)</p> <p class="News"><b>Three stars:</b></p> <p class="News">1. Dustin Byfuglien, Hawks: Scored the winner in overtime on one of the prettiest goals of the season.</p> <p class="News">2. Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers: It might have been a blowout for the Hawks if not for his 39 saves in goal.</p> <p class="News">3. Jonathan Toews, Hawks: Great second, third and fourth effort on the tying goal with 5:55 to play, plus he was 14-4 on faceoffs.</p> <p class="News"><b>Key stat:</b> Patrick Sharp had 10 of the Hawks' 41 shots on goal.</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=343033">Byfuglien still hoping for Olympic spot<span class="date"> [12/9/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>