Chicago Blackhawks win third, edge Florida Panthers 3-2 in shootout -NHL Match Update
Chicago grabbed their third straight victory and improved with those extra two points to the top position in the Western Conference with a 8-2-2 record as the Blackhawks edged the Florida Panthers, 3-2, with Patrick Kane scoring the only shootout goal, Thursday
night, November 3, 2011, at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, United States.
The Blackhawks were widely outshot by the Panthers, 43-33, but Corey Crawford really shone during the shootout after he managed to block all three attempts by Florida, ultimately becoming the reason for Chicago’s victory.
"Awesome game, great game, definitely the best player on our team, no doubt about it", Kane said about his goalie. "I don't know why we played like that tonight, but Crawford stood tall. That's why he's proved time and time again that he should be in there".
Chicago captain, Jonathan Toews, scored his fifth of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) off an assist by Andrew Brunette to kick off the scoring during the first period.
Matt Bradley and Chicago’s Jamal Mayers, were awarded a five-minute major penalty after exchanging fists nearly two minutes after Toews’ first goal.
Marian Hossa extended the Blackhawks lead 4:51 into the second, which gave the visiting team a 2-0 lead to take the match, but Stephen Weiss goal with less than two minutes remaining gave the 15,000 plus home crowd hope of a comeback in the third.
The crowd had their prayers answered as Ed Jovanovski miraculously levelled the match with 2:04 left to play in the final period of regulation, but they failed to score anymore and were headed into an uncertain overtime extension.
Unable to score in overtime, a shootout was evident and with Kane emerging successful on the last attempt, Chicago took the game, which allowed Blackhawks head coach, Joel Quenneville to breathe a little easier.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game, it was going to be a tough game", Quenneville said. "To me, at the end of the night, it was a goalie win. Crow was great for us and kept us in there".
Chicago Blackhawks will be eyeing a fourth straight victory when they head to Tampa Bay on Friday to face the Lightning, while Florida will play the same team on Sunday.
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