Blackhawks beat Detroit 2-1 in preseason home game
Duncan Keith and Brandon Hagel scored second-period goals and the Blackhawks defeated Detroit 2-1 in preseason action at the United Center on Wednesday.
Keith, who scored 6 goals last season, gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead midway through the period after one-timing a shot off a pass from Patrick Kane.
Hagel, who scored 41 goals in juniors last season and played eight games in Rockford, hustled down ice and stole the puck from goaltender Jonathan Bernier to put the Hawks on the board.
Corey Crawford made 23 saves, including a clutch one with 2:38 remaining on a wraparound attempt by Chris Terry.
Detroit's lone goal came on the power play.
"Just want to get a good start going," Keith said afterward. "Nice pass by Kaner. … We needed a little bit of momentum. It's nice to get this win. We hadn't won so far in preseason, so it's always kind of good to build off that."
Other Hawks who shined included Adam Boqvist, who dazzled the home crowd with two impressive moves in the offensive zone, Jonathan Toews (16 of 20 on faceoffs) and D-man Dennis Gilbert (6 hits and an impressive fight with Red Wings antagonist Givani Smith). Alexander Nylander (assist) also played well while skating with Toews and Patrick Kane.
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