Even the slow-burning version of the Calgary Flames was too hot for the Blackhawks to handle in the United Center Sunday night. With the departure of star players Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk, the Flames had been winless and listless in their first three games this season.
The Hawks had to scrap salvage a 1-1 overtime tie on home ice thanks to a second-period goal by Patrick Poulin and a sterling performance in the nets by Jeff Hackett.
The Hawks had a bumpy ride home from Hartford Saturday night and they certainly didn’t find smooth sailing against the Flames in the first period.
Both teams appeared sluggish at the start and the first punch was thrown well before the first puck was fired on the net. Jim Cummins, perhaps prematurely celebrating his release from the press box, where he watched Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Hartford, duked it out with Ronnie Stern about 3 minutes into the game.
Cummins put Stern on his back but had to go to the dressing room for facial repairs after both players were cited for fighting. It was more than a minute later that Calgary finally tested Hackett and the Hawks’ goalie was ready.
Rookie Ed Ward fired three shots in one quick burst and raised his stick in triumph after his second rebound. Rookie mistake. The puck was in Hackett’s glove, not his net.
The Hawks finally got a shot on net during a power play, but it was a shot from the point, which Kidd handled easily. Hackett came up with another good save on a shot by Marty Murray at about the eight-minute mark but Calgary broke through a few minutes later thanks to the persistence of Paul Kruse.
Kruse dug the puck off the boards, fighting off Eric Weinrich, and tried for a wraparound, but the puck hit either a skate or one of Hackett’s pads and bounced to Cory Stillman standing at the left of the goal. Stillman slid the puck past Hackett at the 10:49 mark.
Stillman, another rookie playing in his third NHL game, almost had another goal during a power play late in the period when he broke in on Hackett and fired point blank from the slot.
But Hackett made a marvelous skate save and then, with just 3 seconds left in the period, deflected another dangerous attempt, this time by James Patrick, into the stands.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, had only five shots against Kidd in the period, none of them particularly difficult. The Flames have always been Hackett’s favorite opponent. Last year he was 1-1-1 against Calgary with a solid 2.21 goals-against average. That victory was his only one of the season.
Hackett was cruising on automatic pilot for the first 15 minutes of the second period as the Flames only had one harmless shot. The Hawks weren’t exactly peppering Kidd, either, but the few chances they had were choice.
Kidd had to make good stops on Sergei Krivokrasov, Joe Murphy and Murray Craven before Poulin finally got the tying goal. It came on a rebound of a shot by Gary Suter on which Kidd came out of the net to make the save and both Poulin and Bernie Nicholls got behind him.
Nicholls swiped at the puck and it probably would have gone in, anyway, but just to make sure Poulin tapped it across at 13:05.
That’s when things got a little hot for Hackett, but he was up for it, especially with a sprawling save against Michael Nylander during a power play.
The Hawks were on a power play as the period ended, but had already failed on four previous attempts.
