Remembering that one time Hawks Seabrook scored in a shootout
It's not every day a defenseman is called upon to try and win a game in the shootout, but when Brent Seabrook was given his one and only chance he did not disappoint.
It happened on Dec. 1, 2009 with the Hawks locked in a 3-3 tie with Columbus at the United Center. After neither team scored in overtime, only the Hawks' Marian Hossa and Columbus' Jakub Voracek managed to score in the shootout through 10 rounds.
That's when coach Joel Quenneville signaled for his 24-year-old defenseman.
"The defense was calling for him," Quenneville said afterward. "He had a lot of support from that end (of the bench) to be next."
Seabrook went directly at goalie Steve Mason, faked a forehand, brought the puck to his backhand and flipped it into the net. He was promptly mobbed at center ice.
"He's our weapon in the shootout now," Quenneville quipped.
The reason for recounting this unlikely goal is because the Hawks passed out Seabrook bobbleheads before Thursday's game to the first 10,000 fans. He is down on one knee and pumping his first in celebration.
"I just remember him fist pumping about 10 times coming down the middle of the ice," said Patrick Kane. "Obviously it's something you'll never forget because it's a defenseman in a shootout scoring a goal to win it. Seabs always likes to joke around that he's 100 percent in shootouts - he's 1-for-1.
"So yeah, it was a fun moment."
Lucky 7?
The Blackhawks and Lightning both used seven defensemen Thursday night at the United Center. The Hawks scratched Dominik Kubalik and Drake Caggiula (concussion protocol). There was no immediate word on why Kubalik, who did take part in warm-ups, was unable to go.
Slater Koekkoek played for just the second time in the last 10 games for the Hawks.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper was forced to go with seven D-men because forward Nikita Kucherov suffered an upper-body injury against St. Louis on Tuesday. Cooper does not know how long his star forward will be out. Kucherov has averaged 40.0 goals over the past three seasons and has scored six times this season.
Former Hawks D-man Jan Rutta dressed for just the fourth time this season for the Lightning.
Slap shots:
Heading into Thursday's games, Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (13), the Rangers' Artemi Panarin (12) and the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane (10) had the longest active point streaks in the league. Draisaitl's run, in which he has 10 goals and 18 assists, is tied for longest by any player this season. ... Robin Lehner's .934 save percentage ranks fourth in the NHL. ... Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper's .600 regular-season win percentage is the highest in NHL history among coaches with 300-plus games. ... Since taking over as Tampa Bay's full-time starting goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the league with 102 victories. Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck is next with 94.