The Blackhawks penalty killing has been a strong force in the last three games. Against three of the top five power plays-Calgary, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh-the Hawks allowed just one goal in 16 short-handed situations. The Penguins were 0 for 5.
The Hawks` power play is also among the top five in the league and, although it remains a bit shaky without Denis Savard, the Hawks did score one power-play goal in each of their victories Saturday and Sunday.
– Coach Mike Keenan indicated he will ask the National Hockey League supervisor of officials for an explanation about referee Bill McCreary`s penalty call late in Sunday`s game against defenseman Dave Manson.
The incident began when Chicago`s Wayne Presley got into an argument along the boards with Mark Recchi. Pittsburgh`s John Cullen then skated up and punched Presley in the face, which touched off a scrum.
Manson came from behind and appeared to land a punch or two to Cullen, although he claimed: ”I never hit him. I was reaching in to grab his arm.”
The Penguins ended up with a four-minute power play with 2:37 left in the game when McCreary assessed Manson a double-minor for roughing.
”I can`t be the only one out of 10 guys always doing something on the ice,” said Manson, who feels officials pick on him because of his reputation. ”I`ve gotten myself into this and have to work my way out of it.”
– The Isles` Mick Vukota gave his reason for running over goalie Jaqcues Cloutier behind the net early in Saturday`s game. ”There`s only two ways to play a team like Mike Keenan`s,” he said. ”You can either sit back and retaliate to their actions or instigate. It wasn`t premeditated, but I wanted to make sure they knew we were there to play the game.”
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– Two rookies, the Hawks` Jeremy Roenick and Pittsburgh`s Recchi, have the longest current scoring streaks in the NHL. Each scored Sunday and have points in nine straight games.