Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.
Supersonics Jerseys China .com) - A two-goal first period and 32 saves from
Scott Darling propelled the Chicago Blackhawks to an eighth consecutive win, a
3-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
Ben Smith had one of Chicagos early goals and set up the other -- the first
of Klas Dahlbecks NHL career -- while Darling outplayed reigning Vezina
Trophy winner Tuukka Rask in the rookies sixth career start.
Patrick Kane also tallied and Marcus Kruger recorded two assists for the
red-hot Blackhawks, who survived a late comeback effort from the Bruins as
well as an injury to Jonathan Toews. The Chicago captain did not return after
sustaining an upper-body injury near the midway mark of the second period.
I think hes going to be alright, Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville
said afterward.
The Bruins had their captain, Zdeno Chara, back in the lineup after
missing 19 straight games with a knee injury, but still fell for the fourth
time in their last five outings. Rask managed just 18 saves.
Darling, recalled from the minors last week with Corey Crawford sidelined by
an ailing foot, came up with 14 saves during a first period in which the
Blackhawks surged ahead with a pair of high-effort goals.
Smith had a hand in both scores, setting up the first by fighting off a
check from along the boards and sending a pass to Dahlbeck for a quick shot
that got through Rask 9:10 in. He later alertly knocked a puck centered by
Daniel Carcillo into an open side to give Chicago a 2-0 lead with 1:17
remaining in the opening frame.
The effort was there from start to finish, but as you could see in that first
period, the execution was poor, said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. Weve
got to get better in those areas if we want to start winning some hockey
games.
Kane extended the margin with 6:41 left in the second, taking advantage of a
failed clearing attempt by the Bruins to blast in a rising shot from the right
of the Boston net.
The Bruins were able to enter the third period with some momentum, as Reilly
Smith converted an on-target behind-the-net feed from Brad Marchand 1:23 prior
to the second intermission to get the home team on the board.
Boston inched closer during a final period in which it dominated the action,
getting within one thanks to an excellent individual effort from Milan Lucic.
The physical forward bounced off a pair of defenders during a transition rush,
then found a trailing Torey Krug for a blast that rifled past Darling with
7:43 left to play.
The Bruins got just two more shots on goal the rest of the way, however, and
werent able to generate a good scoring chance with Rask pulled in the final
minutes.
I was just happy we won, Darling said. There were some lucky bounces for
me. The (defense) was playing great and everyone was fighting hard to keep the
puck out of the net.
Game Notes
Darling and fellow backstop Antti Raanta have combined to allow just nine
goals over Chicagos past five wins ... The Blackhawks improved to 16-3-0 when
scoring first this season ... Boston had been 7-2-0 in games in which it
scored in the final two minutes of a period ... Bruins forward Simon Gagne
missed the game, taking a leave absence from the team earlier in the week to
attend to his father, who is battling cancer, in Quebec.
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Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is
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Hall had a goal and three assists in a 5-4 loss to San Jose on Tuesday,
had an assist in each of Edmontons next two games the capped the week
with a goal and two assists in the Oilers 4-2 win over Anaheim on
Sunday.ALAMEDA, Calif. - Oakland Raiders cornerback Keith McGills
struggled to get on track his rookie season because of injuries and the
time it takes to adjust to the NFL.McGill played just 18 defensive snaps
over the first 14 games as he was relegated mostly to special teams
duty when he was healthy. With starting cornerbacks Tarell Brown and
Carlos Rogers on injured reserve and backup Chimdi Chekwa injured last
week, McGill finally got an opportunity to show what he can do.McGill
fared well against the Buffalo Bills but now is in for the ultimate test
in the regular-season finale when he must match up with Peyton Manning
and his deep group of receivers on the Denver Broncos.I think every week
weve gone against a pretty explosive receiver, McGill said. Obviously,
this week going against Peyton Manning, it just adds a quarterback
element in that picture, so whenever youre going to play against him, I
think youre going to raise your game up. So with him and the receivers
around him, I think were going to be ready for it.McGill, a fourth-round
pick out of Utah, was expected to contribute as a rookie but was slowed
by a groin injury that sidelined him for four games in the middle of
the season.It took until the second-to-last game of the season for
McGill to make a big contribution. He played 50 defensive snaps last
week and allowed only one catch despite being matched up for part of the
game with talented rookie Sammy Watkins.When you put a young guy in a
game like that, they dont get the reps, they dont see the pictures,
youre wondering how they are mentally, interim coach Tony Sparano said.
It tells you that theyre paying attention in the meetings, it tells you
that their coaches are doing a good job with them that way, but I was
impressed with what Keith did that way.McGill said he spent the time on
the sideline trying to learn from the veterans on the fieeld and did his
best to keep up in the meeting rooms.
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He acknowledged being a little winded during the game last week, but
kept at it and hopes a performance like that will help prepare him for
next season when he hopes to play much more.Its always going to be nice
to get game reps and you just have to build off of whatever kind of
foundation you have, he said. Mine is kind of late in the season, but
those last two games, theyre going to be important and I just have to go
in there and try to do my job as best as possible.McGill is one of
three young cornerbacks the Raiders will look to build their defence
around this off-season. Fellow rookie TJ Carrie, a seventh-round pick,
has gotten ample playing time both outside and in the slot and has
allowed just one touchdown pass against all season, according to Pro
Football Focus.DJ Hayden, the teams first-round pick in 2013, has shown
promise after the start of his career was derailed by injuries that
limited him to eight games last year and forced him to miss the first
six this season.As much as youd love to have Carlos Rogers and Tarell
Brown and those guys out there, it gives you a chance to see the younger
players and to see the guys that you drafted and to see some of those
things happen and I think that the more that these kids are playing, the
more comfortable they are out there, Sparano said. Ive been impressed
with that group.NOTES: Pending free agent C Stefen Wisniewski said the
Raiders made a few contract offers this season but did not meet his
price so Sundays game could be his final with team. ... Carrie (ankle),
LB Khalil Mack (hamstring) and RT Menelik Watson (foot, ankle) are
questionable for Sunday. ... WR Vincent Brown (groin), WR Denarius Moore
(knee, ankle) and Chekwa (hamstring) have been ruled out.___AP NFL
website:
www.pro32.ap.org and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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