After falling behind 3-1 thanks to Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos and his first career hat-trick, Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks bounced back to score four unanswered goals to win 5-3.

Cristobal Huet started his third game in a row, throwing off the usual game-on/game-off rotation Joel Quenneville has used all season. Nikolai Khabibulin is out of the lineup with a minor lower body injury suffered after the Hawks win against the Atlanta Thrashers last week. Also missing from the lineup was goal-scoring leader Patrick Sharp.

Sharp was hit hard in the first minute of the game against Dallas. He was slow to rise and left the ice favoring his left leg. He did not return and will not be on the Hawks’ bench for at least two to three weeks.

Tampa Bay did not make the Hawks’ return to the road easy.

After Duncan Keith put Chicago up 1-0 while on a four-on-four (11:53), Stamkos scored the first of his three goals just over a minute later on the same four-on-four (12:58), on only Tampa Bay’s second shot of the game.

Stamkos’ second and third goals came midway through the second period.

Craig Adams put the Hawks down a man for four minutes after receiving a high-sticking double minor at 9:45. Stamkos and the Lightning took advantage of this. At 10:28, he put a centering pass from Václav Prospal behind Huet. He followed this with a one-timer from Steve Eminger at 11:38. Both goals were beautiful stick-side shots. Stamkos is a young player with a bright future ahead of him. One day, he will become a household name in the hockey community.

A spark went off for the Blackhawks at the end of the second. With less than a minute left in the period, Patrick Kane passed the puck to Toews at the side of the net. Toews’ attempt at centering the puck to Troy Brouwer bounced off the skate of a Lightning defender and past Karri Ramo to get the Hawks within one (19:12).

Patrick Kane tied the game early in the third, scoring his first goal in nine games, while on the power play (0:29, Lukáš Krajíček, interference) off a centering pass from Brian Campbell.

The four-on-four worked for the Hawks in the first and it worked for the Hawks again in the third. Martin Havlat carried the puck into the Lightning’s zone, showing why he is paid $6 million a year and will be a much sought after free-agent at the end of the season, and danced around the Lightning defense until finally shooting from the side of the net. The puck grazed off of Ramo and through the crease to Dave Bolland, who tapped it in (12:46). His go-ahead goal eventually became the game winner.

Toews put in his 20th goal of the season with four minutes left in the game (15:59).

Penalties and power plays once again are the story of the Blackhawks. All three Lightning goals occurred while either short-handed on a four-on-four. Once again, the Hawks ended the game with a penalty in the last two minutes (18:10, Campbell, holding), allowing Ramo to go to the bench for a two-man advantage.

Though this adds up to an exciting finish, it is something they (and the fans) could do without. The Blackhawks outshot Tampa Bay 49-23 in their 5-3 victory. Huet will have to improve his goals against percentage before heading into the playoffs. It is guaranteed that the Hawks will not be able to put up such impressive numbers when playing a top-eight team from the conference; his numbers will have to improve or else the playoff burden will fall solely on the great when healthy Khabibulin.

The Hawks play in Florida against the Panthers on Thursday and in Dallas against the Stars on Saturday before returning to the United Center to play the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

 

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