Feb. 29--It has been an up-and down February for the Hawks that started strong, had a lull in the middle but ended on a high note Sunday in a 3-2 victory over the Capitals, who lead the NHL in points.
Unlikely winner
The winning goal in the Hawks' victory was unlikely for a number of reasons. First, it came from Dennis Rasmussen, who had not scored for the Hawks since Dec. 19. Rasmussen has held down a steady spot in the Hawks lineup over the last three months but with the influx of forward the Hawks acquired before the trade deadline, it might be natural of Rasmussen was feeling some extra pressure and counting roster spots after all the moves.
"I always feel like I have to perform. That's kind of how I've felt my whole life and that's how I feel right now," Rasmussen said. "That doesn't change anything. It's going to make our team better. I just see it as a positive thing, that our team's getting better and we have a good chance to win more games.
It was also unusual because winger Richard Panik set up the goal in a unique way.
Panik was pinned against the board and instead of using his stick to pass the puck, he kicked it to Rasmussen, who was waiting in front of the net and Rasmussen's shot beat Braden Holtby for a 3-1 Hawks lead.
It was a pass that drew some kudos from coach Joel Quenneville.
"I thought it was a beautiful pass. One of the best passes we've seen all year," Quenneville said.
The goal that loomed large after Evgeny Kuznetsov score to cut the Hawks' lead to one later in the period.
Ladd's back
Hawks fans gave winger Andrew Ladd a loud ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup and the Hawks played a video tribute to Ladd, who made his return to the Hawks after helping them win a Stanley Cup in 2010.
Ladd played on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw.
"(Toews) is just responsible in every aspect and always seems to be in the right spot," Ladd said. "As we go, hopefully we'll get a chance to play for a while together and start to really read off each other."
Ladd assisted on Toews' power-play goal in the second period. He got the puck to Teuvo Teravainen, who quickly passed it to Toews and Toews buried the shot.
"Laddy gives you some energy and they'll get better," Quenneville said. "The second and third periods you could see him getting a little more comfortable and he was effective as well."
Corsi battle
The Capitals won the overall battle in total shot attempts 53-48 but the Hawks and Caps were even in 5-on-5 shot attempts 39-39. That was a win for the Hawks considering they were out shot 24-11 in overall attempts through the first period. The Hawks also outpaced the Capitals in high-danger scoring chances 10-6, according to war-on-ice.com
The third line of Teravainen, Andrew Desjardins and newcomer Tomas Fleischmann led the Hawks in Corsi.
