Tag Archives: Bryan Bickell

Howard, Red Wings stand tall, Take 2-1 series lead; Game 3 clouded over questions on officiating

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Brad Gardner| Leave a comment

By Brad Gardner

The second round playoff series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, tied at one game apiece, shifted to Joe Louis Arena for Game 3 on Monday night. Even though the Blackhawks offense opened up to the tune of 40 shots, doubling their total from Game 2, Jimmy Howard stood tall in net for the Red Wings and carried his team to a 3-1 victory.

Quick strikes from bottom-six forwards Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller in the second period put the Blackhawks in a hole from which they would not get out. Patrick Kane scored for the second consecutive game, but Howard came up with the save on the rest of Chicago’s 39 shots, including saves on 16 of the 17 shots he faced against the Hawks late push in the third period.

Viktor Stalberg suited up for the Blackhawks after being a healthy scratch for the first two games of the series. It looked like his night might end early when on his first shift the game, Jakub Kindl ducked a check, sending Stalberg head first into the boards. He was slow to get up but eventually skated off under his own power. After a few minutes in the locker room, Stalberg returned to the bench. Read more »

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Crawford shuts out Wild to give Hawks 3-1 series lead

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Jon Fromi| Leave a comment

By Jon Fromi

The Chicago Blackhawks delivered a response to a physical Minnesota Wild team Tuesday night, sucking the energy out of the Xcel Energy Center with a 3-0 win. Corey Crawford slammed the door on the Wild as he handled all 25 shots he saw on the night.

Chicago takes a 3-1 series lead in its Western Conference quarterfinal and was paced by another pair of goals by Patrick Sharp. The penalty kill came up large in denying the Wild six times throughout the evening. Read more »

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Hawks take 2-0 lead in series heading to Minnesota; Magic Frolik Returns

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Brad Gardner| Leave a comment

By Brad Gardner

The Chicago Blackhawks took a 2-0 series lead over the eighth seeded Minnesota Wild with a win at home on Friday night. After jumping out to a two-goal lead in the second period, the Blackhawks eventually held on to win by a final score of 5-2.

It was a rematch in net between Corey Crawford and Josh Harding after each goaltender turned in a strong performance in Game 1 of the series. Neither disappointed on Friday, even though it was a higher-scoring affair. Crawford got the win in Game 2 with 26 saves, while Harding managed 43 saves on 47 shots in the loss.

Michael Frolik and Patrick Sharp registered two goals apiece as the Blackhawks carried play for a majority of the game. Despite a substantial lead in the shot column for the home team, the visitors remained in it for much of the game, trailing only by one goal heading into the third period. Read more »

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Lindbloom’s View: Reflections on Game One and those pesky ‘Jackets

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Rich Lindbloom| Leave a comment

image001(5)Tis Battered Hands That Hoist the Cup

By Rich Lindbloom 

Are you all ready for this?

It’s been quite a while since the Hawks have faced must-win situations. Escaping the regular season relatively unscathed, the Hawks have embarked on a quest for one of sport’s greatest trophies.

The symbolism the Stanley Cup embodies is one of self-sacrifice – leaving it all on the line – there is no other way. It’s victors are toothless warriors, who limp to the finish line. Not exactly Gettysburg, but close. Read more »

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Blackhawks take Game One, 2-1 in Overtime

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Jon Fromi| 2 Comments

By Jon Fromi

It took 73 minutes and eight seconds, but the Chicago Blackhawks prevailed 2-1 in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal matchup with the Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks third line came up large in setting up Bryan Bickell’s game winner that gives Chicago a 1-0 lead in the series.

The Wild was set on their heels in the warm-up, with starting goalie Niklas Backstrom suffering a lower body injury. Josh Harding got the call to face Chicago after missing much of the regular season.

Despite facing a goalie that had just five appearances all season, Chicago did not put much in the way of pressure on Harding in the opening minutes. The first real scoring chance came when Jason Zucker came up the left side and took the puck hard to the net. Read more »

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Smith, Coyotes outlast Hawks in a shootout 3-2

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| 1 Comment

By Brad Vandenberk

The boards remained intact at the United Center as the Blackhawks played at home once again this weekend, finishing up a back to back, with the visiting Phoenix Coyotes.

On Friday night, they outlasted the Predators in overtime completing their season series.  This game really didn’t mean a lot, but the Hawks obtained another two points toward gaining the President’s trophy.

The Coyotes came in looking to help gain some momentum for a late playoff push.  Patrick Sharp remained out for this contest with an upper body injury.  Ray Emery was unable to back up with recently called up Carter Hutton sporting the baseball cap.  Read more »

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Crawford, ‘Hawks shutout the Blues 2-0 in the Lou

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| 3 Comments

By Brad Vandenberk

After squeaking a shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night at the UC, it was time to hit the road again and venture into St Louis for a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Blues.  The game on Friday marked the last time the Wings and Hawks will play each other as divisional rivals with Detroit heading east next year.

St Louis lost on Friday night, which meant that the Hawks clinched the central division and now the sights are set on the President’s Trophy.  Friday’s shootout victory gave the Wings a much needed point to stay within a playoff spot in the western conference.  Read more »

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Blackhawks clinch playoff berth with win over Preds

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Brad Gardner| Leave a comment

By Brad Gardner

The Blackhawks completed the weekend sweep of the Predators with a 5-3 victory on Sunday night at the United Center, becoming the first team in the league to clinch a playoff berth.

A pair of goals inside of one minute during the third period was the difference for Chicago, which beat Nashville for fourth time this season. The Blackhawks moved to 9-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs during this condensed season.

Ray Emery earned a second consecutive start after shutting out the Predators on 20 shots in Nashville on Saturday. He stopped 19 of 22 shots in this one, coming up with key saves during the second and third periods while the game was still up for grabs. Read more »

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Once is enough; Hawks beat Preds 1-0 in Nash City

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| Leave a comment

By Brad Vandenberk

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, it’s time to get down to business and make the final push for the playoffs.

The Hawks only acquisition before 3pm EST Wednesday, was Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks.  He made a great first impression on Thursday in Chicago winning important face offs and proving to Stan Bowman that his only deal was a good one.

Today was a trip to Smashville to play the pesky Predators.  Although the Preds are on the outside of the playoffs looking in, they still give the Hawks trouble when they meet.  This would be the second meeting between these teams within five days and this game is the first of a home and home series with the Preds invading the UC on Sunday evening.

Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp did not make the flight to Nashville and it is still undetermined when they will return to the line up.  Read more »

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Hawks roll through Colorado, now 24-2-3

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Jon Fromi| 1 Comment

By Jon Fromi

The Chicago Blackhawks continued to roll on the road Monday night, coming away with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Chicago prevailed despite losing Marian Hossa to an upper body injury early in the game and Brent Seabrook to an apparent benching by coach Joel Quenneville during the second period.

The Blackhawks got off to a fast start, with Jimmy Hayes benefitting from a strong fore check by Dave Bolland to pot his first goal with the ‘Hawks this season. Jan Hejda lost the puck to Patrick Kane, who fired to Hayes in front of the net. Hayes went to the backhand and slid home the game’s first goal at the 3:47 mark.

Less than a minute later, Bryan Bickell took a hit from Erik Johnson but was able to tip the puck out of the Chicago zone. Viktor Stalberg went up the left side and found Andrew Shaw to his right. Shaw went high on Semyon Varlamov and gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 with less than five minutes into the contest. Read more »

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