Chicago Blackhawks Defeated By Their Long Time Rivals, The Detroit Red Wings, In A Shootout

On Wednesday night, the Detroit Red Wings started off slow against the Blackhawks, but thankfully their goalie, Jimmy Howard, kept them in the game. The Blackhawks gave it their best during the three periods, but in the end it came down to a shoot-out, and Howard stonewalled Patrick Sharp, leading the Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks.

Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard played an incredible game against the Blackhawks, with 32 saves during regular playing time. Wings coach Mike Babcock said as follows.

”We were fortunate, we had some guys really dig in for us, including Howie, but we’ve got to be better than we were tonight.”

Howard revealed in an interview to several media outlets after the game that he was relieved to finally look good during a shoot-out. Howard has had a total of eight games that ended in a shoot-out this season, and this was the first time he came out victorious. He said it was made easier because he was more familiar with tendencies of the three guys he faced — Jonathan Towes, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp. He faced them more often when the Wings were playing in the same division with the Blackhawks. Howard is still learning about the players he’s been facing in the Eastern division.

The entire game was back and forth between the two teams. Each time the Red Wings scored, the Blackhawks answered back with a goal within minutes. Tomas Tater led off the scoring of regulation time with a goal for the Wings, but the Blackhawks’ Brandon Saad answered back just 39 seconds later, tying the game 1-1 going into the third period. Darren Helm was next to score for the Wings, giving them the lead, but it was only temporary as the Blackhawks scored their second goal less than a minute later when Niklas Kronwall deflected the puck into his own net.

Following the Wings win, goalie Jimmy Howard told the media,

”They’re a good hockey club, they’re extremely good, extremely fast and have a lot of talented players on that team. We knew it was going to take a full 65-minute effort tonight and possibly more.”

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, former Chicago Blackhawks defensman, Steve Montador was found dead in his home last week at the age of 35. At the beginning of Wednesday nights game against the Red Wings, a moment of silence was observed in the United Center for Montador.

[Photo courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast/AP]