Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter said Tuesday morning that he will be able to enjoy Wednesday and Thursday–when the NHL shuts down for Christmas–if his team works hard and gets rewarded for it.
It should be a happy holiday then for the Hawks, who received the best gift they could imagine Tuesday night with a 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
The triumph was only the second in the last 21 games for the Hawks and both came against the best teams in the Central Division–Detroit and St. Louis.
“We needed that,” Scott Nichol said. “It was a good, all-around win.”
Michael Leighton picked up his second career shutout but the first that resulted in a victory. In his NHL debut last January, Leighton was involved in a 0-0 tie with the Phoenix Coyotes.
“When you score three goals, it takes a load off the shoulders,” Leighton said. “The defense was unbelievable, made a lot of great plays, blocking shots and not letting them get great scoring opportunities.”
Steve Sullivan put the Hawks on the board only 1 minute, 41 seconds into the game. Nichol scored his fourth goal of the year 1:27 into the third period. Two minutes later, Tyler Arnason made it 3-0 on a breakaway.
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Edited by the Sports staff of RedEye
