UNIONDALE, N.Y. — With the kind of offensive firepower the Blackhawks send out on the ice each game, scoring isn’t much of a concern.
It’s the other end of the rink the Hawks have been trying shore up, with Thursday night’s effort against the Islanders a prime example of the kind of defensive style they need to play to be successful.
By playing a tight-checking, puck-possession game and clearing the crease of danger, the Hawks skated to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. It was the Hawks’ fourth consecutive victory on the road and their fifth triumph in their last seven games overall.
Patrick Sharp scored the game-winner 1 minute, 34 seconds into overtime when he knocked in a rebound of a Marian Hossa shot for his second goal of the game. Sharp also added an assist while Hossa had a goal —the 400th of his career — and two assists.
“(Hossa) made a nice play on the final goal,” said Sharp, who has 15 goals — 11 on the road. “He didn’t have a pass so he shot it off the pad. It was a fortunate bounce.
“I saw it just sitting there and the goalie (Al Montoya) was kind of down from making the save. That was one I wanted to put in for sure.”
Good defense starts with goaltending and Ray Emery — starting for the second time in three games while No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford watched — came up big with 31 saves to improve to 5-1-2 this season. The biggest sequence for Emery and the defense was killing an Islanders two-man advantage for 1:54 at the end of the second period and into the third.
“We played a diligent game defensively for the most part,” Emery said. “We made some big kills, especially five-on-three. They got back into the game but we didn’t quit and got the opportunity to win it in overtime.”
Hossa put the Hawks out in front midway through the first period. With the Hawks on the power play, the veteran flipped the puck from behind the net off Montoya and watched as it trickled over the line.
Early in the second, it became a two-goal advantage when Hossa slid a cross-ice pass to Sharp and the winger stepped into a one-timer to blow it past Montoya.
The Islanders rallied to tie it as Travis Hamonic and Steve Staios scored but the Hawks tightened defensively and pushed it to overtime.
Coach Joel Quenneville said after the game that Emery may have earned a second consecutive start Sunday night when the Hawks host the Sharks at the United Center.
“We like the situation,” Quenneville said of his goalies. “We have some things to consider and (Emery’s) an option to be back in the net. We’ll definitely look at it.”
Twitter @ChrisKuc
