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Blackhawks Give Up Lead, But Take It In Over Time

Written by: EricC on 29th January 2010

The Chicago Blackhawks seem to have developed this nasty little habit of giving up big leads; luckily, they still managed to take Thursday night’s game into Over Time, after giving up a three goal lead to the San Jose Sharks. This habit may become a real big problem if the Blackhawks cannot shake it by playoff time. Chicago is now trailing the Sharks by a single point; the Sharks continue to lead the NHL.

The Blackhawks had an amazing start to this game, putting in three goals during the opening nine minutes. Dustin Byfuglien had the first goal off an assist from Patrick Kane. Less than a minute later, Troy Brouwer, who would later become the hero of the game, pounded a shot past the Shark goalie. Nearly eight and a half minutes in, Andrew Ladd made it a three goal lead after the Hawks won a faceoff in front of the Sharks’ net. Up 3-0, it looked like the Blackhawks were in a pretty safe position; unfortunately, they weren’t.

The Sharks, infuriated by the fact that they were trailing by three goals at Home, really stepped up their game following that third goal. Nearly 12 minutes into the first period, the Sharks got on the board. The game remained 3-1 all the way up to the final minutes of the second period when San Jose scored a Power Play goal to make it a one goal lead for the Hawks. Then, during the opening five minutes of the third period, the Sharks tied up the game for the first time.

Each team had exchanged 37 shots during the regulation time, heading into Over Time with a 3-3 score. Any team could be, understandably, disheartened after giving up a three goal lead, but the Hawks stuck it out in Over Time and managed to put the Sharks to rest. A little over a minute and a half into the Over Time, Brouwer had his second goal of the game off an assist from Niklas Hjalmarsson. This was Brouwer’s 17th goal of the season, and Hjalmarsson’s ninth assist.

Despite giving up three goals, Cristobal Huet played a great game. Huet faced more shots than he has all season, making 34 saves against the Sharks. His record is now 24-9-3 and he ranks 8th in the NHL for Goals Allowed Average.

The Blackhawks travel across the country for their final game of the Road Trip. They will be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes this Saturday, January 30, at 6:00 P.M. CT. This will be the only match up between these teams this season, unless they meet up in the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes currently have the second lowest points in the NHL.