|
 With Chicago's leading scorer, right winger Patrick Kane lost for
the next 12 weeks with a broken left clavicle, Toews stepped up to
score the game's first two goals to propel the Blackhawks to a 5-2
rout over the Carolina Hurricanes.
"We took advantage of our chances, went to the net and got rewarded
for it," the Blackhawks center said. "I think when you're able to
distance yourself in a game like that, you can play with confidence
and play a little more relaxed.
"That's what we did throughout the last 40 minutes. We haven't done
that a whole lot lately, but it feels good to play the right way in
our own building and get a win like that."
Toews has five goals in Chicago's past five games, including three
since Kane went down against the Florida Panthers on Feb. 24. He
recorded his third two-goal performance of the season.
Chicago (38-21-5) led 4-0 after two periods, rebounding after losing
four of its previous six games.
"I liked the way we started the game, I liked the first 40 minutes,"
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "(Carolina has) got some guys
that can make plays, and I think we got a little bit on the
offensive side of things, but net-net, I thought it was pretty
solid."
 Carolina (24-31-7) saw its three-game winning streak end.
"Tonight's game obviously wasn't very good," Hurricanes coach Bill
Peters said. "I'm not very happy with the way we played, but then if
you look at it, we won three of our last four and played with a lot
of pace. We have to get back to playing with pace and better
execution with the puck."
Chicago goalie Corey Crawford (25-14-4), who sat out two of the
previous three games after losing three of his past four starts,
stopped all but two of Carolina's 29 shots.
Carolina goaltender Cam Ward (17-20-4) stopped 14 of Chicago's 18
shots in the first two periods before backup goalie Anton Khudobin
took over to start the third period. Khodobin stopped all but one of
the eight shots he faced.
Having scored just 12 goals in its past seven games, Chicago wasted
little time getting on the board first Monday game when Toews' wrist
shot found its way past Ward at 8:07 of the opening period. It was
Toews' 20th goal of the season.
Just 44 seconds into the second period and with Chicago defenseman
Brent Seabrook in the penalty box, Toews zeroed in again on Ward,
nailing a short-handed goal on a 20-foot slap shot from in front of
the net to give Chicago a 2-0 lead.
While offense was key, Chicago's defense had a big impact shortly
after Toews' second goal.
The Blackhawks went down two players with left winger Patrick Sharp
in the penalty box for goalie interference, followed nearly a minute
later by right winger Marian Hossa going to the box for tripping.
However, Chicago's tenacious, close-in defense kept Carolina from
taking advantage.
[to top of second column] |
Then it was back to a pressing offense that kept grinding it out,
leading to Blackhawks left winger Brandon Saad's 20th goal of the
season at 9:42 of the middle period.
Saad took a shot near the top of the red circle to the right of
Ward, picked up the rebound and lifted it into the high part of the
net for the unassisted tally, making it 3-0 in Chicago's favor.
The onslaught didn't stop there. At 15:42, Ward stopped center
Andrew Shaw's 15-foot slap shot, but Chicago center Marcus Kruger
pounced on the rebound and tipped in a 6-footer for his sixth goal
of the season.
With a shot from in front of the net at 4:29 of the third period,
Carolina defenseman John-Michael Liles scored his second goal of the
season, ending Crawford's shutout bid.
Even with Khudobin in goal, that didn't stop Carolina's defensive
woes, as Hossa scored his 18th goal of the season at 7:55 of the
third to make it 5-1.
Carolina added a goal with just over a minute left in the game on
right winger Alexander Semin's third of the season.
NOTES: Just before Tuesday's trade deadline, the Blackhawks acquired
F Andrew Desjardins from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for F Ben
Smith and a 2017 seventh-round draft pick. It was the third trade
Chicago pulled off in recent days. Newly acquired D Kimmo Timonen
and C Antoine Vermette were in the lineup Tuesday. The trades were
made to strengthen the team in light of the loss of the team's
scoring leader, RW Patrick Kane (broken clavicle). ... Chicago's
healthy scratches were Desjardins and F Daniel Carcillo. Carolina's
scratches were F Patrick Dwyer and D Rasmus Rissanen, who was called
up earlier in the day from Charlotte of the AHL. ... The Hurricanes
did not make any last-minute deals prior to Monday's trade deadline,
but they signed C Jay McClement to a two-year, $2.4 million
extension. ... Attendance was 21,641, the 310th consecutive sellout
for the Blackhawks at the United Center.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
