By Brad Vandenberk
Chicago continued their road trip with a stop in Big D to face the Stars on Saturday night. The arena was packed with red jerseys as Hawks fans were heard to open the game with a “let’s go Hawks” chant. Those few would be disappointed as the Hawks would lay an egg losing 4-0 to a team that is 8 points out of the playoffs. The Stars took advantage of the Hawks careless defensive mistakes scoring on two giveaways. They also allowed two power play goals off the stick of Tyler Seguin and Shawn Horcoff.
Michal Rozsival was back in the lineup after sitting in New York on Wednesday. David Rundblad was the odd man out on defense. Andrew Desjardins and Dan Carcillo were also out of the lineup for this one. Corey Crawford battled against the Stars Kari Lehtonen who made 33 saves to record his 5th shutout of the season. Kimmo Timonen played his 1100 game playing for 13:15.
Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger break in on a 2 on 1 moments into the game but Lehtonen makes the save. Hawks get an early power play when Jason Demers trips Shaw. The power play is unsuccessful but they do get another one minutes later when Jamie Benn heads to the box for high sticking Bryan Bickell. Brandon Sad gets a point blank opportunity but Lehtonen is on his game tonight. Jonathan Toews gets a perfect one time pass but Jordie Benn slides across the ice to block the shot. The Hawks man advantage is unsuccessful once again. Shaw is all over the ice early on the fourth line. Joakim Nordstrom and Shaw break in on a 2 on 1 but to no avail. A blown Hawks coverage leads to the first Stars goal. Patrick Eaves rips one past Crawford’s blocker and its 1-0. Niklas Hjalmarsson gives the Stars their first power play of the game for high sticking. Seguin has a wide open cage off a rebound and makes no mistake 2-0. Crawford tries to keep his boys in the game making save after save. As the period is about to end Shaw gets called for hooking and the Hawks will open up the second on the penalty kill. Shots are even at 9 apiece.
The Stars continue to fly around the Hawks making them look like statues. The “let’s go Hawks” reigns from the crowd once again. Curtis McKenzie gets a chance wide open in front of the net, but misses the puck on the shot. Stars continue to pressure the Hawks literally owning the offensive zone. Jason Spezza finds McKenzie once again who can’t seem to pull the trigger. Marian Hossa takes the Hawks second shot of the period at the 10 minute mark. Jordie Benn blocks another shot this time on Shaw. The Stars could be up 6-0 at this stage but they keep missing wide open opportunities. Spezza and Cody Eakin break in with Eakin shooting it wide. Hossa gets a break away but is stopped. The lines begin to shuffle around. Shaw works his way up to play with Antoine Vermette and Saad. Jordie Benn continues his strong play leveling Shaw with a forearm hit. The period ends with the Hawks being outshot 13-12.
The Hawks can’t seem to wake up and the Stars continue to pressure. Hossa has a chance going wide to the net but can only get off a backhand. Hjalmarsson heads to the box for high sticking on Eaves. The Stars make quick work putting in their 3 of the night. Horcoff tips a Alex Goligoski point shot past Crawford. Saad splits the defense and breaks in alone. Jordie Benn tries to dive and throws his stick. The ref points to center ice for a penalty shot. This is Saad’s first career in game penalty shot attempt. He starts off wide and tries to slide it five hole and Lehtonen shuts the door. Rozsival tries to put a pass throw his legs and Spezza is left wide open in front of the net and snipes it past Crawford 4-0. Hossa has his shot redirected by Patrick Sharp but Lehtonen is too good tonight making the save ending the Hawks 4 game winning streak with a 4-0 win.
Quick Hits:
-Hawks outshot the Stars 33-29.
-Hawks go 0/2 on the power play with the Stars going 2/3.
-Duncan Keith led all Hawks with 24:36 of TOI. He played just over 9 minutes in the first alone. Johnny Oduya was next with 21:15.
-Saad had 4 shots on net.
-Hawks now remain 4 points back of the Blues and Preds for tops in the Central.
-Next game is Monday night in Carolina.
Lines
Sharp Toews Hossa Keith Rozsival
Saad Vermette Teravainen Seabrook Timonen
Bickell Richards Versteeg Oduya Hjalmarsson
Nordstrom Kruger Shaw
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Brad Vandenberk
