[A] Crawesome: CHI 4, DAL 1

[Ton]

The Blackhawks lit up the scoreboard early as Dave Bolland and Patrick Sharp put the Hawks ahead 2-0 in the first two minutes of the game. Bolland felt the weight come off his shoulders after snapping an 11-game scoreless streak, including pelting the Blues with 9 shots on Tuesday night without any success.



“It was pretty crazy,” Bolland said. “I couldn’t buy one in that St. Louis game but against Dallas, that first ten seconds, it went in. So, finally.”



The Blackhawks traded chances with the Stars for the majority of the game but committed themselves to blocking shots and playing solid defense in front of the recent wall known as Corey Crawford. That mix gave them a recipe of success that vaulted the team to a 4-0 lead (Hossa, Sharp) until Jamie Benn snapped the shutout bid with under 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd period.



Joel Quenneville stressed that the Blackhawks have had trouble early on in games this season, and encouraged the team to strike early.



"We've had poor starts the last three or four games," Quenneville said. "It's something we've been talking about and it was nice to see the results."



The Blackhawks have now improved their record to 7-4-1 with Jonathan Toews recent 12-game absence to the line-up. With the addition of Johnny Oduya, the Hawks are 6-1-1, while Oduya has contributed 4 points in his 8 games along with a plus-3 rating.



BLACKHAWKS THREE STARS OF THE GAME



1. Corey Crawford

2. Patrick Sharp

3. Dave Bolland



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[Rex]

Crow won us that game, Was so mad he didn't get the shutout. Bolland was great too, fantastic game.

 

[the canadian dream]

Crow played great he deserved the shut out but that asshole Ott always finds a way to kill the Hawks fun. Asshole set up Benn nicely then goes on more Stalberg hunting. The Berg was getting hammered on that game.



Good win and a very important 2 points...very important.



Nice game by Sharp also. Good to see Kane shake off that painful shot block on his knee..those hurt and he will be feeling it tomorrow. Ice bags for Kaner.

 

[howcho]

Fun game to watch for a Hawk Fan. I was somewhat in disbelief seeing us up 2-0 in the first couple o minutes.



Nice job by Crawford tonight, too bad that Benn scored.

 

[Rex]

Crow played great he deserved the shut out but that asshole Ott always finds a way to kill the Hawks fun. Asshole set up Benn nicely then goes on more Stalberg hunting. The Berg was getting hammered on that game.



Good win and a very important 2 points...very important.



Nice game by Sharp also. Good to see Kane shake off that painful shot block on his knee..those hurt and he will be feeling it tomorrow. Ice bags for Kaner.

Stalberg has been doing all of the little things lately, and it's great to see. Playing defensively, forechecking, causing turnovers. Picked up two assists tonight.

 

[EspoForever]

Agreed on all the positive comments...I alsow saw Bickell and Oduya playing really well out there the last few games actually. Smart decisions with the puck for those 2.



We were fortunate not to give a goal late in second when there was a lot of pressure in our end. That would have really changed the game and Corey was THE MAN. Hope he's getting his mojo back.



Edit....OK, I see why Hutton was there. Good to see him get a nice paycheck even if for a couple days.

 

[winos5]

Anybody miss Frolik yet? I'm not. Nice game, could've easily been way more lop sided by the end of the 1st.

 

[R K]

Out Hit 41-14

 

[winos5]

Don't you mean Ott hit? Seabrook destroyed him in the 3rd, made me all warm and tingly.

 

[the canadian dream]

Anybody miss Frolik yet? I'm not. Nice game, could've easily been way more lop sided by the end of the 1st.

not even close.



hope rocky buys him out and slaps stan for the extension and that it sends a warning.

 

[the canadian dream]

Out Hit 41-14

hawks = 2 give aways

dallas = 14



thats the biggest difference in the game



hawks = 20 blocked shots

dallas = 15 blocked shots



thats the second biggest difference



hawks = 8 take aways

dallas = 4 take aways



that's the 3rd biggest differences.



beat the other team in those departments and i could care less about the hit numbers. the blocked shots stat means the world to me when it comes to physical hockey as does keeping the give aways down. 2 is awsome..that's defensive hockey.

 

[R K]

Dallas went for the hits instead of playing the game. All night. Thats why it was 41-14. Not always does playing physical give you a win.

 

[Rex]

Dallas went for the hits instead of playing the game. All night. Thats why it was 41-14. Not always does playing physical give you a win.

it's also hard to throw a lot of hits when you have the puck on your stick.

 

[Rex]

I know it was a win tonight, but I still have to ask. What did Marcus Kruger do tonight to deserve more ice time than Dave Bolland...again?

 

[Samurai]

Crawesome...

 

[Ashor-redtribe]

Great Game by Hutton, I told you guys and you did not listen....him sitting on the bench made Craw play lights out.

 

[Chief Walking Stick]

It was my fault!



I told someone at 6:00 left in the 3rd... "Hawks are the only team in the NHL without a shutout this year... they only have 6 minutes to hold it down!".



5:50... Jamie Benn Kenobi scores.



**** ME!!

 

[PatrickShart]

I know it was a win tonight, but I still have to ask. What did Marcus Kruger do tonight to deserve more ice time than Dave Bolland...again?

Played well (was a +2) on the line with Sharp/Stalberg last night? I think Sharp had like 8 shots, Stalberg 3, Kruger 1...so as a line they accounted for 39% of the SOG for the team. Not sure why that line shouldn't have gotten the ice time they did or why Q should change things while they're working? Isn't that what he gets bitched at for?



Since Toews went down...the last 12gms Kruger - 3g-3a -6pts +6

 

[bierboy]

Saying Crawford won this game is delusional. We blocked 20 shots....he hardly had to work to win this game. Still looked shaky at times in the net. Sure, he made a few good saves. This was, BY NO MEANS, a game that he won for us. It was a team victory, solid defense, opportunistic offense. Average goaltending....

 

[Ton]

He's given up 1 goal on his last 40 shots, as well as being perfect in the shootout. Yet he's been "shaky".... Craw has been inconsistent all year, he's either on or off and right now he's on. He made several great saves at key moments in the game, lots of saves off deflections too. The Stars had high quality chances all night, maybe he didn't win the game all by himself, but he also didn't have to face 50 shots to be considered an impact player in the game. Also, I can't believe the Stars only had 22 shots on net, that stat is plain wrong. This game wasn't a walk in the park for the Hawks at all, in fact I thought the Stars had the best scoring chances throughout the game and Craw was money in the 2nd period. He had to stop at least four deflections.



That's the type of goaltending the Hawks need if they want to make a push.



Funny you say "team victory" then continue with "solid defense, opportunistic offense, average goaltending"... why is it so hard to give credit when it is due? The goaltending was good, if not excellent. Especially compared to the guy at the other end.