Shaw Scores Two, Crawford Stops 41, Hawks Win 8th In A Row, 3-2 Over Preds

The Chicago Blackhawks won their 8th straight win tonight as they took on their rival, the Nashville Predators at the United Center.  Andrew Shaw scored two goals, Marian Hossa, celebrating his 37th birthday, would add two assists.  Corey Crawford stood on his head and stopped 41 shots and coach Joel Quenneville, after receiving a 3-year contract extension earlier in the day, won his 782nd career win as a Head Coach, tying him with Al Arbour for 2nd on the All-Time Win List, as the Blackhawks defeated Nashville, 3-2.

Typical of a Blackhawks/Predators game, the first period was full of defense, a few scoring chances, but little scoring.  Fortunately, the lone goal of the period came from the stick of Andrew Shaw.  Marian Hossa streaked around the back o the net and failed on a wraparound, but Shaw was there to knock the rebound in to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead with :58 left in the period.  Blackhawks held an 11-10 edge in shots.

In the 2nd period, Corey Crawford made some strong saves, as he did in the first.  One particular save snapped the top of his stick and was just enough to stop a Roman Josi shot in front of the crease.  It took the Blackhawks till the 6:14 mark to get a shot on goal.  All was well though because it was Shaw who deposited that shot into the back of the net for his 2nd of the night to make it 2-0, Blackhawks.  Seven minutes later, Brent Seabrook did a give and go with Patrick Kane after a nice keep in by Erik Gustafsson and Seabrook buried a shot past Pekka Rinne to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead.  Just :18 later Mike Ribeiro bounced a shot off of Crawford's pads from behind the net to get Nashville on the board to make it 3-1.  The Predators threw 20 shots on Crawford that period, but the Hawks kept a 3-1 lead going into the 3rd.

In the 3rd, the Predators peppered Crawford numerous times, but Crow was up to the challenge.  With less than a minute left, and on the power play, Filip Forsberg threw a shot past Crawford to bring the Preds to within 3-2.  A last rush was spoiled by Crawford to preserve the 3-2 win.

Notable mentions: The top line has enjoyed success over the lsat few games.  Andrew Shaw in his last 5 games has 5 points (2G 3A) and is a +7.  Marian Hossa in his last two games has 4 points (2G 2A) and is a +5.  Jonathan Toews, in his last 13 games, has 15 points (7G 8A) and is a +15.  The Blackhawks now play 9 of their next 12 games on the road.  Let's hope their recent success helps out their road record (9-8-3).

Three Stars Of The Game
1st - CHI - Andrew Shaw - (2G) +2  6 shots
2nd - CHI - Marian Hossa - (2A) +2 3 shots
3rd - CHI - Corey Crawford - 41 Saves, .953 SV%

Next Game: Thursday, January 14th, Away vs. Montreal Canadiens, 6:00PM CT

LET'S GO HAWKS!!!