Oh-so-close for Kane before SO win
One-tenth of a second cost Patrick
Kane a highlight for the ages in what might have been his final Blackhawks home game Tuesday night.
But Tyler Johnson’s shootout winner at least gave Kane justice in the win column, sealing a 3-2 comeback victory over the Golden Knights at the United Center.
“We just had to beat them twice,” coach Luke Richardson joked.
Kane was quiet by his standards through the first two periods but came alive in the third. He finished with nine shots — seven on goal — in a season-high 27:24 of ice time and contributed a massive assist when he set up Johnson for a game-tying, one-timer rocket on a 6-on-4 power play with 54 seconds left.
However, Kane’s night will be remembered for what the final stat line didn’t include. On a clear-cut breakaway at the end of overtime but with the seconds quickly winding down, Kane pulled up from the high slot and blasted a slap shot past goalie Laurent Brossoit into the net and nearly into United Center folklore.
But a lengthy video review eventually determined the puck crossed the goal line an instant too late.
“It would’ve been cooler if Kaner would’ve scored that goal,” Johnson said of the win. “[That] would’ve made it a lot more fun.”
The Hawks’ next four games are on the road. They won’t return to Chicago until March 2, the night before the trade deadline, by which point it’s hard to know who will remain on the team.
Gutsy Guttman
Cole Guttman’s second career goal, which tied the game 1-1 in the first period, was almost as pretty as his game-winner Sunday. He pulled away from the Golden Knights’ defense and made a smooth move on Brossoit.
In doing so, he became the first Hawks forward to score two goals in his first four games since Artemi Panarin and Dennis Rasmussen both did it in 2015.
The scrappy 23-year-old center probably doesn’t have Panarin-level upside, but he appears on track for a much better NHL career than Rasmussen, who washed out of the league after nine goals.
Richardson has been impressed by how quickly Guttman has learned and made adjustments during his first week in the big leagues. That ability also stood out to coaches in Rockford earlier this season.
Power-play breakthrough
Johnson’s goal near the end of regulation broke a dismal 1-for-34 drought by the Hawks’ power play that had spanned 14 games starting in mid-January.
Richardson had tried various adjustments, moving guys around and emphasizing different things to work on, but with no luck. It has been hard to even nail down the main reason for the struggles.
“They look great on video, but they just can’t get it across the line,” he said before the game Tuesday. “We’ve had some really good looks in-zone at times, and now it seems like it’s more our entries [that are the problem]. A week ago, we were coming in clean. We just couldn’t really get set up.”
Injury updates
Forward Reese Johnson was placed in concussion protocol, with Brett Seney taking his spot in the lineup.
† Winger MacKenzie Entwistle (wrist) was put on injured reserve, retroactive to Feb. 14, and will not go on the road trip.
† Forward Jujhar Khaira will go on the trip. He’s finally close to returning from the back injury that has kept him out since Dec. 23. Richardson said he’s looking forward to having Khaira’s “big body” available in front of the net, giving the Hawks the sort of presence they’ll be missing without Jonathan Toews.