HAWKS CAN'T HANG ON VS. DEVILS

 

For two periods in New Jersey on Sunday night it sure looked like the Blackhawks were on their way to victory. They jumped out to a two goal lead early on and maintained that advantage all the way into the 2nd intermission. John McIntyre opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal, Dave Reid got his 3rd and 4th of the season and Alain Cote added the team's 4th goal with five minutes left in the 2nd. Esa Tikkanen and Peter Bondra each had powerplay goals for the Devils.

 

Yes, everything was going great until the Devils turned up the heat in the final 20 minutes, scoring 5 goals to ruin the upset and kick start a party of their own. New Jersey took the lead thanks to Boschman, Jarvenpaa, Boutillier and Zezel with a pair. Derek King and Luke Richardson replied for Chicago but by then it was too late for a comeback. The result was a wild 7-6 win for the Devils. The Blackhawks wasted a solid offensive game and a chance for their 2nd win of 1994. They fall to 1-8 overall.

 

"I think we are getting closer to our goal of being competitive. That's three straight losses in one-goal games. There's definitely progress compared to the first five games when we kept getting blown out," said Reid. The veteran forward has 4 goals and 3 assists as a member of the Hawks 3rd line, which has been their most consistent trio during the first 9 games.

 

ESPN Radio Chicago