Nov 23, 2008 - 12:14 AM
0 shoutsTORONTO (Ticker) -- The Chicago Blackhawks did not let a pregame ceremony or a slow start put a damper on their annual "Circus Trip."
Dave Bolland scored 48 seconds into overtime as the Blackhawks rallied for a 5-4 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Patrick Sharp netted a pair of goals before Patrick Kane and Ben Eager tallied in the third period for Chicago, which allowed the first three goals of the game and trailed by two after 40 minutes.
Bolland added an assist while defensemen Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell notched two apiece for the Blackhawks, who improved to 3-0-0 on their six-game road trip made necessary due to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' occupation of the United Center.
"We're trying to not look too far ahead," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "We went down a few goals and we took it and rallied back. On this trip, we're definitely getting the bounces around the net. We just need to start off better next game."
"We haven't been our best in the last few games, and we've weathered a few storms," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's been a tough road trip, and we've had some emotional wins like tonight. We're happy with the win, it shows what this team is capable of."
Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky each recorded a goal and an assist while blue-liner Pavel Kubina and Dominic Moore also scored for the Maple Leafs, who honored former left wing Wendel Clark's No. 17 during a pregame ceremony.
Vesa Toskala stopped 31 shots for Toronto, which has lost three in a row and fell to 2-5-2 in its last nine.
"We got a 3-0 lead, got carried away with ourselves and tried to make a lot of long bomb passes that got picked off," Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. "We were picking them apart with a lot of short passes, and then we got away from what we were doing and they took it to us.
"When you lose a game, it's always going to be something. We had a good start, we were focused. The first half of the game, we dominated them. Then we got a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty and it was all downhill from there. We got sloppy and we got beat."
The atmosphere at Air Canada Centre resembled a circus early for the Blackhawks as Kubina scored late in the first period and Stajan and Moore tallied within the first 9 1/2 minutes of the second to give the Maple Leafs a 3-0 bulge. Sharp got Chicago back in the game with goals 2:20 apart later in the session, but Ponikarovsky put Toronto up by two with 2:50 to go.
"It was a good shot," said Ponikarovsky, who put a wrister between goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's pads after skating out from behind the net and into the right faceoff circle. "I just kept circling, trying to hold off the defense, and then I turned and shot five-hole."
The 2008 Calder Trophy winner, Kane again made it a one-goal game just 58 seconds into the third, and Eager forged a 4-4 tie with 7:33 remaining, receiving a pass from behind the net by Bolland and beating Toskala to the stick side from the doorstep for his third goal of the season.
"They got that equalizer in the third and we were on our heels," Stajan said.
"Between the first and second periods, we knew we had to go hard," Bolland said. "Then between the second and third we just said, 'Let's go and have no give up.' Guys were yelling and screaming, and we knew if we got one, we'd be set up to get a few more."
Less than a minute into overtime, Martin Havlat made a slap pass from above the slot to Bolland, who skated around defenseman Jeff Finger at the bottom of the right faceoff circle and backhanded the puck into the net from the doorstep to give Chicago its fourth straight road win and fourth victory in a row overall over Toronto.
"It was great getting that last one at the end there," Bolland said. "It felt great. I took it in, gave it to Havlat, and he kept looking and looking, and he gave it to me and I slid it under Toskala into the wide-open cage."
"Bolland made a great play on that goal there to tie it and a great move to win it," Quenneville said. "Bolland is useful in many different ways. He's very effective and (had) a great finish to today's game."
Stajan had a chance to give Toronto a 2-0 lead late in the first period, when he was awarded a penalty shot after being knocked down from behind on a breakaway with 8.7 seconds remaining in the session. But Khabibulin made a terrific left pad save on Stajan's backhander, keeping Chicago's deficit at one.
"Thankfully, we came out with a point," Stajan said. "We played two great periods. You have to play 60 (minutes). Have a bad period against a good team like that and they'll make you pay. In this league, you can't take any time off. Most teams are too good."
Khabibulin made 34 saves for the Blackhawks.
From the Bleachers
-
CHICAGO: 5
TORONTO: 4
Final - OT
Nov 22 9:58 PM -
CHICAGO: 5
TORONTO: 4
End of OT
Nov 22 9:44 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 5
TORONTO 4
OT: CHI - DAVE BOLLAND 3 (DUNCAN KEITH, MARTIN HAVLAT) 0:49
Nov 22 9:44 PM -
CHICAGO: 4
TORONTO: 4
End of Regulation
Nov 22 9:41 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 4
TORONTO 4
3RD PRD: CHI - BEN EAGER 3 (DAVE BOLLAND, ANDREW LADD) 12:27
Nov 22 9:30 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 3
TORONTO 4
3RD PRD: CHI - PATRICK KANE 11 (KRIS VERSTEEG, BRIAN CAMPBELL) 0:58
Nov 22 9:08 PM -
CHICAGO: 2
TORONTO: 4
End of 2nd
Nov 22 8:48 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 2
TORONTO 4
2ND PRD: TOR - ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY 6 (JOHN MITCHELL, JAMAL MAYERS)
17:10
Nov 22 8:45 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 2
TORONTO 3
2ND PRD: CHI - PATRICK SHARP 12 (AARON JOHNSON) 16:03
Nov 22 8:43 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 1
TORONTO 3
2ND PRD: CHI - (PP) PATRICK SHARP 11 (DUNCAN KEITH, BRIAN CAMPBELL)
13:43
Nov 22 8:38 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 0
TORONTO 3
2ND PRD: TOR - DOMINIC MOORE 4 (JASON BLAKE) 9:37
Nov 22 8:30 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 0
TORONTO 2
2ND PRD: TOR - MATT STAJAN 6 (TOMAS KABERLE, MIKHAIL GRABOVSKI) 3:23
Nov 22 8:20 PM -
CHICAGO: 0
TORONTO: 1
End of 1st
Nov 22 7:57 PM -
NHL
CHICAGO 0
TORONTO 1
1ST PRD: TOR - PAVEL KUBINA 4 (MATT STAJAN, ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY) 17:37
Nov 22 7:53 PM
