If Jeff Hackett couldn’t remember the last time he and the Blackhawks weren’t involved in a game decided by one goal or ended in a tie, it’s because they had played 12 such games in a row before Saturday.
Against the Vancouver Canucks, the Hawks did something about it.
Rookie Dmitri Nabokov scored twice in his first NHL game and James Black ripped home a one-timer in the first period, Jean-Yves Leroux added a second-period tally and Steve Dubinsky scored in the third period as the Hawks snapped a seven-game winless streak with a 5-0 victory at GM Place. Hackett got his second shutout.
Black’s and Nabokov’s goals came on power plays. Nabokov’s were the first of his NHL career in his first game.
As poorly as the Hawks have been playing in December, they’re lucky they’re not really buried in the Western Conference cellar.
Hackett and defenseman Keith Carney are confident all the close games the Hawks have been involved in, even if they haven’t been winning them, will pay dividends down the road.
“We have to get used to playing that way and used to winning games like that,” said Carney.
“That’s just going to make us stronger and prepare us better for the playoffs,” Hackett said.
The Hawks had been getting used to giving leads away. That must stop if they are to become a playoff contender.
“I can’t remember the last time we’ve given up so many third-period leads,” defenseman Chris Chelios said. “That’s not talent. Not picking up a guy in your end has nothing to do with talent or skill. It’s being committed and doing your job.”
Saturday, they did their job to perfection.
