It was Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour’s 31st birthday Sunday, but the Calgary Flames nearly ruined the party. Not only did they score five goals against the previously impregnable Belfour, but a play late in the game may come back to haunt him.
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Sheldon Kennedy crashed into defenseman Eric Weinrich, who in turn bowled over Belfour, whose back hit the right goal post. Belfour, who missed several games with a back sprain early in the season, said the collision had retriggered the injury.
“It was a dangerous play,” said Belfour, still upset afterward. “Look what happened to Grant Fuhr. They were crashing the net. There was no reason for one of their guys to push one of our guys into me. The puck was already covered and the whistle had blown.
“I sprained my back again when I hit the net. Hopefully, I’ll be able to play. We’ll have to see how it is tomorrow.”
Driven: Jeff Shantz’s parents drove 1,500 miles in a little more than 24 hours to see the young Hawks forward play here Sunday. Shantz is from nearby Duchess, Alberta, and his parents had driven to Chicago to see him play the first two games of the series.
Kruse faces fine: Calgary’s Paul Kruse could face a fine of as much as $25,000 for shooting the puck at the Hawks’ net during pregame warmups. With only Kruse, Chris Chelios and goalie Jeff Hackett on the ice, Kruse sent several pucks Hackett’s way, and after the goalie finally left, put the puck in the Hawks’ net. That is a no-no. Chelios did not rise to the bait, but reported, “The referee saw it and he wrote him up.”