Written by Mark Lazerus at Chicago SunTimes.com
Nineteen shots in the first period alone. Goals on the power play, at 5-on-5, at 4-on-4. An 11-point eruption from the reawakened second line, including a hat trick for Patrick Kane and a second straight four-point night for Artemi Panarin. Total domination of the puck, of every facet of the game.
All without Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith and Andrew Shaw. All against a Boston Bruins team that was one point out of the playoff picture, and playing for their postseason lives.
The Blackhawks’ 6-4 victory over the Bruins was an emphatic reminder that, for all their flaws, all their injuries, and all their mediocrity over the last several weeks, they’re still capable of making good teams look comically bad on any given day. They’re still a threat to come out of the Central Division meatgrinder, and they’re still very much a Stanley Cup contender.
Of course, the way they flirted with becoming the first team in NHL history to lose a game they led 6-0 — giving up four goals in barely 10 minutes of play, and allowing 38 shots in the final two periods — is an unsettling reminder of all those flaws, all those injuries, all that mediocrity.
It’s just a matter of which Hawks team shows up next week when the playoffs begin, likely against the St. Louis Blues.
“This one was a little crazier than we envisioned at one point,” Joel Quenneville said. “Way more exciting than we needed it to be.”
But really, the only downside to the game was that Marian Hossa didn’t score his 500th goal, despite four or five golden chances at it. Hossa limped off the ice midway through the third period after a neutral-zone collision, and didn’t return, but Quenneville said he seemed OK and could play Tuesday against Arizona.
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