This was one instant replay Tony Amonte never imagined possible.
Saturday, Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood robbed Amonte with a highlight-film save in the third period and the Red Wings went on to post a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks.
With 2 minutes 48 seconds remaining in the third period of Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, a Greg Johnson pass left Amonte with a wide-open net to shoot at, but he couldn’t get his stick on a backhander. Just over 4 minutes later, a capacity United Center crowd and the Hawks went home deflated after Daniel Goneau won it.
“I didn’t have enough time to stop and grab it,” Amonte said of the one that got away. “Coming to the bench, I was thinking about the same thing yesterday, Osgood making a great save and them coming back to win. I didn’t think that could happen twice in two days.”
Amonte did score his 200th career goal in the second period, but that couldn’t even begin to erase the rotten taste in his mouth from a rotten, frustrating weekend.
“I missed a golden opportunity,” he said. “I was praying for the chance to get another one like that, and the puck ends up in our net. It’s just demoralizing. It was one of the toughest weekends I’ve ever had as a Hawk.”
Back in the bigs: With Alex Zhamnov unable to skate because of a bruised back suffered in Saturday’s loss to Detroit, the Hawks recalled rookie center Todd White from Indianapolis, where he was leading the International Hockey League with 44 goals. White, who played six games earlier in the season for the Hawks, had a prime scoring opportunity 2:45 into the second period when Kevin Miller set him up in the slot, but the Rangers’ Mike Richter made a great save.
The best scoring chance the Hawks had came at 1:25 of the second period, when Johnson’s rebound hit the post of a wide-open net.
Two for two: The Hawks sealed their second straight losing record at home with Sunday’s loss. They’re 14-18-7 with two home games remaining. It’s the first time they’ve had back-to-back sub-.500 marks at home since 1956-58.
Sticking with Hack: After Jeff Hackett played Saturday, it was believed Chris Terreri might start in goal Sunday, but coach Craig Hartsburg didn’t hesitate starting Hackett.
“He’s our No. 1 goaltender and this was the biggest game of the year,” he said. “He’s the guy. If it was baseball and your No. 1 starter was ready to play, you’re going to start him in the biggest game of the year.
“(The loss) wasn’t his fault.”
Have a seat: Hartsburg benched Sergei Krivokrasov, who hasn’t played well of late.
The greatest: Wayne Gretzky’s assist on Niklas Sundstrom’s second-period goal was the 1,906th of his career and 2,789th point.
Sunday’s win snapped New York’s six-game winless streak against the Hawks, but Ottawa’s 1-0 victory over Buffalo eliminated the Rangers from the Eastern Conference playoff race.
“It was inevitable,” Gretzky said. “We haven’t played well all year.”
