Blackhawks get tough, hang on for big win over Hurricanes
Nothing went right for the Blackhawks during the first period against Carolina at the United Center on Tuesday.
They were being outskated, out-hustled, outmaneuvered and totally outclassed.
Something needed to change — and in a hurry — if coach Jeremy Colliton's squad had any chance of upending a Hurricanes team that came in 11-1-2 in its last 14 games.
Well, it took less than a half-minute for the tide to turn.
After Connor Murphy intercepted a clearing pass near the Hawks' defensive blue line, Kirby Dach managed to pop the bouncing puck to Dylan Strome, who was suddenly racing ahead on a 2-on-1.
Strome stayed patient, realized there was no passing lane to Mattias Janmark and lifted a shot that beat Alex Nedeljkovic just 29 seconds into the second period.
Alex DeBrinat added another goal just 3½ minutes later make it 2-0, and the Hawks (17-15-5) went on to post a somewhat stunning 2-1 victory.
Somewhat stunning to fans and the media, that is. Maybe not so much to the players and coaches.
“That's a pretty negative comment, to be honest,” said Connor Murphy when a reporter asked what it felt like to prevail despite being dominated much of the night. “It's fun to win and sometimes you can defend well and get wins. The last half of the game we didn't give up that many chances.”
Colliton concurred, saying: “Really pleased with our resilience and the response. I thought we worked really hard.”
The Hurricanes outshot the Hawks 8-1 in the first 4.5 minutes and closed the first period with a 13-5 advantage and a 7-0 advantage in high-danger chances. Kevin Lankinen allowed a few juicy rebounds and was out of position a time or two, but he managed to keep the puck out of the net.
Carolina's only goal came at 15:41 of the second period when the puck bounced off Hawks D-man Wyatt Kalynuk and into the net.
Carolina had a few chances in the third, but the Hawks kept most of the play to the outside and managed to prevail.
“We talked about a lot of stuff this morning as a team in how to be better when these games are on the line,” Murphy said. “Seemed like we were able to pack it in and understand that every puck and battle is a valuable one to the team. ... They got their looks, but (at) crunchtime guys were very desperate to help each other out.”
DeBrincat now has 19 goals, giving him one more than he had in 70 games last season. Strome, who missed Sunday's game due to the birth of his daughter, scored for just the second time in 14 games.
“It's pretty crazy, becoming a dad, and staying at the hospital and sleeping there and stuff,” Strome said. “Not the most sleep in the last couple nights, but it was kind of expected. I actually felt pretty good today. ...
“Everyone's healthy, everyone's happy and it's a pretty cool feeling.”
As was the victory for the Hawks, who had lost 8 of their last 11. The teams meet again at the United Center on Thursday.