Historians say there were more than 300 Spartans so the combatant census wasn’t as lopsided as lore and Hollywood suggest. While there were technically 300 Spartans, they were aided by thousands of allies from other Greek states, aka ancient farm teams.
Similarly, the Predators weren’t necessarily outnumbered but did enter last night's game with a COVID-decimated roster yet got reinforcements from their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals to defeat the Blackhawks in overtime despite not holding a pair of leads.
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Blackhawks Game Summary
Final in OT pic.twitter.com/u7hs6yAgzj
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021
DeBrincat - Strome - Kane Hagel - Toews - Kurashev Kubalik - Dach - Entwistle Slavin - Carpenter - Gabriel
Gustafsson - S Jones McCabe - Stillman C Jones - Murphy
Fleury Lankinen
Scratches: Connolly, de Haan
Scoring Recap
1st Goal (0-1): Novak (Carrier, Kunin) PP 2nd Goal (1-1): Dach (Entwistle, Kubalik) 3rd Goal (1-2): Sissons (Forsberg, Tolvanen) PP 4th Goal (2-2): Toews (Stillman) 5th Goal (2-3): Jeannot (Josi)
SOG For/Against: 19/31 PP: 0-for-5 PK: 3-for-5 Faceoffs Won: 55%
FINAL: Predators 3, #Blackhawks 2 (OT)
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 18, 2021
Shot attempts: 59-43 NSH
Shots on goal: 31-19 NSH
5-on-5 scoring chances: 17-15 CHI
5-on-5 high danger chances: 7-5 NSH pic.twitter.com/aCCU9Hgaov
* The Blackhawks generally played a sloppy game with botched passes and lack of momentum to create any offensive pressure.
* Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy turned in an impressively solid defensive effort as the Hawks top shutdown D pair combining for 8 hits, 7 blocked shots, and many heads-up play neutralizations.
* It's a huge boost to get increased offensive output from the top centers in Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach as they have now scored 3 goals in 4 games and 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games, respectively.
* Yikes, Kurtis Gabriel sure is slow on the ice; he looks and skates like a rightie Milan Lucic minus Looch's talent.
Highlights
Goal by Kirby Dach
Just what the Dach-tor ordered 🩺 pic.twitter.com/ZoU9mfFLq0
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021
TOEWS TIES IT UP 👅¼ï¸ pic.twitter.com/MX977Lc4Cp
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021
IceHogs Game Summary
Final. pic.twitter.com/qJIvEK0EhS
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) December 18, 2021
Hardman - Reichel - Nylander Teply - McLaughlin - Busdeker Morrison - Barratt - Gicewicz Altybarmakian - G Mitchell - Osipov
Philips - I Mitchell Kalynuk - Regula Stanton - Beaudin
Delia Soderblom
Scoring Recap
1st Goal (1-0): McLaughlin (Beaudin, Teply) 2nd Goal (2-0): Nylander (Phillips, I Mitchell) 3rd Goal (2-1): Gleason (McKenzie, Louis) 4th Goal (3-1): Delia (unassisted) EN
SOG For/Against: 32/25 PP: 0-for-3 PK: 4-for-4
Game Notes
* Yes, Collin Delia scored a goal but more like credited with the goal as he made a save and the puck careened all the way down to the other end into the Stars empty net in the closing seconds of the game.
* In their first game back from concussion and COVID protocol, Lukas Reichel and Dylan McLaughlin each rattled off 5 shots on goal with McLaughlin able to dent the twine.
* If he has a space creator as a linemate, Alex Nylander has proven that he's dangerous coming down the wing or up the middle to unleash a lethal shot; skating alongside a playmaker wouldn't hurt either.
Highlights
Game Highlights
Highlights: Collin Delia becomes the first goalie in IceHogs AHL history to score a goal as we defeat Texas, 3-1! https://t.co/GVoYaWKaTE
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 18, 2021
DELIA SCORES! DELIA SCORES! DELIA SCORES!
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 18, 2021
WE WIN 3-1! pic.twitter.com/l8rh6G4mDB
Next Game @ Stars
Howdy 🤠pic.twitter.com/8pX0F9Li9l
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021
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See you on the boards!