Keith's OT goal pushes Blackhawks past Red Wings
CHICAGO -- Duncan Keith scored a power-play goal 38 seconds into overtime and Corey Crawford made 33 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Tuesday night to win their fourth straight game.
Keith's game-winner came after the Blackhawks began overtime with a 4-on-3 advantage after Detroit's Justin Abdelkader, who was playing for the first time since Dec. 1, was sent off for boarding after driving Niklas Hjalmarsson late in the third period.
The Blackhawks (27-12-5) took advantage of having the extra man and won despite finishing 2-for-6 on the power play, including on Keith's goal that came after a scoreless third period. Crawford helped preserve the tie with several key saves in the final period, including one after he turned the puck over before sliding back into the crease to knock down a Frans Nielsen shot on goal.
After back-to-back Detroit goals in the second period, Tanner Kero gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead with his first goal of the season with just under two minutes to play in the period. But the Red Wings responded with just 19 seconds remaining when Luke Glendening poked in a back-handed rebound off of defenseman Brian Campbell following a flurry of chances around the Chicago net.
The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period when they scored a pair of goals in a 26-second span. Campbell's shot from the point somehow found its way cleanly through Detroit's defense and past goalie Petr Mrazek, who faced 16 shots in the first period alone. Richard Panik followed Campbell's goal by rebounding a miss by Ryan Hartman, who couldn't finish off a breakaway chance just past the midway of the period.
Detroit cut the deficit to 2-1 just 1:07 into the second period when Andreas Athanasiou fired a shot past Crawford to get the Red Wings to within a goal. The Red Wings drew even just more than 11 minutes into the second when Tomas Tatar took a pass from Dylan Larkin and beat Crawford.
NOTES: Red Wings F Justin Abdelkader returned Tuesday night after missing 16 games with a sprained MCL he suffered Dec. 1 against the Florida Panthers. "It's been a little longer than I expected, but that's the way it goes sometimes," Abdelkader told reporters at Detroit's morning skate Tuesday. ...D Mike Green returned from an undisclosed injury after missing eight games since Dec. 17. ... D Nick Jensen, RW Tomas Jurco and C Steve Ott were scratches for the Red Wings ...The Blackhawks had an NHL-best four players named to the All-Star Game Tuesday. G Corey Crawford, forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and D Duncan Keith were all named to the Western Conference squad. Kane and Toews are both six-time All-Stars. Keith will make his fourth All-Star appearance while Crawford was named an All-Star for the second time in his career...D Michal Rozsival was scratched for Chicago.