Chicago 4, Ducks 1.
The Ducks' brand-new jerseys weren't the solution to end their five-game losing streak. They just made the players look better in loss number six.
Jonas Hiller was pulled midway through an unsightly third period in which the Blackhawks scored three goals to break open a tie game. Dan Sexton's first goal of the season was the only goal for the Ducks, who play tomorrow night in Phoenix.
Sexton had two of the Ducks' six shots on goal in the first period. The first -- a one-on-none breakaway through the offensive zone -- was the prettier of the two, but resulted in a shot into the pads of Corey Crawford. The second, a redirection of a Saku Koivu shot at 16:49, gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead and their first power-play goal on their first man-advantage shift of the game.
Other than the new jerseys, the Ducks gave fans few reasons to watch the rest of the way.
Jonas Hiller was pulled midway through an unsightly third period in which the Blackhawks scored three goals to break open a tie game. Dan Sexton's first goal of the season was the only goal for the Ducks, who play tomorrow night in Phoenix.
Sexton had two of the Ducks' six shots on goal in the first period. The first -- a one-on-none breakaway through the offensive zone -- was the prettier of the two, but resulted in a shot into the pads of Corey Crawford. The second, a redirection of a Saku Koivu shot at 16:49, gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead and their first power-play goal on their first man-advantage shift of the game.
Other than the new jerseys, the Ducks gave fans few reasons to watch the rest of the way.
The power play fizzled out and hit its low point at 7:40 of the second
period, when Duncan Keith's short-handed shot trickled slowly through
the pads of Hiller and over the goal line.
The floodgates stayed close until the third period, when the Ducks failed to convert the final 63 seconds of a power play. Less than two minutes later, Patrick Sharp stepped into a small passing lane to intercept an Andy Sutton pass about 30 feet away from the Ducks' net. Sharp fired a wrist shot past Hiller to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead at the 2:55 mark.
Sutton was a central figure in the Hawks' next goal, at 4:57, when he kneeled down to block a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot but may have screened Hiller in the process. The goalie barely flinched as Hjalmarsson's shot whizzed past for a 3-1 'Hawks lead.
When Troy Brouwer scored to make it 4-1 at 9:40, Hiller's night was done. Curtis McElhinney came off the bench to stop all six shots he faced.
The floodgates stayed close until the third period, when the Ducks failed to convert the final 63 seconds of a power play. Less than two minutes later, Patrick Sharp stepped into a small passing lane to intercept an Andy Sutton pass about 30 feet away from the Ducks' net. Sharp fired a wrist shot past Hiller to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead at the 2:55 mark.
Sutton was a central figure in the Hawks' next goal, at 4:57, when he kneeled down to block a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot but may have screened Hiller in the process. The goalie barely flinched as Hjalmarsson's shot whizzed past for a 3-1 'Hawks lead.
When Troy Brouwer scored to make it 4-1 at 9:40, Hiller's night was done. Curtis McElhinney came off the bench to stop all six shots he faced.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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