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 But, once again, they didn't lose the game.
With Toews, knocked from the game on a hard boarding hit by
defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, in the locker room, the Hawks held on
for their eighth straight win, a 3-2 decision over the Boston
Bruins.
"He seemed alright. We'll see how he is tomorrow but it looks like
he's going to be alright," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said after
his team won for the 11th time in the last 12 games, won its fifth
straight on the road and became the first team in the NHL to get to
20 wins.
"It's upper body but I think he's going to be alright."
The Bruins had just killed off half of a two-man power play when
Seidenberg, not known for dirty hits, hit Toews, who went hard into
the boards. With the 5-on-3 restored, Toews tried to play but left
soon after and didn't return. It's possible the league could take a
look at the hit, but the call was for only a minor penalty.
And the Hawks, ahead 3-0 midway through the second period, held off
the Boston charge to go to 20-8-1. They have outscored their
opponents, 28-13, during the streak, with Scott Darling in goal for
the last three wins as he and Antti Raanta have split the duties
with Corey Crawford hurt.
 The Blackhawks got major production from a pair of former Hockey
East players while sending the Bruins (15-13-1) to their fourth loss
in five games.
Former University of Maine goaltender Darling played a strong game
in raising his NHL record to 5-1, while right winger Ben Smith, a
Boston College product, had a goal and an assist. Both had family
and friends at the game.
Asked about the hit on Toews, Darling said, "I'm sure it wasn't
intentional. I'm just happy he's OK."
After Toews was hit, Patrick Kane skated to Seidenberg but quickly
realized the hit wasn't intentional. After the game, Seidenberg was
in the hallway outside the Chicago dressing room, waiting to talk to
old friend Patrick Sharp. So, it was clear there was no bad blood.
"I've been saying that for a long time. We need to start educating
our players to protect themselves better," said Bruins coach Claude
Julien. "We keep turning our backs; we keep trying to curl away. A
player's job is to finish his check. So a player should know he's
going to be hit and I think it's not about tonight, it's about the
whole league."
Darling, who made some outstanding saves when the game was 2-0,
finished with 32 stops. He was beaten by right winger Reilly Smith
(five points in three games) in the second period and then by
defenseman Torey Krug with 7:48 left in the game -- the latter goal
set up by strong-arm work by left winger Milan Lucic, who played a
forceful and effective game.
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The Blackhawks' fourth line produced the first two goals, with
Smith setting up defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, playing in his third NHL
game, for his first NHL goal and then scoring his third goal of the
season. Kane made it 3-0 with his 13th of the season in the second
period before Smith connected with 1:23 left before the second
intermission.
"Finding ways to win is part of the process of being a good hockey
team," said Quenneville, whose team has won two of the last five
Stanley Cups. "I thought tonight was probably a good illustration of
finding a way to win."
Boston goalie Tuukka Rask made 18 saves in the loss, which came on
the night the Bruins got their captain and lead defenseman Zdeno
Chara back after he missed 19 games with a knee injury.
"That's his first game in two months, so good for him," said Julien.
The Blackhawks, who were shut out in each of their previous two
regular-season visits to TD Garden but also won the Stanley Cup on
the same ice in 2013, jumped on top in the first period.
NOTES: Bruins C David Krejci remained out, missing his ninth
straight game and 13th in the last 14 with a leg injury. RW Craig
Cunningham, who opened the season with the team for three games,
came up from Providence and rejoined the lineup. ... G Corey
Crawford, out since suffering a foot injury at a concert last week,
surprised his Blackhawks teammates by hitting the ice for the
morning skate after flying in from Chicago on Wednesday night. He's
still not sure of when he can return and coach Joel Quenneville said
it was a long shot for Crawford to play in either of this weekend's
games. ... The Bruins observed a moment of silence for Montreal
Canadiens Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau before the game. ... The
Blackhawks end their four-game road trip against the New York
Islanders on Saturday, with the Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators
the same day.
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