Jonathan Toews Leads Blackhawks To 5-4 Win Over Coyotes With OT Goal

Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews scored his NHL-leading fifth overtime goal with 28.5 seconds remaining to lead his team to a 5-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona on Thursday night.

Jonathan Toews Leads Blackhawks To 5-4 Win Over Coyotes With OT Goal

The Blackhawks have now won a League-high nine games in overtime this season.

The game was tied four times before Toews, who was coming off a one-game suspension after sitting out the 2016 All-Star Game with an illness, beat Arizona goalie Louis Domingue with a wrist shot to score his second goal of the game. The first was a short-handed goal just four minutes into the second period, which put Chicago up 2-1. Toews now has 21 goals this season.

“It’s about getting opportunities [in overtime],” Toews said after scoring his second goal of the game. “After you get a few early in the season you feel confident in the situation.”

Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, and Michal Rozsival also scored goals and Artemi Panarin contributed three assists for the Blackhawks, who are just two points behind the Washington Capitals for the NHL’s best record.

Goalkeeper Corey Crawford made 24 saves, three of them in overtime.

Olivr Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, Jordan Martinook and Shane Doan scored for Arizona (24-21-6), which lost for the seventh time in nine games. Domingue made 35 saves.

The Blackhawks didn’t have a shot on goal for the first 11:38 of play but still controlled the puck. They took eight of the first nine shots on goal during the third period and got ahead to 4-3 at 7:18. Rozsival snuck in front of the net and then redirected an Artem Anisimov shot into the wide-open right side.

But the Coyotes answered again. Shane Doan took a pass from Jordan Martinook from behind the net, and his wraparound attempt found an opening under Crawford’s arm.

The Blackhawks (35-16-4) will next visit the Dallas Star on Saturday night, while the Coyotes (24-21-6), who have now lost three straight games, will visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.

Caption: CHICAGO, IL – JANUARY 24: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks to pass as Jay Bouwmeester #19 and Paul Stastny #26 of the St. Louis Blues defend at the United Center on January 24, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena