Tic-Tac-Toews--Hawks Score Yet another W

CHICAGO, IL -- This may well have been a playoff game between the Blackhawks and the Blues with the amount of tension that surmounted.

And, by some miracle (named Artem Anisimov), the Blackhawks came away with two points, poising them just one point behind Minnesota in the standings. Even better? Minnesota is on their bye week, which means the Hawks can easily catch them.

But, we're here to talk about that incredible game, aren't we?

Because, wow. The Hawks honestly haven't looked this good and consistent in a long, long time. That first period was proof enough that they're just getting started.

They played down in the Blues' end a lot in the first period, which I think Coach Q knew they needed to do in order to be successful against this team. And, it paid off, because Nick Schmaltz was able to use his silky-smooth gloves to slide the puck through a Blues player's legs, right to Jonathan Toews, over Jake Allen and into the net. Unbelievable. Speaking of Toews, he leads the league in points since January 22nd with 25 now, after that goal (and his later assist--which is coming soon). Also, he tied Jeremy Roenick for eighth place in goal scoaring in the Hawks organization. Pretty nice.

The Blues got a few good looks, but like I said, the Hawks were determined to keep the puck in the neutral zone or on the Blues' side. They weren't messing around tonight.

Er, maybe some of them were.

Marcus Kruger took a seat in the box for holding early in the period, but only twenty seconds into the penalty kill, Alex Steen went off for hooking. This 4-on-4 situation was alright, the Hawks got some good looks, but the Blues got even better looks--Alex Pietrangelo's shot nearly went in, if it weren't for Scott Darling. After the Kruger penalty wore off, the Hawks were off to the races.

And, then, like something out of a fairytale, Patrick Kane had the puck, passed to Toews who passed it back, and into the back of the net it went.

You can't write this stuff, honestly.

Until you can.

The Blues finally got it into the Hawks' zone, and lo and behold, something went awry. Trevor van Riemsdyk couldn't seem to hold onto the puck, fell, and Magnus Paajarvi took advantage of the opportunity, and it was a 2-1 game going into the first intermission.

I literally could not believe my eyes for a good chunk of the second period. There were so, so many good chances for the Hawks--some of the best chances during the game, in my opinion--but they couldn't capitalize on anything for some reason. Kane even almost had a breakaway.

There seemed to be a silver lining when Joel Edmundson took a penalty for slashing Toews, but the Hawks absolutely wasted the two minutes with shoddy passing and no shots on goal at all. Then, something even worse happens.

Van Riemsdyk headed to the box for a high-stick call. And, very shortly into the powerplay, Pietrangelo scored. Tie game.

The rest of the second period was kind of boring, and despite some more good looks, the Hawks just couldn't quite finish their shots or rebounds. Scott Darling was on his A-game tonight, which definitely saved the Hawks more than he probably would have liked.

And then, something beautiful did happen in the third period.

Anisimov scored a beautiful wrister with a great pass from Artemi Panarin (who now, by the way, has ten points in ten games against the Blues--pretty nice, eh?). The Hawks were dominant again in this period, but the Blues were definitely not holding back, giving the Hawks a run for their money. But, it wasn't enough.

With the waning minutes of the period ticking away, the Blues pulled Allen from the net, added the extra attacker, but that wasn't enough.

In fact, Tanner Kero wanted to get in on the scoring fun and fired the puck down the ice and into the empty net, giving the Hawks a 4-2 lead with just two seconds left.

With that, they finished the series against the Blues strong, leaving the series at 3-2 in the Hawks' favor. The Blackhawks are now 9-1-0 in their last ten, which is impressive--their one loss to the Edmonton Oilers last week wasn't even a particularly terrible loss.

The Blackhawks are on fire, and I'm not sure who can stop them. The Hawks take on the reigning Stanley Cup Champions--the Pittsburgh Penguins--on Wednesday, and hope to extend their winning record to just one more game. And, honestly, I think they could actually do it.

Eddie Olczyk said during the game, "every section in this arena looks like a team photo for Chicago, don't they?" And, honestly, having been to a game at the United Center now, he couldn't be more right. The love and support is there, the morale is up, and if the Hawks can keep their fire burning going into their toughest month of the season, they'll prove to be a top team to beat in the playoffs.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Duncan Keith notched his 500th career point off of Patrick Kane's goal! Congrats on that one, Duncs!