Chicago Blackhawks fans couldn’t have received a better Christmas gift than a weekend sweep of division rival Nashville. Two back-to-back wins against the Predators halted Nashvilles’ attempt of claiming first place in the Central Division, and gave the Hawks a league-leading 55 points.
It was the same team, but the Hawks played two different type of games to win this past weekend.
On Saturday the Hawks were the clearly in control of the game. They got shots to the goal, 40 to be exact, and those shots turned into three 2nd period goals, sliencing the Nashville fans and destroying any home ice advantage the Preds had. It was a one team performance where the Preds never showed up.
It was a huge win that pushed the Preds back six points behind the Hawks in the Central Division.
And the Hawks didn’t stop there.
On Sunday the Hawks played the Preds, again, but this time on their own ice. After a dominate win against Nashville on the previous day, most fans were hoping for another dominate win.
This was not the case.
They say it’s really hard to beat a team two games in a row, and that proved true Sunday night. The Hawks eventually won 5-4 but it was a back and forth, high-tension 3rd period.
It started with the Preds leading 2-1 going into the 3rd period, but after 2 goals by veteran center, John Madden, the Hawks took the lead for the first time. It would be the beginning to a crazy and wild 3rd period.
Brain Campbell, some two minutes later, slapped a shot from just within the blue line. Nashville goaltender, Ellis, never saw it because of a screen. The red light went on and the Hawks now lead 4-2.
The UC went crazy and win seemed to be in the Hawks near future, but  Nashville put up two more points on the board, tying the game at four with just 3:25 left in the game. The Hawks lead was vaporized and the UC was silenced. It was back to square one, and this game was now up for grabs.
The tension rose. Checks became more fierce and players became more desperate for that game-winning goal. The Hawks wanted to keep this game out of OT so the Preds wouldn’t get at least a point out of the game. The Preds wanted to win because they wanted to stay within four points of the Hawks. This made for a wonderfully, intense last 2 minutes.
With a minute left in the 3rd the Hawks brought the puck over the Preds’ blue line. Some weak shots are easily pushed aside by Ellis. The puck finds Kane’s stick. He shoots. Saved by Ellis but he’s unable to cover it and the puck rolls back to Kane. Kane cradles the puck and fires again. The puck goes over Ellis’s left blocker and goes into the net. SCORE!! Kane has put the Hawks up 5-4 with 43 seconds left!
The Hawks would hold onto the lead and become the definitive leader of the Western Conference. It wasn’t a pretty win, actually it was quite ugly, but it was a win nonetheless. The Hawks successful halted the creeping Nashville.
So when Chicago fans complain about the struggling Bears and Bulls ask them, “How about them Hawks?”
Yes, how about those Hawks.
About Tyler Juranovich
