A couple former first-round draft picks put on first-rate performances Friday night for the Blackhawks, but St. Louis center Peter Zezel took the final bow.
Zezel scored three goals in the third period as the Blues rallied to tie the Hawks 3-3 before an announced crowd of 14,332 in the Hawks’ exhibition home opener.
Goaltender Jeff Hackett, who had put together four straight scoreless periods, was flawless through two periods Friday when Zezel came to life.
With St. Louis (1-1-1) trailing 2-0, he redirected a Jamie Rivers shot past Hackett with 14 minutes 34 seconds remaining in regulation. After Sergei Krivokrasov made it 3-1 by taking a great feed from Kevin Miller and beating Mike Buzak on the power play with 11:09 left, Zezel struck 12 seconds later with a drive over Hackett’s right shoulder.
Then with :51.9 to go and six attackers on the ice, Zezel had a wide-open net to the left of Hackett and capped the Blues’ comeback by scoring.
“There wasn’t much (Hackett) could do,” said Hawks coach Craig Hartsburg.
“I wish they counted,” said Zezel, who had just eight goals in 57 games last season.
The goals may not count, but exhibition games are a crucial time for young players–unlike Zezel–to stand up and be counted.
Ethan Moreau, the Hawks’ No. 1 draft pick in 1994, did just that, giving Chicago (1-1-1) a 2-0 lead early in the third period when he rebounded his own shot to score.
“I’ve put higher expectations on myself this year,” he said.
So has Krivokrasov, the Hawks’ No. 1 pick in 1992.
“It’s time to be somebody in this league,” he said.
Eric Daze already is somebody in the league. He continued his excellent preseason, scoring just 1:01 into the game on a rebound of a Steve Smith shot. It was his third goal, and Denis Savard’s assist on the play gave him three during the preseason.
Back to work: If Smith is going to be one of the backbones of the always strong Hawks defense, he knows his back is going to have to hold up this season. He’s confident it will.
“Mentally, it was a very difficult year,” Smith said of last season, when he missed 42 of the first 57 games with a sore back, then suffered a broken leg on April 7.
He returned for the Western Conference semifinal series against Colorado.
“I’ve said it many times, but I feel real confident my back will be all right now,” he said.
Carney in the house: Another stellar defenseman, Keith Carney, was back in uniform Friday and doing an excellent job, most notably killing penalties. Carney was an alternate on the U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey. He led the Hawks with a plus-31 rating last season.
“I’m not looking to duplicate last season, I want to improve, get better,” he said.
Fellow World Cuppers Chris Chelios, Gary Suter and Tony Amonte will be back Monday.
Between the pipes: Jimmy Waite, who stopped 14 of 15 shots in goal during a 3-1 victory Wednesday at Montreal, is slated to play the whole game Saturday night at Boston. Ed Belfour gets the nod Sunday night when the Bruins come to the United Center.
