After extending their streak Tuesday night against the Wild, the Blackhawks were back on the ice again Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. However, the Hawks received unfortunate news literally right before puck drop. After pre-game warmups, forward Marian Hossa was scratched from the lineup with an upper body injury. But that was not going to stop that Hawks.
Brent Seabrook got the Hawks off on the right note with a big hit on Matt Duchene into the Avalanche’s bench. The big hit put the Hawks on the power play after Cody McLeod got a roughing penalty looking for retaliation. The Hawks capitalized on the power play when Andrew Shaw deflected Seabrook’s blast into the back of the net. With just 1:40 left in the period, Avs forward John Mitchell backhanded one past Hawks goalie Ray Emery to tie the game.
The Hawks had a flurry of chances in the second period but failed to get anything to the back of net. Duchene scored the only goal of the period after banking a shot of the back of Emery. The streak was on the line for the Hawks heading into the third, down one. The third period didn’t start as plan as Michael Rozsival was called for hooking penalty. But captain Jonathan Toews came up huge for the Hawks with a shorthanded goal, tying the game 2-2. But the Hawks had a scare just minutes after the goal as Patrick Sharp struggled to get off the ice. He did not return to action after going to the dressing room with an apparent elbow or shoulder injury.
The game would remain tied up until the final minute of the third period. Hawks forward Daniel Carcillo was able to tap a rebound past Avs goalie Varlamov for his first goal of the season. The Blackhawks were able to hold off the Avs in the final 35 seconds and win the game 3-2.
As for Hossa’s injury, Coach Quenneville said during an interview with NBC Sports Network that Hossa had an upper body injury that was not serious. Quenneville said after the game that Sharp “might miss some time”. Also, Shaw suffered an injury but “is not too bad.”
The Streak: 24 straight game this season with a point, 11 straight with a win. Also, dating back the last year’s regular season, the Hawks have 30 consecutive games with a point. The record is 35 by the ’79-80 Philadelphia Flyers.
Three Stars:
3. Col; C M. Duchene: 1G, 1P, 3SOG
2. Chi; LW D. Carcillo: 1G, 1P, 2SOG
1. Chi; C J. Toews: 1G, 1P, 3SOG
What’s next: The Hawks and Avalanche square off again Friday night in Colorado. Face off set for 8:00 PM