Never had a Blackhawks dressing room had so much life having scored so few goals.
The Hawks’ Jeff Hackett and Edmonton Oilers’ Curtis Joseph put on a goaltending clinic Wednesday night, and the Hawks got something they haven’t had often in December–a break–en route to a 0-0 tie before 15,431 at the Edmonton Coliseum.
The Oilers’ Ryan Smyth missed a wide-open net on a two-on-one with 6 minutes left in regulation to keep the Hawks alive. Hackett then came up with a big save on Bryan Marchment, who was alone in front of the net, with 3:20 left, and the Hawks killed off an Edmonton power play the last 1:29 of regulation and first 31 seconds of overtime.
“It’s not two points, but every point is big right now,” said Brent Sutter. “The way things have been going, we have to start somewhere.”
The tie ran the Hawks’ winless streak in December to seven (0-4-3), but they’re now 9-1-3 in their last 13 games here. Each of the three games against the Oilers this season has ended in a tie, but the Hawks had plenty of chances to win this one.
Joseph, who had 28 saves to Hackett’s 30, wouldn’t let them.
He stopped Greg Johnson on a breakway in the first period, made a great stop on Tony Amonte’s one-timer in the second, then made his biggest save on Amonte with 8:30 left in the third, foiling a two-on-one with Alex Zhamnov.
“Both goaltenders were outstanding,” said coach Craig Hartsburg.
It was the Hawks’ first scoreless tie since Dec. 19, 1979, against Pittsburgh and the first scoreless tie ever at Edmonton Coliseum. It came on the heels of Tuesday’s bitter 4-3 overtime loss in Calgary.
“We had to get back to playing Blackhawk hockey, digging in and playing for the good of the team,” said Sutter.
“It’s a start,” added Hackett.
![Claudia Perez’s children could count on one hand the number of times they had seen their father cry. The day their mother left was one of them. Perez had worked her whole life for a dream that did not come true: Save enough money to take her family back to Mexico and live together in the town where they were all born. Instead, on a cold February day, she stepped onto a bus in Brighton Park and said goodbye, making the difficult choice between her loved ones in Mexico and her family in Chicago. “Don’t leave my love. No te […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-VHR5442_183545767.jpg?w=525 "Claudia Perez’s children could count on one hand the number of times they had seen their father cry. The day their mother left was one of them. Perez had worked her whole life for a dream that did not come true: Save enough money to take her family back to Mexico and live together in the town where they were all born. Instead, on a cold February day, she stepped onto a bus in Brighton Park and said goodbye, making the difficult choice between her loved ones in Mexico and her family in Chicago. “Don’t leave my love. No te […]")
