Any questions as to the importance of goaltending in the National Hockey League should have been put to rest Thursday night at the Fleet Center.
The Blackhawks snapped a six-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins because Hawks goaltender Jocelyn Thibault was better than Boston goaltender Jeff Hackett.
It’s as simple as that–and Theo Fleury’s two goals.
For the most part, Hackett’s teammates were better than Thibault’s, but great goaltending is hockey’s equivalent of good pitching beating good hitting.
Thibault, who will travel to Florida this weekend for his first All-Star Game appearance, got a sneak preview of what to expect Sunday–shots coming fast and furious.
Boston outshot the Hawks 45-20, including 21-5 in the second period.
“Shots don’t mean a heck of a lot,” Hawks coach Brian Sutter said. “It’s the score at the end of the hockey game.”
The victory assured the Hawks of entering the break with a playoff spot if the season were to end now. They are tied with Colorado for seventh in the West.
Thursday was the second time this season Thibault had faced 45 shots or better. He saw 49 in New York in a 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Dec. 11.
So much for that mini-slump that saw him being yanked twice in his last four games.
“It’s very rewarding,” Thibault said. “We worked real hard this week.”
The Hawks took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Fleury scored the first of his two goals on a power play–his first goal since a 2-0 victory over Nashville Jan. 12, which was a week before his controversial episode outside a Columbus, Ohio, strip club the morning of Jan. 20.
The Bruins came out roaring in the second period and outshot the Hawks 12-0 in the first seven minutes. But Tyler Arnason, who will play in the Young Stars game Saturday night in Florida, scored on the Hawks’ first shot of the second period. The Hawks led 2-0 despite being outshot 22-8.
Boston cut it to one when Mike Knuble tipped a Brian Rolston shot past Thibault on a power play late in the second period.
Fleury was in the box serving a hooking penalty on Knuble’s goal. But he made up for it when he sent a shot between Hackett’s pads seven minutes into the third period to give the Hawks a two-goal cushion again.
It was the first multigoal game this season for the slumping Fleury.
“I know that I can play better and I want to play better,” Fleury said.
After being held off the scoresheet in five of the last six games, Fleury now has points in his last three games.
But the main difference Thursday, as has been the case all season, was Thibault. Sutter said he could tell just by the pregame warmups that Thibault was on top of his game. Since being named to the All-Star Game, Thibault has struggled.
“I didn’t want to go into the All-Star Game with the week I had,” he said. “I really needed this game. Our whole team needed it.”
Hawks at the break
Last season the Blackhawks had 56 games in the books at the All-Star break; this season it’s 52. The biggest differences have been an inferior home record and fewer goals scored. Here is a look at some key numbers for the two teams:
CATEGORY ’01-02 `02-03
Wins 30 22
Losses 17 21
Ties 9 9
Points 69 56
Home wins 20 14
Road wins 10 8
Home losses 4 7
Road losses 13 14
Div. record 6-4-4 7-5-2
Goals 154 126
Scoring avg. 2.75 2.42
Goals allowed 145 126
Goals against 2.58 2.42
Power-play goals 39 25
PP goals allowed 51 32
Shots allowed 25.3 28.3
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