Blackhawks 5, Penguins 3: Hot streak continues on wacky night in Pittsburgh

SHARE Blackhawks 5, Penguins 3: Hot streak continues on wacky night in Pittsburgh
keith.jpg

If the Blackhawks are going to pull this off, they need a great second half from Duncan Keith. | Gene J. Puskar/AP

PITTSBURGH — There’s nothing normal about the Blackhawks-Penguins series, and the weirdness continued Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.

Chris Kunitz, who rarely plays, scored his first goal since April.

Duncan Keith, who rarely scores, ripped his first of the season.

And somehow, despite falling behind early, being outshot and having penalty problems throughout, the Hawks won 5-3 on Sunday for their 10th straight victory over Pittsburgh. It’s their longest active winning streak against any team, which also doesn’t make much sense given how good the Penguins have been the last few years.

“I don’t know, sometimes those things get blown out of proportion,” Keith said. “They’ve got a good team with a lot of great players, and we’ve played good against them — not always, but had some breaks go our way.”

Dylan Strome broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period, scoring off assists from Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, and the Hawks held off Pittsburgh for 18 minutes, including a power play and empty net time.

The Penguins jumped ahead 2-0 in the first five minutes, but the Hawks quickly evened it on goals by Alex DeBrincat and Kunitz. DeBrincat’s was his 19th of the season.

Kunitz’ goal was perfect. He hadn’t seen the ice for two weeks until coach Jeremy Colliton essentially gifted him a start against his former team.

He did it because the Penguins were celebrating their 2009 Stanley Cup team, and after they honored Kunitz during a timeout, he scored to tie the game 2-2 early in the second period.

“I think just being in a building where you have great memories might give you that special feeling every time you go on the ice,” he said. “I don’t know if it gives you anything extra, but mentally it makes you have that confidence.”

Colliton, who prefers to split up back-to-backs with his goalies, started Cam Ward against Pittsburgh and will go with Collin Delia at home Monday against the Flames.

Ward gave up the two early goals, but settled and finished with 31 saves on 34 shots. He’s allowed three goals or fewer in four of his last five starts.

Delia, meanwhile, has been lights out in limited action. He’s 3-0-1 with a .952 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.

The Hawks’ turnaround began with a Dec. 12 win against the Penguins at the United Center, and picking up the season sweep pushed their run to 7-3-2.

The Latest
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.
The man was shot in the left eye area in the 5700 block of South Christiana Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side.
Most women who seek abortions are women of color, especially Black women. Restricting access to mifepristone, as a case now before the Supreme Court seeks to do, would worsen racial health disparities.
The Bears have spent months studying the draft. They’ll spend the next one plotting what could happen.
Woman is getting anxious about how often she has to host her husband’s hunting buddy and his wife, who don’t contribute at all to mealtimes.