Tuesday’s Three Stars: Hot Hossa Hammers Havlat and His Homies

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

For folks who were beginning to wonder during Marian Hossa’s recent six game goalless streak when the madness would end and he would light the lamp, the last two games have been a welcome change.

For the second contest in a row, Mr. Hossa netted two goals and led the Blackhawks to a big win, this time over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night at the United Center.

John Madden and Patrick Kane also lit the lamp for the Blackhawks, who ran their record to a league best 30-10-3 on the season, including a 20-4-1 record on home ice.

As if those numbers weren’t impressive enough, consider this: after having outscored their opponents 20-7 in their last four games, the Blackhawks now have a goal differential of +50 on the season. The next closest teams to them in this category, the Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils, are at a distant but very respectable +33 on the year.

After losing the last two games of their Circus Trip, the Blackhawks have won 14 of their next 18 games, and have allowed more than 30 shots in a game exactly three times. They did end up winning two of those contests, against Pittsburgh and Detroit, last year’s Stanley Cup finalists.

For one more interesting tidbit from the previous stretch of games, the Blackhawks have had players score multiple times in five of their last six games, with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa each netting two twice and Tomas Kopecky knocking a couple in the net against St. Louis.

Focusing on tonight’s contest, it was pretty much the Blackhawks’ show from the second period on. After a sluggish first that has become a recurring theme for this squad, the Hawks stepped up the intensity in a big way, not allowing the Wild any sustained offensive attacks and fending off those few advances with a combination of tight defense and some great goaltending by Cristobal Huet, who picked up his 20th win of the season with the victory tonight.

The fourth line, even in limited ice time, demonstrated again that they are clicking on all cylinders, as the combo platter of Tomas Kopecky, Colin Fraser, and Ben Eager kept consistent offensive pressure going against the Wild. They did allow the only goal that the Wild scored all night, but their contributions go far beyond the scoreboard: they can be felt throughout the game itself.

With their fourth straight win and an Original Six matchup looming on Thursday, the Blackhawks are clicking on all cylinders as they begin to set their sights on a grueling eight game road trip that will wrap up the month of January.

And now, for tonight’s Three Stars:

Third Star: Troy Brouwer

Yes, Brian Campbell did have two assists and Mr. Brouwer only had one, but Troy’s contributions were more based on what he did on the ice than what the scoresheet would have you believe.

On Patrick Kane’ s power play goal in the third period, it was Brouwer’s screen that allowed Kane’s wicked wrister to find the back of the net. He positioned himself perfectly, and even threw in an attempted deflection of the shot to throw off goaltender Josh Harding.

Besides his assist on the goal, Brouwer also had three hits in the contest, two takeaways, and two blocked shots to boot. It’s the kind of all-around game that fans have come to expect from this young man, who is having a season for the family scrapbook this year.

Second Star: Kris Versteeg

If there is no doubt that Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa are the two best wingers on the Chicago Blackhawks, then there is at least an argument that Kris Versteeg is one or two baby steps behind them.

Versteeg had two assists tonight, but more importantly he once again displayed his ability to keep plays alive with his aggressive poke-checking and puck pursuit this evening.

Kris is a player that never gives up on a play. He is always looking for angles and ways to get the puck down the ice and into a position where he or one of this teammates can put it in the back of the net, and he has developed into quite a find for this organization.

On Thursday night, the Bruins will get a firsthand look at “the one that got away” as Versteeg skates into Beantown with his mates. That should be an interesting experience for the B’s, who also traded away potential franchise winger Phil Kessel earlier this season.

First Star: Duh

Normally at PIB we like to pride ourselves on thinking outside the box, and honoring players within these countdowns who normally don’t get the acclaim that they deserve. Even we have to go with the “duh” selection tonight and name Marian Hossa our First Star of the game.

After all, he has shown on back-to-back nights that he is a player who is capable of taking over ANY game at any time. His two goals and dominant presence on the ice were just further proof that he is the kind of game-breaker that teams would salivate to have, but also fear every time they have to game plan for him.

Hossa may be quick to shine the spotlight on other players, as his other teammates are wont to do as well, but that light is shining brightly on him at this moment. The worries about the cap space he occupies are temporarily on the backburner, as he continues to demonstrate his game-breaking skills.

If Marian can continue this hot streak, the rest of the NHL will be on notice soon enough.

The Hawks next take to the ice when they visit Boston on Thursday night. The game will start at 6pm CST, and can be seen on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Tags: Ben Eager, Brian Campbell, Chicago Blackhawks, Colin Fraser, John Madden, kris versteeg, marian hossa, Patrick Kane, Tomas Kopecky, Troy Brouwer