The Carolina Hurricanes struck first and struck early as defenseman Tim Gleason snuck a shot past Corey Crawford at 3:08 in the first period. It was Gleason's first goal of the season.
Later in the period, the Blackhawks had to weather a lengthy shorthanded situation after Canes center Eric Staal was bloodied by a high stick from Daniel Carcillo at 14:27. Patrick Kane was misidentified as the man responsible and served the four-minute penalty.
But Staal, who is one of the Hurricanes' biggest weapons in general and on the power play, had to leave the ice and did not return for the rest of the period. Crawford denied a couple of decent scoring opportunities but wasn't overly taxed as the Blackhawks killed off the penalty.
After one period, the Hurricanes have a 12-7 edge in shots on goal.
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