The Chicago Blackhawks finish off the 2011 year with a 3-2 victory against the Detroit Red Wings.
It took the last day of December for the Red Wings and Blackhawks to finally square off for the first time this season, and what a game it was.
Dan Carcillo and Todd Bertuzzi dropped the gloves mid-way through the first period after Carcillo placed a big hit on Bertuzzi near the Blackhawks bench. 38 seconds later, Justin Abdelkader swiped at the puck and just got enough of it to sneak it past Corey Crawford as the Red Wings took the lead first.
Jonathan Toews was awarded a penalty shot later on in the third period when Niklas Lidstrom was guilty of a hook. The captain buried it five-hole to tie the game at 1 a piece.
Early second period, Todd Bertuzzi tipped-in a shot from Mike Commodore to give Detroit the lead again. But a little over 2 minutes later, Marian Hossa responded by circling the net and blasting a shot past Jimmy Howard to tie the game back up.
Just under 2 minutes into the third period, Brent Seabrook gave the Blackhawks their first lead of the game and that turned out to be the game-winner as well. With that goal, he now extends his goal streak to four against the Red Wings.
Much to like about Jimmy Hayes’ NHL debut as he quietly had a solid performance credited with 4 hits on the night which was tied for the team lead. He logged 8:23 minutes and even took a shift on the penalty kill.
Corey Crawford was sensational yet again as he finished the night with 26 saves. In his last four games, he has stopped 119 of his last 125 (.952 save percentage) while posting a 3-1 record.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Chicago Blackhawks welcome the Edmonton Oilers in town on Monday to kick off the 2012 calendar year; puck drop at 7:30pm CT!
*Have a safe and Happy New Years everybody! Follow me on Twitter for more Blackhawks information if you haven’t already: @CRoumeliotis