Burish gets crowd revved up early; Sharp's OT goal closes the deal

That was almost six months of pent-up energy and emotion Adam Burish let fly on his first shift of the season Wednesday night at the United Center.

Burish marked his return to the lineup after missing the first 65 games following knee surgery with an assist and a fight in the game's opening three minutes as the Blackhawks went on to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in overtime.

Patrick Sharp's second goal of the night at 2:08 of OT made a winner of goalie Antti Niemi, who was strong in a 28-save performance.

Burish's centering pass from behind the net resulted in Sharp's first goal at 2:34 of the opening period. Just 20 seconds later Burish fought Rich Clune, raising his arms as he skated to the penalty box after the scrap to wild cheers from the crowd.

"I wanted to get in a fight; it's been so long," Burish said. "I got out there for the first shift, jumped out there quick with (Patrick) Kane and Sharpie and, boom, we get a goal right away. I said, 'All right, this is easy, now I'm going to grab the first guy I can find who wants to go,' and Clune came over.

"It was a fun way to start the game. It couldn't have had it any better other than if I would have scored. I wanted to contribute in some way."

Sharp's winner came after a Kings turnover in the neutral zone. Dave Bolland picked up the puck and fed Sharp, who beat goalie Jonathan Quick on a breakaway.

Sharp was all by himself at the blue line on the left side when Bolland spotted him.

"I was yelling as loud as I could," said Sharp, now with 21 goals. "I've had a few breakaways this year that have gone the other way, so it's nice to score one when it counts."

The lift the Hawks got early from Burish got them and the crowd into the game.

"Great start, great first shift," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "He brings energy and enthusiasm. The crowd got some energy as well."

Leading 1-0 after the first period, the Hawks were better in the second period than they have been in awhile. They allowed 2 early goals by Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar in what has become a troublesome period for them, but Kris Versteeg's goal at 8:25 made it 2-2 heading to the third.

Versteeg's goal capped a great shift with linemates John Madden and Andrew Ladd.

"Two quick goals and it was almost like here we go again, but I thought we responded well after the second goal," Sharp said. "The second period was a focus of ours before the game, and we're moving in the right direction. The bottom line is we won the game."

Both goalies played well and made timely saves to get the game to overtime. Niemi made an important stop on Michal Handzus on a 2-on-1 six minutes into the third period to keep it 2-2, while Quick had 38 saves in regulation.

"I thought Niemi was solid," Quenneville said. "I liked how he battled in the third period.

"I thought we were pretty good. I thought we checked well against a good team."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Tim Sassone's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Blackhawks 3, Kings 2 (OT)</p>

<p class="News"><b>Three stars</b></p>

<p class="News">1. Patrick Sharp, Hawks: Two goals, including the game winner in overtime.</p>

<p class="News">2. Adam Burish, Hawks: An assist and a fight on his first shift in his return from preseason knee surgery.</p>

<p class="News">3. Jonathan Quick, Kings: A 40-save effort in net.</p>

<p class="News"><b>By the numbers</b></p>

<p class="News">The Hawks were 0-for-4 on the power play that included a failed 5-on-3 for 1:41 in the first period. The Hawks have only 1 goal 5-on-3 this season in 14 chances.</p>

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