Corey Crawford holds Detroit back as Chicago Blackhawks edge Red Wings 3-2 -NHL Update
Corey Crawford let two goals slide past him during the Friday night, December 30, 2011, contest, but made up for it by keeping Detroit out of the net for the remaining time as Chicago Blackhawks edged the Red Wings, 3-2, at the sold-out United Center in
Chicago, Illinois, United States.
After the two teams battled in the first 40 minutes of regulation, Chicago’s Brent Seabrook made the game-winner in the opening minutes of the third and final period on an assist from Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane to allow the Blackhawks to take the match.
"I just buried my head and shot it as hard as I could," Seabrook said about his tie-breaking shot. "It was big. We always play them a lot every year. It's always a big rivalry for us, so it was nice to come out and have an effort like we did and get a big
two points."
Crawford faced a total of 28 shots and blocked 26 of them while his counterpart in the Detroit net, Jimmy Howard, fell short on three of 28 in total.
Justin Abdelkader opened the scoring with his third of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season while Jonathan Toews added his 21st on a quick breakaway opportunity with less than six minutes remaining till the first period came
to an end.
"It's pretty easy to get pumped up when the crowd goes crazy like that before the puck drops," Chicago forward, Marian Hossa, said. "They're (games versus Detroit) always close, tight games you want to play as a hockey player."
Todd Bertuzzi added another one for Detroit to give the Red Wings the lead, which they failed to maintain as Marian Hossa added the equaliser once again for Chicago nearly two minutes later.
With Seabrook’s game-winner, the 22,000 plus crowd went crazy and roared with joy which had the players in full form and determined to take the two points and the match from the Red Wings.
Chicago will be hosting the Edmonton Oilers on Monday while Detroit Red Wings have one more before the New Year as they will be hosting the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
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