Photo Credit: Chris Seward /Charlotte Observer
There is no doubt that the Chicago Blackhawks are a tough team to play against. As the defending Stanley Cup champions, they sit on top of the Western Conference and are currently second overall in the league. That didn’t stop the Carolina Hurricanes from triumphing over the Blackhawks both times they met this season.
The Canes came out strong and determined to win on a national stage against the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Carolina opened up the scoring with a Jeff Skinner goal in the first five minutes of the first period. Riley Nash redirected a shot by Jaccob Slavin ten minutes later to get the Hurricanes their second goal of the period. John-Michael Liles then made it a total of three unanswered goals in the first period with a goal on a 2-on-1 with Kris Versteeg just a few minutes later.
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford was replaced in the second period by backup goalie Scott Darling to start the second period in a three-goal hole. Joakim Nordstrom scored his third goal in three straight games. Riley Nash earned his second goal of the night by banking a shot off of Darling into the net. Nash’s goal made it 5-0 in the second period. Neither team was able to score in the third.
Although both Chicago goalies seemed to have a rough time in net, Carolina goalie Eddie Lack blocked all 26 shots by the Blackhawks. This is Lack’s second shutout in four games. It is also the second time this week that the Hurricanes have scored five goals in a victory, as they beat the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Sunday.
The Carolina Hurricanes are making good steps into playoff position by being just a couple points behind Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh for a wild card spot. Not a bad place to be going into the All-Star break, especially with the momentum the team can take from scoring five unanswered goals and shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champions.
