The Chicago Blackhawks had a very special night on Sunday as they honored one of their greatest players ever. Marian Hossa, the greatest free agent signing in the history of Chicago sports, had his number retired forever by the Hawks. They did a very good job with the celebration.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, there was an actual hockey game to be played as well. That is unfortunate because the Blackhawks just aren’t a good hockey team at all. They fooled some people into thinking that they were good because of their hot start but they’re not.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were able to spoil Marian Hossa’s big night by coming to Chicago and taking a huge victory. 1:04 into the game, Brock McGinn scored to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead right out of the gate.
Playing in his 1000th career game, Evgeni Malkin scored his 8th of the season to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. It was his 452nd goal and 1166th career point which is some legendary stuff. Sometimes, you just have to admire greatness.
The Pittsburgh Penguins spoiled Marian Hossa night by winning in Chicago.
Not long after Rickard Rakeell scored to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead, the Blackhawks finally got on the board thanks to Jujhar Khaira. Not long after that, the Blackhawks made it interesting but cutting the lead to one goal thanks to Patrick Kane’s third of the season.
Late in the third period down by one, Philipp Kurasheev scored to tie the game at three. The Blackhawks made it seem like they were going to make Marian Hossa night special by earning a comeback win but a different legend had other ideas.
Sidney Crosby scored under one minute later to make it 4-3 and take all the wind out of Chicago’s sails. He made an amazing play to get the job done for his team. He earned an assist on Jeff Carter’s empty net goal to wrap up a four point night.
It was a great performance by one of the best players in NHL history. This was (oddly enough) the first time that Crosby has ever scored a goal in Chicago. This was also the first time that the Penguins had a lead in Chicago since 2009.
Legends like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were teammates with Marian Hossa for a little bit as well so it was somewhat fitting that the game went the way that it did. The Blackhawks just aren’t good enough to outscore most teams regularly.
