BUFFALO, NY -- Winning in your hometown is something most kids dream of. Patrick Kane has lived that dream since he's been a Blackhawk. The last time the Sabres beat the Blackhawks was in 2009, and tonight's win made it an eleven-game winning streak against the Sabres.
Tonight was the second night of a back-to-back, and the Hawks came into the Buffalo game with a 3-1 loss to the Oilers last night. Luckily, they played well enough last night to gear themselves up for tonight.
The Sabres haven't had much help this season, however--they've been fighting injuries and illnesses all year long, which can't lead to a winning formula. Going head-to-head with a relatively fired-up Blackhawks team coming off a bye week, they didn't have much of a chance tonight.
And, boy, did the Blackhawks play well. With Scott Darling in the net, you can barely go wrong. He's been unbelievable in the games he's played this season, and it's very comforting to have a backup that is just as good as the starting goalie. Tonight, he was on fire, stopping 25 of 26 SOGs tonight, only letting in Evander Kane's goal just five seconds before the first period ended.
Ryan Hartman opened up the scoring early on with a nice wrister in the first period. Darling made some unbelievable saves in the first, and all in all, the Blackhawks played quite well here. They did manage to take a penalty early on with a Richard Panik hooking situation, but they effectively killed the penalty off. Not much later the Sabres took a penalty for hooking as well, but Panik managed to take another penalty, this time for high-sticking. We had some four-on-four hockey for about thirty seconds, then Brian Campbell also took a high-sticking call. With that, the Hawks had almost a full minute and a half fighting off a 5-on-3, and luckily, they killed it. Their powerplay looked incredible tonight.
To start the second period, Panik took a shot that deflected off the goal post, which seemed all too familiar for Hawks fans after Brent Seabrook's shot last year in the playoffs against the Blues. Darling was incredible, making a series of stops that not many goalies could pull off as well as him. It seemed like the Hawks were taking too long to shoot--both Jonathan Toews and Seabrook had great opportunities, but waited just a half-second too long. Finally, Marian Hossa puts one in about midway through the period, giving the Blackhawks the 2-1 lead they desperately needed--and, Marcus Kruger notched his 100th NHL point. Not five minutes later, Jonathan Toews tips in a Panik shot, and the Hawks added to their lead. The Hawks headed into the second intermission on a high note, and it certainly paid off.
Dennis Rasmussen made a great hit on Cody Franson to open the third, and that definitely set the tone for the period. Artem Anisimov deflected one in shortly afterwards, just 3:29 into the period. With a 4-1 lead, it was obvious that the Hawks were growing more confident--something they should certainly use to propel them forward in the next few games. And just three minutes after that, Patrick Kane scored the fifth goal of the night, and his eighth goal against his hometown team. This goal was Kane's twentieth this season, so those who were worried about him early on this season should probably take a seat now.
The Blackhawks came out strong in this game, and they were impressive. Granted, this wasn't a huge game, nor one that they should have lost. They still have some tough opponents in the next few weeks (Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, to name a few). I have to say, though, I was impressed with how good Schmaltz and Panik are for Toews. That's a great line, and it's efficient--it'll be interesting to see if Coach Quenneville will keep that line together, especially as these tougher games encroach.
For now, the Hawks are sitting pretty, and Patrick Kane is still one of the best in the game.
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