Anisimov's hat trick sparks Blackhawks' 6-3 win
For weeks on end, Joel Quenneville did everything in his power to help his Blackhawks snap out of a dreadful scoring drought.
No potential adjustment was off the table, from changing the lines to mixing up power-play units to scratching different players.
Anything to find a spark.
Well, that spark was ignited in Carolina on Saturday, became a small bonfire in a disappointing loss to New Jersey on Saturday and erupted into a bona fide inferno during an impressive - yet somewhat nerve-wracking - 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Wednesday at the United Center.
Artem Anisimov was the big star of the night, recording the first hat trick of his career against his former team, but it was Alex DeBrincat who opened the floodgates with his game-tying goal at 19:08 of the second period. John Hayden and Jonathan Toews (empty netter) also scored, and Corey Crawford rebounded from his nightmarish 6-goal game against the Devils by making 25 saves.
The Hawks (9-8-2) have 15 goals in their last three games.
"You want to play twice as hard and want to score a goal obviously," said Anisimov, who played for the Rangers from 2009-12. "But I scored three today. I'm happy."
Anisimov's second goal made it 4-1 and the Hawks looked like they'd waltz out with an easy victory, but New York responded with a pair of goals in the next seven minutes to make it 4-3.
Quenneville admitted he had flashbacks to three nights earlier when his team blew an identical 4-1 lead to New Jersey. This time, though, Anisimov slammed the door shut when he redirected a pass from Nick Schmaltz past backup goalie Ondrej Pavelec with 3:48 remaining.
"Great timing," Quenneville said. "Arty was around the net, got rewarded for it. It seemed like we had the better of the net-front presence as the game progressed."
Said Anisimov, who now leads the team with 9 goals: "Second efforts is the most important thing right now in the game. If you win the battles, you have the puck and you can make plays."
The Hawks killed off a late first-period double minor by Hayden and controlled the second period, then finally broke through when DeBrincat's blast from 50 feet out somehow trickled through Henrik Lundqvist's legs.
"That was kind of a lucky one there, but I'll take it to get the momentum and get the team going," said DeBrincat, who has 6 goals in the last seven games. "I saw it squirt out of the back as I was going around the net, so I was just hoping it had enough speed to go in."
The victory was a great way to start what promises to be a challenging 10-game stretch in the Hawks' schedule. They'll face the Penguins next at Pittsburgh on Saturday, then play at Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
The Rangers (9-8-2) had their six-game winning streak snapped.