Schuster: The BlackHawks Get back On Track
David Schuster--
Using their most prolific period of the season the Blackhawks rallied for a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Trailing 2-1 entering the 2nd period, the 'Hawks scored 3 quick goals in a span of just over 4 minutes and then for good measure added 2 more. Marian Hossa scored a pair on the power play, Jonathan Toews notched his 30th on the season, Patrick Kane tallied his 100th for his career and Patrick Sharp tied a club record with 4 assists.
Toews had a goal and an assist on the night giving him points in 12 of his last 13 games and with 71 points he established a career high in that category.
With the victory the 'Hawks move up from a tie for 6th place in the Western Conference to all alone in 4th, but the standings are so close the race can change on a daily basis. The 'Hawks also play only 3 games in their next 11 days so they'll likely need a big finish at the end of the season to insure both a playoff spot and hopeful home ice advantage in the first round.
Antti Niemi took the brunt of the damage in the second period for the Sharks and the fans gave it to him pretty good as he was yanked and skated off the ice. The win was the 'Hawks first vs Niemi and San Jose this season and a needed boost for confidence should the 2 teams square off in the post season.
