Blackhawks Defeat Thrashers In Shoot Out

Added on Nov 07, 2010 by J Merrill in

NHL

The Blackhawks pulled together to stop the two game skid they were on to stay above .500. Blackhawks Coach Quennville was upset with his team at the morning skate on Saturday, and ended it early when he saw his team not practicing and full strength. This must have lit a fire under his team, because they were able to rebound from being down to get the win. Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane both scored two goals, and Viktor Stalberg added the winner in a shootout to help the Blackhawks snap a two-game slide with a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Captain Jonathon Toews said “We wanted to stay above .500. We need to get out of the hole we dug for ourselves. It’s important to win every game. We don’t want to take a step back.” The win helped bring the Blackhawks to 8-7-1. Mainly on the back of the goalie, Turco stopped 33 shots to win for the first time in three starts and improve to 7-4-1. “That motivation should be coming from within our locker room,” Toews said in regards to Coach Q ending practice early. “We’re mature, professional hockey players, and we should know when it’s time to light that fire under each other. It was a wake-up call. The way we practice and prepare carries over into games.”

Toews was able to steal the puck from Atlanta’s goalie Pavelec, and pass it to Kane who was able to score the easy goal. “It was a good response from the leadership, and it was nice to see them produce,” Quenneville said. “At the same time, I thought the leaders were committed to the team and doing what they need to be successful.”

The Thrashers have lost two straight overall, and four of five at home. They fought hard through out game, and kept in it, but lost in the shoot out. Atlanta Coach Ramsay said “We battled, we chased, we skated, we really looked like our team again, We looked like we had speed and we put a lot of pressure on their defense.” Pavelec (0-1-2) after making 36 saves said, “We played a great game, I think we deserved to win. It was up and down, great power plays, but I should’ve made some saves there early.”

On a side note, Coach Quenneville earned his 544th victory to take sole possession of 10th place on the NHL list, moving ahead of former Blackhawks coach Billy Reay. The Blackhawks face the Edmonton Oilers at home tonight.