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 The goal came after Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford robbed
Oilers left winger Taylor Hall with a spectacular glove save in
overtime, setting the stage for Hossa's heroics.
Instead of talking about his goal, Hossa wanted to talk about
Crawford's save.
"That obviously kept us in the game, that was an unbelievable save,
a highlight save," said Hossa. "That's how we won the game."
"That was a great save," said Blackhawks head coach Joel
Quenneville. "It was a great push, great anticipation by Crow
(Crawford), and it got us an extra point. It was good to get a win
starting this trip."
Oilers goalie Anders Nilsson admitted Hossa's effort gave him no
chance.
"Personally I don't mind three-on-three, I think it's entertaining
and you see a lot of scoring chances. ... He came in on a breakaway
and he made a very good shot, put it top shelf there, so credit to
him."
It was the Blackhawks' third win in a row. With just 13 points this
season, the Oilers remain rooted to the bottom of the Western
Conference.
Chicago was up 2-0 in the second period, but right winger Jordan
Eberle scored late in the frame to cut the lead, and left winger
Benoit Pouliot leveled the score four minutes into the third,
tapping home the puck after a nice rush and nifty pass from
defenseman Darnell Nurse.
Chicago right winger Andrew Shaw's goal, at 11:44 of the third,
allowed the Hawks to reclaim the lead, 3-2.
Nilsson was mad about that one.
"I think the third one I probably want to have back, it squeezed
under my arm and that's something that shouldn't go in. ... But,
other than that, I think we as a team played very good, I think we
almost deserved to win this one."
But, with just 2:46 left, Oilers center Leon Draisaitl roofed the
puck over Crawford's shoulder to tie it at 3. In nine games since
being called up from the Oiler's AHL affiliate in Bakersfield,
Calif., Draisaitl has 14 points.
Oilers coach Todd McLellan raved about Draisaitl, a player he
controversially decided to send down to the minors after training
camp.
"I'm impressed with just about everything Leon does right now. You
know, there's been times we've poked and prodded him to get going,
now he needs a hug because he's doing a lot of good things. His
speed, his tenacity on the puck, his backcheck, his stripping
players and going the other way, his playmaking ability, his
release, his battle in the faceoff circle against one of the top
faceoff guys in the National Hockey League, to come out ahead of
that, his ability on the power play to either create or settle
things down, there's a long list of things that Leon is doing
exceptionally well right now."
[to top of second column] |
At 7:26 of the second period, on only their fifth shot of the game,
the Blackhawks took the lead on the power play. With Oilers
defenseman Griffin Reinhart in the box for boarding, Chicago
defenseman Duncan Keith streaked in off the point to redirect a pass
from right winger Patrick Kane, the NHL's leading scorer.
The Blackhawks pushed it to a two-goal lead at 14:41 of the second.
Nilsson slid across his crease to make an outstanding save on Kane.
But the Oilers couldn't clear the zone, and Russian left winger
Artemi Panarin swatted a loose puck into the goal. It was the
seventh of the season for the former KHL all-star.
With 3:23 left in the second, Eberle found himself on a breakaway
and roofed a shot just underneath the bar to pull one back.
Teuvo Teravainen left the game with what the Blackhawks called an
upper-body injury. He played 5:33. He left on the team bus with the
Blackhawks after the game.
NOTES: Oilers LW Lauri Korpikoski, who has been out since Oct. 27
with a head injury, returned to the lineup. Edmonton C Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins, who missed Saturday's loss to Los Angeles with the
flu, also drew back in. ... The Oilers sent LW Luke Gazdic (illness)
to injured reserve. ... Only eight Oilers have dressed for all 19 of
the team's games this season. ... Also on injured reserve for the
Oilers were D Justin Schultz (back), C Connor McDavid (broken
clavicle) and LW Rob Klinkhammer (undisclosed). ... Unless the
Blackhawks and Oilers meet in the playoffs, Wednesday's game will
mark Chicago's final visit to Rexall Place. The Oilers will move
into Rogers Place for the 2016-17 season. ... The Blackhawks
scratched D David Rundblad, LW Andrew Desjardins and RW Viktor
Tikhonov. ... The Oilers scratched D Eric Gryba, D Andrew Ference
and RW Andrew Miller.
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