At Wrigley Field, Blackhawks and Red Wings go at it
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CHICAGO -- It didn’t take fans long to get emotionally into the game. And players were clearly taking this as a meaningful contest, not just a picturesque and made-for-TV spectacle.
Just 2:06 in, Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook set the tone when he unceremoniously dumped Detroit’s Daniel Cleary* into the Chicago bench, which elicited a roar from the crowd. Most fans in the lower level were already on their feet -- simply to be able to see -- but fans elsewhere also stood up to applaud and show their appreciation.
Even the fans in the rooftop seats on Waveland and Sheffield avenues could be seen standing and cheering at that, as well as when the teams got into some post-whistle scrums.
The Blackhawks scored the first goal, during a power play. Kris Versteeg, one of the young players fueling the team’s rebirth, snapped home the rebound of a Martin Havlat shot at 3:24.
The Red Wings, who seem to have legions of fans in every other NHL city, tied the game at 9:50. It was also a power-play goal. Henrik Zetterberg did a nice job holding onto the puck before throwing it in front, where Mikael Samuelsson needed two tries before he prodded it home.
Goals continued at a fast pace. The Blackhawks regained the lead at 12:37 off a nice play. Versteeg was behind the goal line when he made a beautiful backhand pass to Havlat, who lifted the puck over the right shoulder of Detroit’s Ty Conklin.
-- Helene Elliott
* Corrected the name of the player who was dumped into the Blackhawks’ bench, from Niklas Kronwall to Daniel Cleary. Changed at 6:48 p.m.