Dallas Stars third period goal glut stuns Chicago Blackhawks to 3-1 defeat - NHL Update
Dallas Stars came from behind in the third period with a wonderful performance in offence to defeat Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 at the United Center in Chicago.
The Blackhawks were completely taken by surprise and looked shell shocked in the final period as Dallas’ offence finally woke up from its stupor.
The loss ends Chicago’s four game winning run which put them back among the top six in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks before this run had lost nine games in a row to drop from the top spot in the conference.
Coach Joel Quenneville looked as much shocked as his own players at the rapid change in their fortunes and could not comprehend how they let the game slip from their grasp.
"Tough, tough, tough. Brutal. Tonight, everything was going in a real good way, and then we had a third period that you wonder where that came from.
Adding further he said.
"It was right in our hands, and we let it get away. Maybe on the tying goal, it was a play, but we can't give up that play. That's a goal that can't happen, and they got some momentum off it. From there, we weren't very good."
Dallas on the other hand were visibly ecstatic with the win which comes on the back of a 3-0 win over Montreal Canadiens.
The Stars moved up into the playoff spots with 66 points however, they will need a few more victories to secure their place in the playoff rounds as they are tied on points with Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings.
Coach Glen Gulutzan heaped praise on goaltender Richard Bachman, who made 26 saves during the game and contained the Blackhawks lead to just a single goal in a second period where the Stars were heavily outshot.
Both teams started the game slowly in the first period as both offences mustered a total of 11 shots on goal.
That statistic changed quickly in the second period as Chicago grew in confidence.
The Blackhawks offence outshot their opponents 16-5 and only Richard Bachman’s brilliant performance in front of the net stopped Chicago’s onslaught.
Chicago just had Marian Hossa’s goal at 9:32 in the period to show for their effort as they took a 1-0 lead.
The Blackhawks looked the likelier to score the next goal but in the third period, Dallas suddenly woke up and took the game to the hosts.
Steve Ott tied the game at 1-1, nine minutes into the third period and Dallas did not look back after that.
Outshooting their opponents 15-5, the Stars took the lead at 14:58 through Michael Ryder and just two minutes later put the game to bed with Loui Eriksson scoring the winner.
Dallas will now face Minnesota Wild on Friday at home ice as they look to build on their two game winning run, while Chicago Blackhawks will look to avoid another defeat with a trip to Los Angeles on Saturday to face the Kings.
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