CHICAGO -- After blowing an early two-goal lead against the New York Islanders, the Chicago Blackhawks buckled down and rode a one-goal lead to victory.
Ian Desmond Rangers Jersey . Michal Handzus scored the go-ahead goal 6:45 into the second period and the Chicago Blackhawks
held on for a 3-2 win over the Islanders on Friday night. Chicagos Jonathan
Toews and rookie Joakim Nordstrom connected in the first period, while Duncan
Keith had two assists. Nordstroms goal was his first in the NHL. In its previous
two games, defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago wasnt in buttoned-down form as
it allowed Tampa Bay and St. Louis to score late in a shootout and a regulation
loss. It looked like more of the same was brewing Friday. The Blackhawks jumped
out to an early 2-0 lead, but New Yorks Josh Bailey scored at 19:06 of the first
period and Kyle Okposo scored 49 seconds later to it at 2-all. "Against St.
Louis and Tampa, there were a few points we left on the table," Toews said.
"Tonight could have been one of those nights where we fall into that trend of
squeezing the stick a little bit too hard late in the game only up one goal.
"But we maintained our composure. We know what weve got to do to protect those
leads and play smart late in games. Weve improved on that." After Handzus
restored Chicagos lead in the second, the Blackhawks were poised and tidy, even
if they couldnt add to their advantage. "We didnt get that extra goal tonight,
which made it close all the way to the end, but I still thought we did some good
things," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "But I liked what we gave up, and
that wasnt much." Chicagos Nikolai Khabibulin made 17 saves and New Yorks Kevin
Poulin finished with 25 as both goaltenders made their first starts this season.
The 40-year-old Khabibulin rejoined the Blackhawks last summer as a free agent
to back up Corey Crawford. Evgeni Nabokov had started the Islanders first three
contests. Chicago had allowed five power-play goals in nine attempts entering
the game, but killed both New York advantages on Friday. The Islanders lost for
the first time in regulation, and coach Jack Capuano wasnt surprised based on
his teams effort. "When you mismanage the puck against that team and you dont
make them play a 200-foot game, youre never going to have success and thats
exactly what happened," he said. "Our execution level was down and we had some
passengers tonight." The Blackhawks dominated the first period and took a 2-0
lead before the goals by Bailey and Okposo in the final minute of the frame
evened it. Set up by Niklas Hjalmarssons feed from behind the net, Nordstrom
opened the scoring midway through the first period from just outside the crease
to cap a Chicago flurry in the New York zone. Toews made it 2-0 with 3:55 left
in the period when Brent Seabrooks shot from the right point bounced off the
back boards and straight to Toews in the left circle. He fired into an open net
before Poulin could recover. Bailey wristed in a shot with 54 seconds left in
the first to cut it to 2-1 after he corralled Michael Grabners drop pass in the
right circle. Okposo tied it at 2 with just 5 seconds remaining in the period on
a backhand shot from a crowd in the slot. He was set up by John Tavares pinpoint
pass from behind the net. New York, however, didnt capitalize on the momentum
swing. "We got a couple of big goals there to get us back in the game and we
werent able to sustain that into the second period," Tavares said. "Weve got to
keep on generating opportunities." Handzus put Chicago back ahead when he was
left uncovered in in the slot and popped in a rebound of Duncan Keiths shot from
the point after the puck rolled off Poulin. Both teams had a handful of chances
in the third, including a couple of close-in attempts by Tavares. NOTES: RW Cal
Clutterbuck played his first game with the Islanders. He was acquired in an
off-season trade from Minnesota, then sat out the first three games this season
with a leg laceration. ... Khabibulin was Chicagos No. 1 goaltender for four
seasons, from 2005-09. ... The 21-year-old Nordstrom played in his fourth NHL
game. ... Both teams play again on Saturday night. The Blackhawks host Buffalo
and the Islanders are at Nashville.
Nolan Ryan Mets Jersey . Auld made 37 saves in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. It was Ottawas first game
without starter Anderson, who is out indefinitely after cutting his hand
Wednesday night, and it was evident the team wasnt sure how to deal with the
change in goal.
Carl Yastrzemski Red Sox Jersey .ca. Kerry, In the closing minutes of the second period of Game 4 between Pittsburgh and
Columbus there were the remnants of two broken sticks behind the Pittsburgh
net.Tottenham striker Harry Kane has topped the Sky Sports Power Rankings after
scoring twice in Sundays 2-0 victory over Aston Villa. Five Premier League games
were postponed due to FA Cup clashes at the weekend, allowing players from the
10 teams that played league fixtures to boost their rankings.Bournemouth
centre-back Steve Cook rose 11 places to No 2 following his 78th-minute winner
in the Cherries 3-2 win against Swansea on Saturday, while team-mate Charlie
Daniels reached No 9. Premier League leaders Leicester have four players in the
top 10 after their 1-0 win over Newcastle on Monday Night Football, with Robert
Huth dropping one place to No 3 and registering as the Foxes top player for a
fifth successive week. Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri saw his team maintain
their Premier League title charge after defeating Newcastle Leicester are also
represented by keeper Kasper Schmeichel (No 4, up 21 places), who kept his 11th
league clean sheet on Monday, Riyad Mahrez (No 7, up one place) and Christian
Fuchs (No 8, up two places).
Bob Feller Indians Jersey. Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk rose two places to No 5, while West Hams Dimitri Payet
- who topped the Power Rankings last week - dropped to No 6 this week after the
Hammers league fixture with Watford was postponed due to an FA Cup clash with
Manchester United. Virgil van Dijk has risen to fifth in the Power Rankings The
Power Rankings methodology reflects a players performance over the previous five
weeks, with each preceding week worth fewer points. This means the Power
Rankings reflect the in-form players of the moment.Below, we also present your
clubs top points scorer and the cumulative seasons rankings.The Sky Sports Power
Rankings will be updated each week during the season, so be sure to keep an eye
on the big movers... Also See: 2016 Premier League table Can Arsenal salvage
season? Positive signs for Rafa City, Arsenal out of race?
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