Where do we start with this one?
The energy of the entire game (especially the last five or so minutes) felt like a true playoff game. The goalies were both amazing tonight, making some amazing saves that at some points seemed unreal. Both were able to rob a few guys of breakaways, which is another amazing feat. It was definitely a battle of the goalies for most of this game.
To start, the game was kind of slow-paced I thought. There were no penalties in the first, some amazing saves on each side, but nothing really heart-racing, playoff-esque playing. It was actually pretty boring, those first twenty minutes.
But, oh, boy, the Hawks weren't going down without a fight tonight. Nope, they were going to win this one tooth and nail, no matter how hard they had to play. And, boy, did it pay off.
Jonathan Toews opened up the scoring tonight with a great tip-in from Brian Campbell. That was the first of five points tonight for Toews, so he definitely wasn't stopping there. Tonight alone proves to naysayers just how good Toews is when he's on a consistent line--this one being the Nick Schmaltz/Richard Panik set up, which is really growing on me. But, just three minutes later with Niklas Hjalmarsson in the penalty box for hooking, the Hawks give up a power-play goal to the Minnesota Wild's Mikael Granlund, who's been a key part of their game this season.
All is not lost, however. That same Schmaltz-Toews-Panik line saves the day again, this time with Panik leading the pack and giving the Hawks an early lead of 2-1 just five minutes into the game. The Hawks had a lot of great chances this period, and definitely put the pressure in the Wild zone. Patrick Kane almost had a breakaway, but ended up getting robbed by Devan Dubnyk's quick reflexes. Brent Seabrook almost notched a goal, but it deflected off the left post, which I don't even want to talk about.
The third period was where things started to get chippy. To add to the top line's success tonight, Schmaltz notched his fifth of the season off of the faceoff, a feed from none other than Jonathan Toews. The Hawks managed to draw a penalty, but couldn't capitalize on the power play, thus continuing play. Then, Zach Parise scored on a tip-in, and suddenly, the Wild were back in the game, and I was on the edge of my seat. But, here comes Jonathan Toews again, scoring a beautiful backhanded tip-in, going right in for it as Dubnyk assumed he'd wrap around the goal. With two on the night, I put my hat on and waited. Tonight felt right for Jonathan Toews.
Then, the unimaginable. Parise notched--wait, no? No goal? His stick was higher than the crossbar? Oh.
Oh my god, okay.
The game continued, and for some reason or another, Tanner Kero headed to the box for tripping (a call I personally didn't see, but I also don't have DVR, so I couldn't really argue it). And of course, the Wild scored quickly, narrowing the gap 4-3. So many of the Hawks' shots hit the goalpost or crossbar tonight, which is something I don't think I'll get over after last year's playoffs.
But, with under two minutes left, the Wild pulled their goalie and almost, almost tied it up. But Jonathan Toews said no. He slapped it down the ice, and by God, it actually went in. Toews with the hat trick had me throwing my Hawks hat across my room and screaming and jumping around, while he looked rather cool and collected as he skated back to the bench.
What a great night. Coach Q got his 400th win with the Blackhawks, Toews notched his 4th career hat trick and had his 150th multi-point night--and he was part of every single point tonight. Jonathan Toews is now sitting on twenty points in just twelve games. Again, what are the naysayers saying, exactly?
These are the Hawks we know. If they keep this up, there's no telling how far they'll go.
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