Where has this team been?
They bombarded their former teammate Nikolai Khabibulin with 47 shots on goal Wednesday night and Jonathan Toews scored a natural hat trick within a 6:48 stretch of the first and second periods. (A natural hat trick, if you don’t know, is three goals scored by one player without anyone else scoring during that three-goal run.)
Marty Turco recorded his first shutout as a Blackhawk and the 41st of his career. The Blackhawks defense made it easy on Turco, as he had to stop only 18 shots.
The Hawks have had a curious season. Their 10-9-2 season record includes a 5-2-2 mark on the road; they’re one of only 10 teams in the NHL with a winning road record. But their 5-7 home record is bad; last season during their Stanley Cup run, they lost only eight games all year at home during the regular season.
Nevertheless, this is a fine way to start off a six-game swing through some of the cities in the west of the NHL. The Hawks will play at Calgary on Friday; the Flames have lost three in a row.