The Blackhawks went on to win 3-2 in a game that felt like Chicago needed to win more than just not lose.
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Chicago got their second and last look at the Capitals last Sunday in Chicago.
The Hawks came out with pace again at Joe Louis Arena and kept it up for the full 60 minutes.
Detroit has scored eight goals over their last two games.
Detroit is 32-20-11 overall, 16-10-6 at home and 31-22 with the under. Chicago is 36-3-5 (.875) when tied or leading after two periods in 2015-16 (second best in the league).
They’ll quickly get reacquainted while completing their entire season series this week.
The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks add another chapter to their rivalry when they meet tonight at 8PM ET.
At the professional level, Mrazek’s busiest regular season was 2012-13, when he played in 47 games between suiting up with the Red Wings, Grand Rapids and Toledo. Montreal’s power play couldn’t cash in on their three chances.
The Red Wings are in the mix for one of the top three Atlantic Division playoff spots, very much within striking distance of the top two spots. “You’ve kind of got to limit their ice but at the same time, when you get close to them they’re really good at making moves and getting by you one on one”. “They’ve got this little Hank (Zetterberg) and Pavel (Datsyuk) connection, so obviously they’re good”.
Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots for the Red Wings, who had won three straight.
And, they looked sharp from the start at Detroit and didn’t let up.
“We were precautionary (Monday)”, Blashill said. “It would be day to day so we’ll know more for sure on Wednesday but we expect him ready to play”. The Blackhawks veteran has an NHL-leading 88 points and 37 goals this year.
Brad Richards scored to make it 3-1 midway through the third period, but the Blackhawks showed the killer instinct of a championship team and made it 5-1 before Gustav Nyquist scored the last goal. People often question the goaltending of Corey Crawford, but his numbers suggest that there’s nothing to worry about. “We just want to build off that”. The Blackhawks didn’t get their first power plays until late in the second period but they didn’t mess around once they got them. Much better than going 0-2-2 in the previous four games prior.
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Tomas Tatar has four goals in five games against Chicago.
