Hayden, Hartman, Fuel Blackhawks to 2-1, OT Win Over Maple Leafs

John Hayden scored his first career NHL goal and dished out 7 hits, while Ryan Hartman scored the game-winning OT goal with :20 left, his 16th, as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1.

Hayden, 22, just finished his college career at Yale last week.  He was the Captain of that squad and scored a goal a week ago today against Harvard.  Now, he scored a goal in his 2nd NHL game and received an assist from his idol, Jonathan Toews.  How things can change in a single week.

Corey Crawford made 25 saves in the game and assisted on the game winning goal by Hartman.  It was his first point of the year and his fifth for his career.

With the Blackhawks winning, and the Minnesota Wild losing at home against the New York Rangers, 3-2, the Blackhawks now hold a five point lead over the Wild for top honors in the Central Division and the Western Conference.  The Wild still have one game in hand.

Notable Mentions: Corey Crawford is within one game of winning 30 games in a season for the sixth time in his NHL career.  He would have mostly likely had seven, if not for the shortened, 2012-13 season where he had 19 wins in 30 games.  Hartman's game-winning goal was his 4th on the season.  Duncan Keith played in his 904th career game, tying him with Dennis Hull for 7th on the All-Time Games Played list for the Blackhawks.

3 Stars Of The Game
1 - CHI - Ryan Hartman - 1G, 3 Hits
2 - CHI - John Hayden - 1G, 7 Hits
3 - TOR - Frederik Andersen - 37 saves

Next Game: Sunday, March 19th, Home vs. Colorado Avalanche (43 points, 20-47-3)

Previous meetings this year against Colorado
November 3, 2016 - Colorado (0) at Chicago (4)
December 23, 2016 - Colorado (2) at Chicago (1) (OT)
January 17, 2017 - Chicago (6) at Colorado (4)

LET'S GO HAWKS!!!


Pictures provided by nhl.com