Blackhawks make it 2 wins in a row
It has been a while since we've seen the Blackhawks in their red home jerseys.
After nine games and more than three weeks on the road, the Hawks return to the United Center on Sunday to face the St. Louis Blues.
They're back home feeling a lot better about themselves after salvaging the final two games on their mostly nightmarish trip. The Hawks followed up their big win in New York on Thursday by thumping the Blue Jackets 6-1 on Saturday at Nationwide Arena.
“It's huge to snap that losing streak, but to come back with a win like we did today, I'd say it was even bigger,” Jonathan Toews said.
Toews had a goal and 2 assists and was instrumental in leading the Hawks back from a sloppy first 10 minutes in which they fell behind 1-0 after a bad Sami Lepisto turnover.
Toews tied it at 12:27 with his 29th goal on a terrific power move to the net. The captain took advantage of center Jeff Carter trying to play like a defenseman and went around him to beat goalie Steve Mason with a backhander.
“We got better as the game went on, and Johnny's goal helped us,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We took off from there.”
“I thought we were in control and Toews made a great individual play,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said.
The Hawks got out of the first period ahead 2-1 on Viktor Stalberg's 16th goal and eighth against the Blue Jackets this season.
Patrick Kane took over in the second period, setting up Patrick Sharp's goal then scoring himself to chase Mason. Sharp had a goal and 2 assists, while Kane had a goal and an assist.
“I thought we took over the game in the second period,” Kane said. “Not the best start, but we responded well.”
The rout was on in the third period when Marcus Kruger and Lepisto scored. Lepisto's goal at 5:32 came on only his second shift since the first-period turnover.
“We can't make those plays,” Quenneville said.
The Hawks still are sixth in the Western Conference, but at least they have put a little distance between themselves and eighth and ninth place.
The next three games are at the United Center, none more important than Sunday's showdown with the punishing Blues, who are only 3 points behind division-leading Detroit.
“We can't think that we're comfortable that we're finally back home,” Quenneville said.
Corey Crawford was a big part of Saturday's win with 33 saves, including several big ones in the first period after it already was 1-0.
Quenneville wouldn't say who his starter would be for the Blues, but it has to be Crawford again after his difference-making efforts against the Rangers and the Blue Jackets.
“He was really good,” Quenneville said. “He was square. He was big. He was quick. I thought he responded well after an early goal.”
The Hawks finished their marathon road trip 2-6-1, which looks a lot better than 0-8-1.
Even though the power play went 0-for-24 on the trip, the Hawks were better defensively the last three games with just 6 goals against, and they killed all 12 opposition power plays in the last four games.
“Obviously the first seven games were tough, but sometimes you get out of it with positives,” Kane said. “To finish off the trip with a couple wins, you can get excited about things.”
tsassone@dailyherald.com