Ah, matchups. Broadcasters love to talk about them, even the boring ones. Which is what we aim to avoid when breaking down the Blackhawks’ 3-2 shootout loss to archrival Detroit on Wednesday.
Bryan Bickell vs. expectations
Hitting opponents. Creating screens. Scoring goals on deflections. These are things in which Bickell specializes. Not so much in stick handling the puck behind his back to create scoring chances. Yet that’s what he did Wednesday, much to the delight of the United Center faithful.
Top power play vs. top penalty kill
Entering Wednesday, the Hawks were the top penalty killing team in the NHL while the Red Wings had the most potent power play (26.0 percent). Yet the Detroit penalty kill stole the show, canceling out all four Blackhawks man advantages.
Marian Hossa vs. Pavel Datsyuk
Fun with numbers: These longtime stars both entered the game with 17 goals and 25 assists and are 36 years old. Eerie, we know. And what did Hossa do when Datsyuk stripped him of the puck in the Wings zone? He chased down Datsyuk in the Hawks zone and stole it back, of course. Keep it up as long as you can, guys.
Brent Seabrook vs. accuracy
What’s that saying? “If at first you don’t score, shoot a million more times”? Say this for Seabrook, he doesn’t give up. What’s he supposed to do when he has room, not shoot? Unfortunately for the defenseman, all his attempts Wednesday either just missed or were stopped by Jimmy Howard.
Jimmy Howard vs. his own defense
Speaking of the Detroit goaltender, he singlehandedly prevented a Hawks blowout with his 32 saves. The Hawks outshot the Wings by a large margin for most of the game. Howard also stuffed Marcus Kruger twice from point-blank range in the third period, after which he (probably) said to the Hawks forward: “That all ya got?”
Chris Sosa is RedEye’s sports editor. @redeyesportschi
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