In Chicago, Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves and the Blackhawks blanked the Anaheim Ducks, 3-o, on Saturday.
Brandon Hagel broke a scoreless tie early in the middle frame for a 1-0 lead to the Blackhawks.
Anaheim dropped to 19-15-7.
“I can’t remember quite a game like that, where we were literally a quarter of an inch from having a goal,” Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said. “They get lucky coming out of the box and put one in. Another one when we were killing a penalty, we had an unbelievable chance. Another one where Fleury was excellent and they came right down and put it in our net. Good chances were there.”
Patrick Kane scored his eighth of the season off the power-play, in the third period to give Chicago a little breathing room.
“I think the thing I like about it,” Blackhawks head coach Derek King said, “and this is where you kind of get to know your team a little better, is when they do close that door and they have a chat and powwow, we know what’s going on, but we (the coaches) don’t know what’s being said. The fact they acknowledged something had to be said or done about it, that’s great. That means they’re a team, and supporting each other to go on a winning streak here is a bonus.”
Chicago improved to 15-18-5 with their fourth win a row.
“Yeah, fun game, you know?” Kane said. “‘Kinger’ was saying in the room, ‘Saturday night, where would you rather be?’ And he had a good point. Fun to play in front of a crowd like that. I think knowing we’ve won three in a row before tonight brought excitement, and we can build on this one too. Make it four in a row and try to keep going as a team. It’s been fun.”
Dominik Kubalik added a late empty-net goal for the 3-0 final.
“Just try not to think about it,” Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras said. “Just go out there and play the best you can for whatever time you’re out there. The last couple games have been tough. I feel like we’ve been putting a lot of pucks on net and creating some good chances. It’s just a matter of kind of playing better in our end and cleaning up the little stuff.”
Lukas Dostal made 33 saves in the Ducks loss.
“Hey, I thought he did his job,” Eakins said of Dostal. “That first goal was a crazy one. The puck comes out and it’s kind of too far out for him to grab it. The guy comes out of the box. People who say there’s no luck in the game are crazy. There’s a fair amount of luck that goes with it. He made some good saves along the way. I thought he was solid. I thought he gave us a real, real solid game.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.