Hawks sweep Flames again
For a Calgary club desperately needing a win Sunday to help keep alive its playoff hopes in the Western Conference, the last team the Flames probably wanted to see was the Blackhawks.
The Hawks' two-year domination of the Flames continued with a 4-1 win at the United Center, making it two years in a row they have swept the four-game season series from Calgary. Counting last spring's playoffs the Hawks are 12-2 against the Flames.
Think the Hawks wouldn't mind playing Calgary in the first round?
"We just didn't do enough to win," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "We're not dead, but we need some help."
The Hawks look to be back on track after their recent struggles. Sunday's win was their third in a row and they've allowed only 2 goals in those three games with Antti Niemi in the net.
"Antti's really helped that number (2 goals against) look special," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
Niemi has a .929 save percentage in his last 10 starts. Even Quenneville had to laugh when asked if he even needed to say publicly that Niemi would be the starting goalie in the playoffs.
"We'll just move on and keep going the same way," Quenneville said.
It was an uphill battle for the Flames after Tomas Kopecky opened the scoring at 2:56 of the first period. Troy Brouwer's goal with 54 seconds left in the opening period was a killer for Calgary.
Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for the Hawks, who have found the pace in their game again in the last week.
"A week ago you could call it not very good or terrible," Quenneville said. "The one noticeable thing that we talked about a week ago is we had no pace in our game and no speed in our game. It's a noticeable difference in our game.
"Antti's really responded here this week, but I still think across the board we have more guys going and more lines going, and that's what we're looking for."
Finding their legs: The Hawks' Olympians appear to have found their second wind.
Duncan Keith was plus-3 in Sunday's win with 6 blocked shots, Brent Seabrook was plus-2 with 2 assists, and Patrick Kane had a goal and assist.
"For those guys it's a long year and it's challenging," Joel Quenneville said. "We'll keep an eye on those guys right up until the end of the year."
Nifty 50: With 1 more victory, the Hawks can set a franchise record with 50 wins. Sunday's win tied the mark of 49 held by the 1970-71 and 1990-91 clubs.
Those are two painful seasons in Hawks history. The 1970-71 Hawks lost to Montreal at home in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals while the 1990-91 Hawks were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota North Stars after winning the President's Trophy.
Tip-ins: Tomas Kopecky's 10th goal gave the Hawks 11 players with 10 or more. - Adam Burish was a healthy scratch for the third straight game. -Calgary's Jarome Iginla was minus-2 with 1 shot on goal. -The Flames have three games to play against San Jose, Minnesota and Vancouver.