Jan. 06--The Blackhawks and Penguins will be pretty familiar with each other after Wednesday. The teams are playing a back-to-back with the Hawks taking the first game 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday. Here are some notes from the victory.
Penguins top line dangerous
Sidney Crosby has been on fire of late for the Penguins. The all-world center had scored five goals in his last four games and the Hawks survived an onslaught from Crosby on Tuesday. Crosby scored a goal on a perfect shot past Corey Crawford and had several more chances on the night. After a slow start to the season, Crosby is heating up and the Hawks will have to try and slow him down again Wednesday.
Panarin just "ordinary"
Artemi Panarin had two goals for the Hawks on Tuesday, but coach Joel Quenneville described his game as "ordinary." A quick glance at Corsi statistics would show you why. Panarin was a -10 in 5 vs. 5 Corsi plus-minus, which tracks the difference in shots taken by each team when a player is on the ice. The Hawks' second line was the worst in Corsi and was on the ice for both Penguins goals. The least Panarin could do was save the game.
Third line shines
Meanwhile, the third line of Phillip Danault, Andrew Desjardins and Teuvo Teravainen led the Hawks in Corsi plus-minus -- and that line had a whopping 12 defensive zone starts, that was nine more than the next nearest Hawk forward (Kane with three). That line, as much as any, helped the Hawks get out of Pittsburgh with two points.
