If only Ed Belfour had stood up to Joe Nieuwendyk the way he stood up to the postgame inquisition, the result might have been different. “I messed up,” said Belfour of Nieuwendyk’s game-breaking goal in the third period Tuesday night that opened the gates to Calgary’s 6-3 victory over the Blackhawks in the United Center.
“I made a misjudgment and I misplayed it,” amplified Belfour. “I don’t misplay those too often, but unfortunately when I make a mistake, it ends up in the net.”
Belfour’s mistake came with the score tied 3-3 and less than 8 minutes to play. Nieuwendyk later added a power-play goal and Ronnie Stern netted the clincher just 2 seconds after a major penalty to Gary Suter had expired.
The teams were skating four to a side when Steve Chiasson’s pass hit Nieuwendyk’s stick “right on the tape,” according to the Calgary captain. Belfour came halfway to the blue line to meet him and Nieuwendyk simply skated around the Blackhawks goalie to put the puck in an empty net.
“I think Belfour thought Chelios had his stick on me,” said Nieuwendyk. “It was just a misguess on his part.”
“I thought the puck was coming faster than it was, but it must have hit someone’s stick or something,” offered Belfour.
Nieuwendyk’s late heroics made an unlikely winner oyf goaltender Trevor Kidd, who for the first time in Calgary’s 23 games, did not start in the nets. It also snapped Chicago’s 11-game unbeaten string against the Flames, who had not beaten the Hawks since Oct. 24, 1991.
“That’s a big monkey off our back,” said Nieuwendyk. “You don’t take anything for granted against that team. Points don’t come easy in this building, but we matched them hit for hit, shot for shot, and big save for big save.”
Kidd entered the game 50 seconds into the final period after Sergei Krivokrasov’s second goal of the game-both on power plays-had tied the score at 3.
All of the Hawk goals were scored against rookie Andrei Trefilov, who nevertheless played well and stopped Jeremy Roenick on a penalty shot in the first period. Trefilov was a stranger to the Calgary nets, but not to Krivokrasov, who says he had previously faced his countryman “in Russia, in the minor leagues, and in an all-star game. But I don’t think that had anything to do with my two goals.”
Krivokrasov has now scored four goals against Calgary, all on power plays, in the last two meetings, but “it’s a lot more fun when you win,” said Krivo.
His first goal tied the score at 1-1 in the second period. Brent Sutter then put the Hawks ahead for the only time in the game when he back-handed a pass from Patrick Poulin past Trefilov at 15:10 of the second on another power play.
The Hawks appeared to have the game under control and they had Trefilov under siege. “We had some good chances,” said Krivokrasov, “but he made some good saves.”
Then the Flames struck for a pair of goals just 11 seconds apart in the final 71 seconds of the period. “Those were tough goals to give up,” said Hawks coach Darryl Sutter. “When you think you’ve controlled the period pretty much and you haven’t given them many scoring chances and you give up two goals, it’s tough.”
Sutter said he was surprised to see Kidd enter the game after Krivokrasov’s tying goal. And Kidd doubtless was surprised to see Suter enter his cage with the Hawks’ down 4-3 and pressing for the equalizer.
