Blackhawks snap 3-game losing streak
ST. LOUIS - There was nothing wrong with the energy level of the Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Led by goalie Antti Niemi and with a strong effort from the penalty killers, the Hawks snapped their three-game winless skid with a gritty 2-1 win over the Blues at Scottrade Center.
Playing in a hostile building against the physical Blues apparently was just what the Hawks needed to snap out of their funk.
"We weren't happy with the way we've been playing since Carolina and maybe even before that," said Patrick Sharp, who had a goal and assist reunited on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. "We definitely weren't panicking in our locker room, but tonight was a must win and we wanted to come out and have a good game against a tough opponent."
Niemi was outstanding in his first appearance in two weeks and coming off a bout with the flu, turning aside 34 shots to run his personal record to 14-4-1.
"That was one of those games where you can call it a goalie win for us," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We were coming off some disappointing games here and he was great."
The goalie is often your best penalty killer and Niemi was as the Blues went 1-for-8 on the power play. They got a late goal from Alexander Steen with 1:46 to play during a two-man advantage, but earlier in the game the Blues failed on a two-man advantage for 41 seconds late in the second period.
The game ended with the Blues on a power play.
"We were short-handed too many times for our liking, but Antti helped the (penalty killers) get through it and preserved the win," Quenneville said.
"He made huge saves all the way through," Sharp said. "The first shift of the game and he made a big save on an open net. He never stops battling."
The Hawks got first-period goals from Sharp and Toews on the newly formed first line.
Sharp replaced Troy Brouwer on the left side and opened the scoring at 5:33 with his 17th goal on a feed from Toews.
It was Kane setting up Toews for his 19th goal of the season at 15:51.
"It's a fun line to play on, that's for sure," Sharp said. "I think all three of us will answer the same question and say we enjoy playing with each other."
Toews, who questioned the Hawks' energy level following Friday's 2-1 loss to Phoenix, had no such concerns on Saturday.
"Guys were definitely sacrificing themselves, blocking shots and doing what we had to do," Toews said. "Every guy stepped up. We all played more physical and sacrificed a little more tonight and that's the number one reason we came out with 2 points. That's the kind of effort we need to show up with every night."
Toews also credited the tons of Hawks fans that made the trip with contributing to the victory.
"It was pretty cool to see all the fans we had come from Chicago or all over," Toews said. "It almost felt like we were back in our building."
<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Tim Sassone's game tracker</b></p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Blackhawks 2, Blues 1</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Three stars</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">1. Antti Niemi, Hawks: Great again with 34 saves, many of them on 8 St. Louis power plays.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">2. Jonathan Toews, Hawks: Big game for the captain with a goal, assist and 15-7 on faceoffs; he took a pounding and kept coming.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">3. John Madden, Hawks: Helped key the penalty killing with a team-leading 6:16 of short-handed ice time.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">By the numbers</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">The Hawks blocked 15 shots and won 53 percent of the faceoffs.</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">Home cooking?</p>
<p class="factboxtext12col">If the Blues miss the playoffs, and they will, they can point to their record at home, which is now 9-16-5.</p>