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 It doesn't help that Chicago is playing without star forward Patrick
Kane, who was lost for the remainder of the regular season with a
broken clavicle suffered Feb. 24 against Florida. But when you sport
a lineup that includes eight players who have scored 20 goals in a
season, that excuse only goes so far.
"We have some guys who have to take on a little more responsibility,
offensively," Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya said. "It's mostly
about team game. If you play good team hockey, you're going to win
games."
The goals didn't come easily against defensively-challenged Arizona,
but center Brad Richards gave Chicago just enough with his 10th goal
of the season at the 12:49 mark of the third period. Richard's 900th
career point was one of two Chicago power-play goals and it lifted
the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Coyotes on Thursday at Gila
River Arena, widening the Blackhawks' lead to five points over
Minnesota for third place in the Central Division.
"We did some good things but the best part of tonight was the
power-play success," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was
definitely needed and necessary and tonight it proved to be the
difference."
Arizona scored on its third shot of the game when right winger
Tobias Rieder got behind Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith along
the neutral-zone boards and skated in alone to the bottom of the
right circle. Rieder fired a snapshot between Chicago goalie Corey
Crawford's pads for his 11th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
The Blackhawks answered on their first power play of the game.
Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy blocked Keith's shot from the
point, but the puck trickled behind him to right winger Andrew Shaw,
who whipped it past goalie Mike Smith at the 8:10 mark of the first
period to tie the game, 1-1.
The goal was Shaw's first in 19 games and broke an 0-for-15 slump by
the Chicago power play. Three of Shaw's 10 goals this season have
come against Smith, but the Hawks had little other success solving
Arizona's goalie, who made 43 saves.
"You just try and prepare the same way for every game but obviously
with the skill they have, you have to be ready for anything," Smith
said. "We were in the hockey game. A bounce here or there and you
never know what can happen, but we spent a lot of energy killing off
penalties and that throws off the whole flow of the game for the
players and the line combinations."
Chicago had a 7-2 advantage in power plays and a huge 45-18 shot
advantage in the game. The Blackhawks' final power play was just
coming to an end when Chicago left winger Kris Versteeg carried the
puck deep into the slot to get off a shot. Richards collected the
rebound and slipped it past Smith for his first goal in 24 games.
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"They've got a pretty good team there and they've some pretty good
players there and when you traipse them out there on the power play
seven times, you're playing with fire," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett
said. "It's not just the penalties we took, it's how we took some of
the penalties that was frustrating."
Despite the win, Chicago scored more than two goals in a
non-shootout game just five times in its last 18 games and it has 11
goals in six games since Kane was lost.
It was Arizona's 12th loss in its last 13 home games and its 13th
loss in its last 14 overall.
NOTES: Blackhawks D Johnny Oduya returned to the lineup after
missing the past six games with an upper-body injury. ... Coyotes RW
Lauri Korpikoski returned to the lineup after a one-game absence due
to an upper-body injury. ... Blackhawks C Antoine Vermette returned
to Gila River Arena for the first time since the Coyotes dealt him
to Chicago at the trade deadline for a 2015 first-round pick and D
Klas Dahlbeck. ... Blackhawks LW Bryan Bickell was back in a
third-line role alongside C Brad Richards and RW Patrick Sharp.
Bickell was a healthy scratch for the first time this season in
Sunday's game against the New York Rangers. ... Coyotes D Brandon
Gormley was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the last five
games. ... Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and Coyotes coach Dave
Tippett were teammates with the Hartford Whalers from 1983-90 and
remain close friends.
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