A nifty shot by Duncan Keith helped the Blackhawks keep rolling despite giving up two leads.Keith scored a power-play goal 38 seconds into overtime, lifting the Hawks to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night for the Blackhawks’ fourth straight victory. Keith, who also had an assist, beat Petr Mrazek with a rising screened drive from the top of the slot. The man advantage was set up when Justin Abdelkader was called for boarding Niklas Hjalmarsson with 15.2 seconds left in the third. It was just the second goal this season for Keith, who was named to the All-Star team earlier in the day for the fourth time in his career. The two time Norris Trophy winner has 29 assists, and moved into third place in all-time scoring among Blackhawks defensemen with 86 goals and 403 assists.
”I feel I’ve been shooting the puck quite a bit better the last three weeks or so.” Keith said.
And the difference?
”If I gave away my secrets, everybody would be using them,” Keith joked. ”I don’t know if those secrets work. I’ve got two goals.”
Keith’s goal, which he didn’t think Mrazek saw, allowed the Western Conference-leading Blackhawks to sweep a four-game homestand.Richard Panik also had a goal and assist, while Brian Campbell and Tanner Kero each scored. Ryan Hartman added two assists and Corey Crawford stopped 33 shots.
”The expectations are to keep climbing in the standings and obviously finish first in our division,” Campbell said. ”I think we’re starting to roll our lines a lot better right now than we were earlier in the season. We’re picking up the tempo of the game a little bit more.”
Andreas Athanasiou, Tomas Tatar and Luke Glendening had Detroit’s goals. Mrazek had 39 saves as the Red Wings fell to 2-2-2 on a season-high seven-game road trip.Penalties hurt the Red Wings. the Hawks were 2 for 6 with the advantage and got added momentum from the chances. Detroit failed on its lone power play.Abdelkader, who returned after missing 16 games with a knee injury, said he and his team were happy with the point, even if the late penalty against him allowed the Hawks to get two.
”It’s never a good feeling, but that’s how it goes,” Abdelkader said. ”We took too many penalties tonight. but we found a way to battle back.”
Panik’s goal was his 10th, making him the sixth Hawk player to reach double digits. Both Panik and Campbell ended eight-game droughts. Kero’s goal was his first in nine games since his recall from Rockford of the AHL.Athanasiou, benched at Anaheim on Jan. 4, has responded with three goals and six points in his last three games.Buoyed by three power plays, the Blackhawks dominated the first period and led 2-0 after 20 minutes on goals 26 seconds apart by Campbell and Panik.
”I thought (penalties) hurt us in the first period,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. ”We took a penalty right away and now you’re on your heels a little bit.”
Campbell opened the scoring during a power play at 10:04. His shot from the top slot glanced off Detroit defenseman Alexey Marchenko in front and past Mrazek’s glove.Panik then connected to complete a 2-on-1 break with Hartman when he swatted in a rebound of Hartman’s shot with a backhander.It was 3-all after two as Detroit took charge in the middle period.Hhanasiou cut it it to 2-1 at 1:37 after Trevor van Riemsdyk turned over the puck behind the net to Thomas Vanek. Vanek fed it to Athanasiou at the left side of the slot and he ripped a rising shot over Crawford’s glove.Tatar capitalized after another scramble near the Blackhawk net and tied it at 2 at 9:09 – just 21 seconds after he left the penalty box.Kero put the Hawks back ahead 3-2 with 1:42 left in the second, swatting in a loose puck from just outside the crease.But Glendening knocked in the puck from a scrum on the right side of the net with 19 seconds remaining in the period to knot it again.Both goalies had to be sharp to keep the third scoreless.
NOTES—Keith trails only Doug Wilson and Bob Murray in career scoring by a Blackhawks defenseman. . Detroit D Mike Greene returned after sitting out eight with an upper-body injury. Greene is the Red Wing’s top scoring defenseman. … The Blackhawks and Red Wings play their second of two regular-season games on March 10 in Detroit. … Four Blackhawks players, the most from any team, were named to NHL All-Star team – G Corey Crawford (second appearance), Keith (fourth appearance), C Jonathan Toews (sixth appearance) and RW and reigning MVP Patrick Kane (sixth appearance.). The lone Red Wings player selected was C Frans Nielsen, who will make his first appearance.The Blackhawks: are at Washington on Friday night.