Eric Daze has never been confused with Jaromir Jagr or Joe Sakic, but he turned in a superstar-worthy performance in the third period Sunday as the Blackhawks rallied for a wild 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs before 14,573 at the United Center.
Daze scored twice and assisted on the game-winner in a wide-open third period that featured nine goals on 20 shots.
“Daze had an unbelievable game,” Hawks coach Alpo Suhonen said. “Very seldom do you see one player change the momentum like he did tonight.”
Like Friday’s game with Atlanta, this one was a sleepy affair for 40 minutes. Bob Probert gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead early in the third period and then the wheels came flying off.
“I don’t know what happened,” defenseman Stephane Quintal said. “We had everything under control.”
Toronto scored the next four goals in 4 minutes 46 seconds to take a 4-2 lead. Daze made it 4-3 when he pounced on a misplay by Toronto goalie Glen Healy at 8:16, then tied the game on the power play with a wicked backhanded shot at 13:24. The goal was Daze’s 25th of the season and his 10th in the last nine games.
“I’m confident. I’m playing a lot in every situation,” Daze said.
It was a hustling Daze that set up the game-winner. Alexander Karpovtsev sent a clearing pass to the Toronto end, Daze beat a Leafs defenseman to the puck and sent a blind backhand pass to the slot. Chris Herperger jumped on it and scored at 16:23. Daze said he didn’t see Herperger on the play.
“I just wanted to put it in front of the net,” he said.
Despite the victory, the Hawks didn’t pick up any ground on Edmonton, which beat Dallas 3-2 in overtime. The Hawks remain nine points out of the final Western Conference playoff spot.
