The next time an opponent commits a penalty against the Blackhawks, can they decline it?
The Hawks’ power play again sputtered Thursday night, but they played great without the man advantage, getting goals from Enrico Ciccone, James Black, Ethan Moreau, Eric Weinrich, Brent Sutter and Tony Amonte to beat the St. Louis Blues 6-4 before 17,901 at the United Center.
After the Blues tied it 45 seconds into the third period on a power-play goal by Brett Hull, Weinrich’s unassisted goal at 3:55 sparked the Hawks’ fourth straight victory and first against St. Louis at the UC, where they had been 0-3-2 against the Blues.
Bob Probert set up the all-important goal at 7:26, sending Sutter on a breakaway with a pass between the Blues’ Chris Pronger and Steve Leach. Sutter slipped the puck past Jon Casey to seal the victory.
The Blues cut it to 5-4 on Yuri Khmylev’s goal at 13:31, but Amonte got it back at 14:49, his fifth goal in five games.
“We have a great mix right now,” Amonte said. “We’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
“Everyone has to chip in,” Moreau added.
That’s what the Hawks (6-3) did as they gained momentum for Friday night’s encounter at Detroit.
Moreau made it 3-1 in the second with a wrist shot that got past Casey, who replaced Grant Fuhr midway through the first period.
St. Louis rookie Jim Campbell cut it to 3-2 entering the goal-filled third period.
“It was a little nerve-racking,” said Hawks coach Craig Hartsburg. “We took some dumb penalties, but the positive was we came right back at them.”
And what can the Hawks do differently on the power play?
“Score,” said Hartsburg.
