The sweep of the NHL from Sunday starts in Chicago where the Blackhawks cruised past the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1.
Corey Crawford had another ho-hum 33 save-effort in picking up the win. Crawford is as cool as any athlete in the heat of the game and Sunday night he made it look easy.
Corey Crawford was busy in 2nd and 3rd making 26 saves in win over Detroit – file photo b y Lewis Bleiman
“In some of those [games] where we’re maybe not firing on all cylinders, we’re able to hang in there and give ourselves a chance in a shootout or overtime or at the end of a game,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews, who scored the second of two Blackhawks goals in the third period to seal the win. “We can focus and take pride in hanging in there and just simplifying when maybe the other team is really throwing everything at us, and then see what happens. When we’re able to counter, then things will go our way.”
Toews, Artem Anisimov, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith scored for the Hawks.
“I thought our guys did a great job of keeping things to the outside and clearing rebounds,” Crawford said. “It’s not necessarily how many shots you give up; it’s the quality. I think we should be able to stop them if they keep shooting from the outside and the boards, but we’re really limiting teams’ chances from the inside.”
Gustav Nyquist was the lone goal scorer for Detroit.
Petr Mrazek started the game but was pulled after Chicago’s final goal and replaced by Jimmy Howard.
“I still think we can be better,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “The start was good. We had good stretches in the game, but then you watch the second period and we need the puck more. When we have it the whole game, we’ll let you know if we like it. It’s hard to play a full 60 [minutes] with the puck in today’s game.”
In Ottawa, the Dallas Stars got a late goal from Antoine Roussel and beat the Senators, 2-1.
“We were able to come out on top with hard work at the end,” Roussel said. “A couple of good shifts from everybody, and then we got the momentum. They were on their heels.”
Jason Spezza scored in Stars win over Ottawa – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Jason Spezza also scored for the Stars.
“Any time there’s a goal scored against you, you can pick something apart,” Senators coach Dave Cameron said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a back-to-back game, they didn’t have one of their top two lines on, and you know they’re coming back with those top two lines. No excuses.”
Kari Lehtonen had 23 saves in the Dallas win.
“I don’t think we played our best game, but I thought our goaltender gave us a real good performance and I thought our special teams made the difference,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. “Two early kills and I felt both power plays we could have scored.
“We’ve played a lot better games and lost. To end up fighting through it and finding a way to win it, it’s an important two points for us.”
Zack Smith was the lone goal scorer for the Sens.
“I thought we deserved better than that tonight,” Smith said. “We went up against one of the best teams in the League, and I thought we outplayed them for the majority of the game. That one stings, to give them that one at the end.”
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