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 The Blackhawks' top line of left winger Teuvo Teravainen, center
Jonathan Toews and right winger Marian Hossa removed that pressure
from Kane and his linemates Thursday as it accounted for three goals
in a 4-0 win over Edmonton Oilers at the United Center.
"We don't actually like them to carry this team or score every night
a lot of goals," Teravainen said of Kane and his line. "Everybody
has to step up."
Teravainen and company began stepping up in the first period
Thursday. Teravainen created a 2-on-1 rush for Hossa and Toews with
a long pass beyond the Oilers' defense. Hossa then delivered the
puck from the left circle to Toews in right circle, and Toews scored
on a one-timer to put the Blackhawks (18-11-4) ahead 1-0 at 6:00.
Teravainen extended the Blackhawks' lead to 2-0 when he scored from
the slot off a pass from Toews at 12:29 of the second period. The
scoring chance began when Hossa forced a turnover and got the puck
to Toews. Teravainen scored again in the third period when he
knocked in a rebound at 16:42. Toews and Hossa each had an assist on
the goal.
Teravainen finished with two goals and an assist. Toews had one goal
and two assists. Hossa had three assists.
"I tip my hat to them," Oilers left winger Matt Hendricks said of
the Blackhawks' top line. "They're great players, but we need to
find a way to be harder on them.
"You look at the way Colorado played them the other night (in a 3-0
Avalanche win). They were physical. They slowed the game down in
terms of neutral zone. They trapped them, and they didn't allow them
to free wheel. I thought we lost our checks quite a bit and allowed
them some open ice."
The Oilers (14-17-2) weren't without their own chances in the game
with 33 shots on net. Their issue was the same issue a lot of teams
have had lately -- trying to get the puck past Blackhawks goaltender
Corey Crawford. He recorded his third shutout in the last four games
and improved his save percentage to .953 for December. He had made
235 saves on 245 shots for the month.
"I feel good right now," said Crawford, who has five shutouts on the
season. "I'm really focused and I'm seeing the puck well throughout
the whole game and getting a lot of help, too, from everyone,
especially tonight."
Blackhawks left winger Artemi Panarin produced the game's final goal
at 18:35 of the third period. Defenseman Brent Seabrook and Kane had
assists on the goal. Kane set a franchise-record 26-game point
streak prior to going without a point against the Avalanche on
Tuesday. He has recorded a point in 30 of 33 games this season.
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Oilers coach Todd McLellan was looking for more from his team as it
was coming off a loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The Oilers
had a six-game winning streak prior to the Rangers' loss.
"We were flat," said McLellan, whose team fell to 5-12-1 on the
road for the season. "So, I guess the answer to that would be, no,
we expected more. It was just team wide. Not really anybody had
their legs. We didn't have a lot of polish as a team. That's
certainly a group you don't want to be flat against. Team wide,
expectations for each of the individuals was a lot higher than what
we got from them tonight, certainly a team loss."
Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger suffered an upper-body injury in
the second period and did not return to the game. Blackhawks coach
Joel Quenneville said he would know more about the extent of the
injury on Friday.
Thursday's game marked the final one between the Blackhawks and
Oilers during the regular season. The Blackhawks swept the season
series with two regulation victories and one overtime win.
NOTES: Blackhawks LW Ryan Garbutt returned to the lineup after
being scratched the last three games. He replaced LW Brandon
Mashinter. ... RW Marian Hossa has not participated in the
Blackhawks' last three morning skates, but Chicago coach Joel
Quenneville said Hossa has not been dealing with any injuries. ...
Oilers LW Rob Klinkhammer missed Thursday's game after suffering an
undisclosed injury against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He
previously missed 21 games due to an ankle injury. ... Oilers coach
Todd McLellan said LW Benoit Pouliot could return to play prior to
the league's Christmas break. He hasn't played since Nov. 30 due to
a lower-body injury.
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