'Hawks erase three goal deficit, down Leafs in OT

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala, center, of Finland, looks back as he is beaten by a shot from Chicago Blackhawks Ben Eager, left, to tie the game 4-4 in the third period of NHL hockey action in Toronto on Saturday Nov. 22, 2008. The Blackhawks won 5-4 in overtime.

Hey Tim - I beat ya to it! So I check the scores on NHL.com tonight and I see that Chicago is trailing Toronto 4-3 with 9:23 left in the third. I think to myself "Wow, I gotta get downstairs and catch the end of that one!" But then I get distracted for a good two hours working on a little home business project and I don't check the scores again until 11:30 p.m., when the East Coast games are definitely over. To my surprise, Chicago pulled out their fourth straight road win (three-for-three so far on this six-game road trip), 5-4 in OT.

Hawks make it two for two on the road

Ben Eager is surrounded by a bunch of Hawks after scoring a second period goal.

DALLAS (AP)—Chicago coach Joel Quenneville liked the way the Blackhawks finished a lot more than the way they started.

Kris Versteeg scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 30 seconds left in the second period, Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 31 shots, and the Blackhawks overcame a lethargic beginning to beat the Dallas Stars 6-3 on Thursday night.

Dallas dominated the first 13 minutes with a 10-1 shots-on-goal edge. But Khabibulin made 12 first-period saves and Chicago tied it at 1 with 37 seconds left in the first period on Patrick Kane’s wrister from the left circle.

“We didn’t like the way we started the game,” Quenneville said. “We were fortunate to be in it. But those goals late in a period are big goals.”

The 35-year-old Khabibulin improved to 6-1-4.

“He’s been doing that all year,” Versteeg said. “We were a little sluggish early and he kept us in it.”

Kane added an empty-netter with 15.9 seconds left, and the Blackhawks improved to 2-0 to open a six-game road trip.

Martin Havlat, Ben Eager and Brian Campbell added goals for Chicago.

With the score even at 3 in the closing seconds of the second period, Versteeg sped around three Stars and skated to the front of the net, beating Dallas goalie Marty Turco for Versteeg’s seventh goal of the season.

“I tried to take it wide, then take it hard to the net,” Versteeg said. “We’re really coming on, playing great on the road.”

Havlat fired a shot past a screened Turco at 6:40 of the third period to extend the lead to 5-3, and the Blackhawks went on to win their third straight on the road.

Brenden Morrow, Mike Modano and rookie James Neal scored for the slumping Stars, who failed in a bid for their first consecutive victories of the season. Modano has 534 career goals, extending his record for U.S.-born players.

“It’s real frustrating,” Stars defenseman Stephane Ribidas said. “We had high expectations, but you look at the standings and we’re at the bottom. With the talent we have, that’s unacceptable.”

Morrow’s rebound put the Stars in front at 7:37 of the opening period before Kane’s last-minute goal tied it.

“I think we played a great first period, but we had a breakdown and we were tied,” Stars center Brad Richards said. “We couldn’t carry that momentum into the second period. It’s been a tough climb.”

Chicago went in front 2-1 at 6:44 of the second period when Eager skated in alone and beat Turco from the right circle, but Dallas tied it at 2 on Modano’s power-play goal at 7:50 of the second period.

Campbell answered for the Blackhawks with a man-advantage goal at 9:08 of the second period for a 3-2 advantage.

Neal pulled Dallas even at 3 on a rebound at 16:06 of the second period, but the Stars wouldn’t score again.

The Stars were expected to be Stanley Cup contenders this season, but they’ve been among the Western Conference bottom feeders all season.

Allowing goals in the final minute of all three periods made for another long night for the Stars.

“Those are back-breakers, and those are the times we kind of take pride in,” Modano said. “That’s a byproduct of what’s been happening this season.”

Game two of six game road trip tonight in Dallas

The Hawks play game two of a six-game trip tonight in Dallas while a circus takes over the United Center for two weeks. Overtime games had been a nightmare for the Blackhawks, especially those that had gone to the shootout. Tuesday night's opener to a six-game road trip, however, changed all that.

The Hawks went to the shootout for the fifth time and made it look easy. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp scored as the Hawks' first two shooters and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who had been 0-3 in shootouts in an otherwise-strong start to the season, blocked tries by Kyle Turris and Peter Mueller as the Hawks took a 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Hawks' Johnson quite an addition at plus-11

OK, everyone. My brother isn't very good at picking pro caliber hockey players - Aaron Johnson (pictured) just like Carolina's Scott Walker were once Syracuse Crunch players that my little brother thought would never make it. I found this article in the Chicago Sun Times. I hope this changes his mind!!

November 20, 2008
BY LEN ZIEHM lziehm@suntimes.com

DALLAS -- The Blackhawks aren't into individual statistics. They're just trying to stay in playoff position as they enter Game 2 of their six-game trip tonight against the Dallas Stars.
There's one individual stat that's intriguing, though. Defenseman Aaron Johnson, who didn't even make the season-opening roster, is tied for second in the NHL in plus/minus at plus-11. Only Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin (plus-17) rates higher.

Johnson barely played last season, totaling two assists and 30 penalty minutes in 30 games with the New York Islanders and missing more than three months with a torn MCL and ACL. Hawks general manager Dale Tallon signed him as a free agent in July.

"A good signing for us," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He's a depth defenseman. He gives us size and has done some scoring. We couldn't ask for more."

The plus-minus figure is computed from the number of goals scored by and against a player's team while he's on the ice. The Hawks' Duncan Keith was second among NHL defensemen and fifth in the league overall last season at plus-30. Teammate Kris Versteeg is plus-10 this season, second-best on the Hawks and tops among NHL rookies.

"It's a crazy stat,'' said Johnson, who started the season in Rockford but was called up for the third game after Niklas Hjalmarsson suffered a rib injury. "It's a good stat, but not like goals or assists. It's more like a five-person battle because everyone on the ice contributes to it. Others save your butt sometimes."

Johnson is playing about 15 minutes per game in the third defensive pairing. He had two goals and two assists in his first six games after the call-up, then added a game-winning goal Nov. 9 against Calgary. He has yet to be a minus player in any game and also plays on the Hawks' seventh-ranked penalty-killing unit.

"I'm getting used to playing now," he said. "I was up and down to the minors the last three years, and last year I didn't play much. I'm just excited to come to this team and get some games under my belt. I've been on both sides of plus/minus, and I try not to look at it too much. I'm just trying to stay on an even keel through all of this."

In three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Johnson was minus-2 in 29 games in 2003-04, plus-9 in 26 games the next season and minus-9 in 61 games in 2006-07. He was plus-2 last season for the Islanders.

He'll try to improve his stat tonight while protecting Nikolai Khabibulin, who'll start successive games in goal for the third time after his stellar work Tuesday in a 3-2 shootout victory at Phoenix.

Happy Halloween!!!

OK - So, Halloween was yesterday but I had to post the following pictures. The first is his first Halloween and his first posting to this site. Probably, one of many. It's 6'2" - 225lbs center from Raleigh, NC - Brind'Amour B. - who was crammed into this pumpkin with no chance to escape. The second is of course of my beloved Hawks!!!! C'mon Ted where is yours???? I know all you fans out there want to read something else other than these Damn Canes!!! I'm back!!