CHICAGO – Four games, four overtimes, and three Coyotes wins puts them in a commanding 3-1 series lead over Chicago. For the second straight game Mikkel Boedeker scored an overtime, game winning goal giving Phoenix a 3-2 Game 4 victory.
Chicago dominated the first two periods in everything but the scoreboard. The Hawks outshoot the Coyotes 23-10 after forty minutes. Goaltender Mike Smith was the only thing keeping the game scoreless.
A whole different Phoenix team came out to play in the third period. All season the Coyotes have been an opportunistic team and they continued their way to grab a lead. Shane Doan pick-pocketed defenseman Johnny Oduya inside the Chicago zone. Doan threw a perfect centering pass to Ray Whitney, but Corey Crawford made an even better save, but gave up a rebound. Doan jumped on the puck and put it over Crawford’s left pad, making it 1-0.
Phoenix then did something that had not been done in the series, grabbed a two goal lead. Forty-four seconds after the opening goal Taylor Pyatt scored his second goal of the series making it 2-0.
With the United Center crowd near silence, a couple surprising suspects brought back the roar. Brendan Morrison picked the perfect time to score his first ever Blackhawks goal at the 10:25 mark. On a perfect line changed, he took a Jonathan Toews pass and his ripped a slap shot past Smith, cutting the lead to one.
Apparently Chicago had the game right where they wanted it. For the third time in four games, the Hawks tied the game with their goaltender pulled. Michael Frolik jumped on a loose puck in the crease and backhanded it into the net with 1:26 left. That would be the last moment the home crowd enjoyed.
The four consecutive overtime games is very rare in the history of the NHL as it has only happened one other time in playoff history. This is only the third series ever to have four overtime games, and there is still at least one game left to play.
The series will shift back to Arizona on Saturday night. The Hawks will try to extend their season when the puck drops at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
Contact Adam.Minnick@prohockeynews.com
