Dec. 20--There were a few odd occurrences Saturday toward the end of the Blackhawks' 3-2 victory over the Sabres.
First, late in the third period with the Sabres leading 2-1, Josh Gorges and Rasmus Ristolainen each committed penalties, giving the Blackhawks a 5-on-3 power play with 2 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.
After the Hawks did not generate much on the first minute of the power play, coach Joel Quenneville pulled Corey Crawford for a 6-on-3 advantage.
Patrick Kane then scored off a pass from Artemi Panarin to the score just before the penalties expired.
"It's almost too many guys on the ice," Kane said. "You don't really know what to do."
Added Quenneville: "We took almost a whole two minutes to put it in but a great finish for that play," Quenneville said. "Then overtime was different."
Indeed it was. The NHL instituted its 3-on-3 overtime rule this season, but the Hawks and Sabres played five minutes without having 3-on-3 hockey. How? Well just before Kane's goal, there was a delay penalty on the Sabres' Cody Franson for cross checking. That penalty carried over into the overtime with the Hawks getting a 4-on-3 advantage.
After it expired, the teams played 4-on-4 until the next whistle, but Hawks winger Andrew Shaw committed a hooking penalty, meaning there was a 4-on-3 after that whistle. Then Shaw's penalty expired with 10 seconds remaining, and the team's played 4-on-4 for that remaining time.
"There was no 3-on-3 at all," Quenneville said. "Maybe that's why it went to a shootout."
Danault in for Kruger: Saturday marked the season debut for center Phillip Danault, who was recalled from Rockford after Marcus Kruger had surgery Friday repair a dislocated left wrist. Quenneville said the Hawks are assuming Kruger, who has a return timetable of four months, will be out the rest of the regular season.
Once Kruger goes on injured reserve, the Hawks then could go over the salary cap in the amount of Kruger's salary ($1.5 million) to help replace him, like the Hawks did last season when Kane broke his collarbone in February. They then can stay over the cap during the playoffs, so long as Kruger stays out the remainder of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Danault hopes he can stick around for a little while and said there is urgency to perform immediately.
"Kruger's tough to replace, that's for sure," Danault said. "If I want to be a Kruger I have to step up my game."
