Blackhawks finally get on series scoreboard in Game 3

The Chicago Blackhawks showed their first signs of life this series on Friday night, as Patrick Sharp scored late in the first overtime period to give Chicago their first win of the series and cut the Red Wings’ lead to 2-1. With Nikolai Khabibulin knocked out after the second period, Cristobal Huet showed that he still has the potential to play at the highest levels in the NHL, making his first appearance of the 2009 postseason and turning aside six shots in the 3rd period.

Chicago opened the scoring with Sharp’s first goal of the game coming on the powerplay, and followed up quickly with another goal from Andrew Ladd less than a minute later. Detroit continued to play tough, though, and Niklas Kronwall knocked out one of the Blackhawks’ most potent scoring threats, Martin Havlat with a destructive check that left Havlat on the ice in a stupor. Havlat was attempting to scoop up a loose puck near the blueline when Kronwall caught him with his head down and sent him to the locker room for the rest of the contest. Havlat led Chicago in scoring this season with 77 points.

In the second period, despite Samuel Pahlsson’s goal less than a minute into the frame, Detroit bounced back to score three goals in the last six minutes of the period, tying the game and setting up a frantic race to the finish. Veteran leader Nicklas Lidstrom opened the scoring for the Red Wings with a powerplay goal, and Brian Rafalski’s wrist shot found its way through a screen of players and beat Khabibulin with under 3 minutes to play in the period. Jonathan Ericsson became the 3rd Red Wing defenseman to score in the game when his shot from the point slipped through a crowd of players in front and tied the game at 3-3.

There was no scoring in the 3rd, due in large part to stellar goaltending on the part of Cristobal Huet, called in to replace the injured Khabibulin. Another strong performance from Huet in the overtime period set up a late offensive flurry from the Blackhawks, and Sharp was able to beat Osgood backdoor to put Chicago in a more comfortable position in the series, down 2-1.

Detroit played without the services of star forward Pavel Datsyuk, who remains questionable for Game 4. Both Havlat and Khabibulin’s statuses are uncertain at this time.