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Tuesday, Nov. 21 9:30pm ET
'Hawks 2-1-2 on brutal, 8-game odyssey | |||||
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PHOENIX (AP) -- The way the Chicago Blackhawks are playing, they might wish they could spend the rest of the season on the road. Alexei Zhamnov got the go-ahead goal early in the third period, and the Blackhawks skated away from Phoenix with a 4-1 victory as they began the downslope of an eight-game road trip. "We're above .500 on this trip with three games left," said Tony Amonte, who assisted on Zhamnov's goal. "We've got to take it one game at a time. We're edging towards that .500 mark (overall), which is where we want to be. Then we can go on from there." Jocelyn Thibault made 23 saves, and Chicago's penalty-killers, third-best in the NHL on the road, stopped three Phoenix power plays as the Blackhawks improved to 2-1-2 on the trip, with a three-game unbeaten streak. Chicago has games at San Jose, Minnesota and Detroit in the next six days before returning home. Shane Doan had a goal for Phoenix, and Michael Nylander, who assisted on Quintal's insurance tally, got the Blackhawks on the scoreboard. The Coyotes killed a power play that ran 33 seconds into the third period, but were stunned when Zhamnov broke the tie with a slap shot from the edge of the circle 3:39 in. Sean Burke had one of his 28 saves on a shot by Amonte seconds before, but let the rebound slide off to Zhamnov on the boards. Zhamnov, who was part of the trade that sent Jeremy Roenick to Phoenix, skated out until he saw an opening and let fly. "It looked like the goalie was out of position when I shot," Zhamnov said. "We're growing smarter and playing better the last two games." Stephane Quintal got his first goal of the season 1:34 later when he beat Burke between the pads with a wrist shot from the top of the circle, and Dean McAmmond scored from the same circle -- on Burke's glove side -- with 1:56 left in the game. The Coyotes started well, but were deflated by Chicago's scoring burst, taking only three shots in the third period. "They wanted it more than us," Doan said. "We didn't play the game that we wanted to play." Thibault had nine saves in the first eight minutes, when the Coyotes stormed the Chicago end without success. The nonstop play continued in the second period, but this time the goalies couldn't keep up. Phoenix took a 1-0 lead 3:19 into the period when Joe Juneau, deep in the circle, passed back to Doan in the slot for a rising one-timer over Thibault's shoulder. But the Blackhawks tied it 7:00 in when Nylander skated in from Burke's left, deked once and sent the puck past Burke on the far side. Burke, beaten 6-2 by Anaheim on Saturday, said it was time to return to basics. "We have to go back to the drawing board. These are two games that we just haven't been there," Burke said. Midway through the period, Thibault had a strong series in which he got a knee pad in front of a shot by Roenick, then stopped and dropped on a shot by Keith Tkachuk. Then, during a Chicago power play with about 4:00 left, Steve Sullivan got a short-handed breakaway when the puck caromed off the boards behind Phoenix defenseman Jyrki Lumme, but Burke kicked the shot away. Game notesBurke, once the league's top goalie, has given up 13 of his 37 goals-allowed in the last three games. ... The Blackhawks are 5-4-2 on the road. ... The game was Travis Green's 100th with the Coyotes. ... The Coyotes are 2-4-4 in November, scoring just 20 goals. ... The victory was Chicago's third in five games against Phoenix (3-1-1). | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse RECAPS Toronto 3 NY Rangers 1
Chicago 4
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