Jonathan Toews has shown numerous times during his NHL career to be a clutch player.
He demonstrated that again Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. The Blackhawks captain beat Colorado’s 22-year-old center Ryan O’Reilly to the outside, and then, cutting back to the net, tucked the puck beyond the right pad of Semyon Varlamov, off the post and in the net. The goal, a short-handed marker, tied the game 2-2 early in the third period.
With that goal, and the winner from Dan Carcillo in the final minute of the third period, the Blackhawks earned a 3-2 win over the Avalanche and extended their streak to 24 games without a regulation loss to begin the regular season.
“That one reminded me of Johnny’s shorty up in Vamcouver in Game 7,” Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville told CSN Chicago, referring to the goal Toews scored against the Canucks that sent the deciding game of the 2011 Western Conference quarter-final to overtime.
“(Short-handed goals) can be a big boost for your team and deflating for the opponent. When you get scored on your power play, it hurts.”