The book on beating the Blackhawks is different from most common strategies. Putting them on the power play is the secret of success.
It won’t be a secret much longer if other National Hockey League teams study the tape of Dallas’ 5-2 victory Friday night at the Stadium. The Hawks frequently gain nothing extra from having an extra skater.
Here it is the first day of the new year and already they are fizzing out with yesterday’s champagne. Their eight-game home winning streak is history along with 1993, and the Hawks have lost four of their last six games overall, all to Central Division opponents.
If a playoff berth still was based on finishing in the top four in the division, the fifth-place Hawks would really be in trouble. To this point, they appear to be playoff-bound only because postseason entrance is determined by conference finish, and the Pacific Division is weak after its first two teams.
The Stars presented the Hawks with a belated holiday gift: a 5-minute power play late in the first period that carried over to the second period courtesy of Shane Churla high-sticking Jocelyn Lemieux. But the Hawks skated in circles most of this opportunity, generating three shots.
Then there were overlapping Dallas penalties in the second period, giving the Hawks a man advantage from 11:08 until 14:26, 42 seconds with a five-on-three attack. The total of this chance to rally was three shots.
Dallas is the third-best penalty-killing team in the league. The Stars showed why in limiting the Hawks to no goals in their four power plays (11 minutes with an extra man) in the first two periods and led by two goals into the third period.
Goalie Jeff Hackett hasn’t received a lot of offensive support from his teammates in his seven starts this season. The Hawks have averaged three goals a game for him, and three times have scored two or fewer.
Making his first start as a Hawk in the Stadium with coach Darryl Sutter giving Ed Belfour a rare night on the bench at home, Hackett allowed a bad goal when he failed to return to the net in time to stop Neal Broten in the first period.
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Then in the third period, the Stars took firm control of the game when Mike Modano’s slapper from beyond the left circle glanced off Hackett’s stick handle and into the net. The crowd chanted for Belfour again at this late juncture, as they had when Neal Broten scored.
When Trent Klatt scored less than a minute after Modano, the fans didn’t even bother to call for Belfour. They knew the game was out of reach.
Paul Broten’s opening first-period goal was a smash into a wide-open net. Brent Gilchrist froze the Hawks at the end of a power play by skating into the right circle and passing to a wide-open Broten left of the crease. Hackett had no chance to recover.
Jim McKenzie scored the only second-period goal. It came off a two-against-one rush when Hawks defenseman Neil Wilkinson started to rush the net with the puck before losing control and never got back to help Cam Russell at the Chicago net.
Hackett appeared to stop Dean Evason’s shot, only to have it slip away and over the goal line as McKenzie took another whack at the puck for good measure as it lay beneath Hackett.
Chris Chelios made sure he didn’t finish the game. With 6:11 remaining, he jammed his stick into Gilchrist’s helmet after he slashed him to the ice and then punched in the face.
Dallas’ Mark Tinordi came charging and he and Chelios had a brief fight. But this fight was over for the Hawks, though there were more fights to come in the closing minutes of the game.
If the NHL is serious about controlling violence, Churla risks suspension for abuse of an official. He hit a linesman in the helmet three or four times as both linesmen attempted to break up a fight between Churla and Lemieux off the game’s opening faceoff.
Referee Paul Stewart assessed Churla an extra 10-minute misconduct for his excessive behavior.
Lemieux scored the Hawks’ only first-period goal so that they could get to the intermission down only 2-1. After his passing attempt to the right crease for Dirk Graham didn’t connect, Graham carried the play behind the net and found Lemieux set up in front.