Blackhawks top Phil Kessel 3-2

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke might not want to hear it, but apparently his new acquisition, Phil Kessel, cannot win a game by himself. Friday night, Kessel tried to do just that, and his opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks, won 3-2.

Kessel had two goals worthy of a military marksman, but was unsupported by his teammates, who could not best Blackaawks’ netminder Cristobal Huet, who made 29 saves.

The Blackhawks dominated the game’s first two periods against the team with the second lowest point total in the NHL. Patrick Kane scored three minutes into the game, when the forechecking winger lifted the stick of Luke Schenn. With his newfound possession, Kane fired a wristshot from in front of the right wing post of Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala’s net, pinpointing the puck into the upper right corner, over Toskala’s flailing glove. Kane’s goal came after an icing call against the Maple Leafs, incurred when Matt Stajan dumped the puck just shy of center. The tired Leafs had to stay on the ice and Kane never conceded a line change, even though the Leafs won the subsequent defensive zone faceoff.

Ten minutes later, John Madden and Duncan Keith made the score 2-0. After Madden won an offensive zone faceoff, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook went d-to-d, with Keith taking a shot from the center point. In traffic, Madden slapped his stick down on the puck, barely deflecting Keith’s shot with the heel of his stick. Toskala was unable to react to the low shot’s change in trajectory, and it beat his left leg-pad before he could close the gate.

Troy Brouwer, who has scored half of his 2009-2010 goals on the powerplay [prompting me to conclude that the formula for powerplay success is Brouwer + powerplay icetime] scored his third powerplay goal of the season in the third period, redirecting a Patrick Sharp slapshot from in front of the net. Brouwer’s fifth goal of the season seemed to declare the Leafs dead on the ice.

Then Phil Kessel flashed the talent for which Burke traded two first round picks. Inside the final three minutes of the second period, Kessel took the puck at center ice, skated in to the Blackhawks’ zone, where four red-sweatered skaters waited for him. Starting up the left wing,  Kessel moved across the blue line and fired a wristshot from the high slot, which beat Huet for the game’s first goal, Kessel’s third in five games for the Leafs.

Toronto came out with a fervor in the third period, and the Blackhawks were never able to fully counter their offensive attack. The first five minutes of the final frame were played almost entirely in the Blackhawks’ defensive zone, but Huet stood strong. Finally, the Maple Leafs’ dominance hit paydirt. After a shorthanded scoring chance by Kris Versteeg, the Blackhawks’ first penalty of the game expired. Moving the puck out of the zone, Kessel found the puck on his stick just shy of center ice. What followed as almost a mirror image of his goal from the second period, save for the fact Kessel shot from on top of the right wing circle.  It was deja vu all over again for coach Joel Quenneville and the Blackhawks, who had now let a game in which they were dominating 3-0 become 3-2 on almost the exact same play by the exact same player.

With more than half of the period remaining, and the Blackhawks unable to contain the offensive attack of Toronto, the philosophy was bend, but do not break. The Hawks rode Huet and their penalty killing squad to the finish line. On the other end of the rink, Toskala stopped one on one chances against Versteeg, Toews and Kane, and stuffed them, keeping Toronto within striking distance.

The Blackhawks had two more penalties in the period, but that posed no problem for the league’s best penalty kill. In the past six games, the Blackhawks have not allowed a powerplay goal, spanning 17 straight man disadvantages.

Feathers in the Headdress – these players are becoming a trend

Third Star – Troy Brouwer
Brouwer was an assist shy of the Gordie Howe hat trick – perhaps 7 hits can make up for the lack of a helper. There isn’t much more to say about Truck, he has been the Blackhawks’ most surprising forward and the key to powerplay success. He’s the bizarro world version of Tomas Kopecky… In the past three games when Quenneville has put Brouwer out on the powerplay without Kopecky as a linemate, the Blackhawks have scored on the powerplay. Another interesting stat: Kopecky has been on the powerplay unit for every game this season, the Blackhawks have 70 powerplay opportunities, Kopecky has been on the vast majority of those advantages. Kopecky has one powerplay point, an assist. Troy Brouwer, on the other hand, has been on the powerplay for roughly five games, (that’s 20 pp shifts, maybe less). He has four powerplay points and three goals. Those are the facts of the case, and they are indisputable – you can come to your own conclusions.

Second Star – Cristobal Huet
29 saves, hot damn. Huet was rock solid for the Blackhawks tonight. Tested in quantity, not quality by the Leafs until the third period, Huet didn’t fail when put the test.

First star – Duncan Keith
Keith was seventeen different types of awesome tonight. He made great defensive plays look routine, and had two assists to boot. So far this season, Keith has transformed himself from rising star to one of the NHL’s elite two way defenseman. Like Brouwer and Huet, Keith has received plenty of feathers for his play this season, and there are not enough superlatives to describe their play.