Sunday’s Three Stars: Seabrook Scores, Hawks Finish Homestand in Style
November 16th, 2009 | by jneveau |Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator
Sunday night was a night of many emotions for the Blackhawks.
The first emotion, obviously, was elation over their victory against the Sharks, a team with the best record in the NHL and a notoriously strong road team this season. They came into the game with the most road victories in the Western Conference, and a confident attitude to match.
Another emotion was one of uncertainty for the Hawks. Yes, they have been outstanding on home ice this season, but they haven’t been exactly stellar on the road side of the slate thus far. They have had lackluster losses to Phoenix and Nashville, as well as heart-wrenching shoot-out defeats at the hands of the Panthers and Avalanche.
Whether the prevailing emotion was satisfaction for the win or a hesitation of going back out on the road, the dreaded annual Circus Trip is finally upon this squad, and if their performance heading into the festivities is any indication, then they should have a productive one.
The game tonight belonged mostly to members of the blue line corps of the Hawks. Brent Seabrook scored the game winning goal about 41 seconds into the overtime on a beautiful feed from behind the net by Jonathan Toews. Duncan Keith notched two assists to bring his point total to 15 through the team’s first 19 games, and Brent Sopel scored his first goal of the season in the first period.
Niklas Hjalmarsson also had a solid night, playing very good defense and giving his team about 20 minutes of quality ice time.
Even without winger Kris Versteeg in the fold for this game, the Hawks still put together a very solid effort offensively. Captain Toews had two assists in the game, and fellow forwards John Madden and Patrick Kane added goals of their own in the 4-3 victory.
A more in-depth preview of the road-trip is forthcoming in the next few days, but for now, here are PIB’s Three Stars of the Game for Sunday:
Third Star: Duncan Keith/Jonathan Toews
Both Keith and Toews had very good nights against the Sharks, with each man getting two assists in the victory.
Keith’s other notable accomplishment of the evening was leading the team in both power play TOI and short-handed TOI. He also was second on the team in even-strength time. Quenneville has shown an increasing propensity to have Keith out on as many penalty kills as possible, while also using him on the power play. It clearly shows that he feels Keith can be trusted, and that’s important with any D-man.
Toews had the assist on Seabrook’s game winner in overtime, and he had exhibited some stellar puck handling behind the net in the process. With Sharks players hanging all over him like girls do to Jonas Brothers lyrics, Toews still managed to keep the puck, then find a streaking Seabs in front for the goal. It was a beautiful play, and the folks who were watching the game at La Maison Neveau stood in unison as the pass found its target: we just knew.
Second Star: Brent Sopel
Sopel has taken a bit of a bum rap in this blog over the time Chris and I have been writing it, but he had a very solid game tonight. He made a couple of good defensive plays, and he also scored his first goal of the season to boot. It was probably the most complete game Brent has put together this season.
On a defense that has allowed the 2nd fewest goals in the conference, Sopel has begun to pull his weight, and if he can continue, then perhaps he’ll earn more kudos than boos in the future from PIB.
First Star: Brent Seabrook
Congratulations Brent Seabrook! You are now the proud owner of not one but TWO fantastic game winning goals this season. Your first one was against the Calgary Flames in the famous “comeback” game back in October, and this one took the cake in terms of what you did to make it happen.
Honestly, your break from the blue line towards the net could be looked at as very aggressive and foolish by some, but it was a smart hockey move by a smart hockey player, and you should be proud of your instincts. They served you very well there.
Tags: Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, Chicago Blackhawks, Circus Trip, Colorado Avalanche, Duncan Keith, Florida Panthers, John Madden, Jonathan Toews, kris versteeg, Nashville Predators, niklas hjalmarsson, Patrick Kane, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks
By Eric L. on Nov 16, 2009
I think that this six game road trip that the Ducks are about to go on is going to show us a lot about how much they’ve improved. They only have 2 wins on the road this season.
It’s a good thing that they’re going into this road trip on a good note too. They’ve beaten the Aves, Sharks, and Kings in their last few games, which has to be a huge confidence boost for the team.
And these three stars for the Hawks, could be the three stars on a nightly basis. They all played well in the game against San Jose, but they also play well in most of the other games as well. Chicago is really starting to rely on some superstar caliber players.