Blackhawks Shine in Final Stadium Series Encounter
During a four month span every fall, Soldier Field serves as the stomping grounds for the National Football League’s Chicago Bears. On March 1, the stadium served as the scene for the final game of this seasons NHL Stadium Series.
The Pittsburgh Penguins traveled to Chicago to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in an outdoor game which pitted the league’s two best teams. Both clubs came into this contest with 84 points each, but it was easy to assume that the winner could be viewed as the best team in the NHL for the rest of the season.
In a blinding snowstorm, Chicago struck first in the opening period as Patrick Sharp scored his 29th goal of the year to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg found the net within a six minute span to increase the Chicago lead by three.
Pittsburgh finally got on the board six and a half minutes into the third period when James Neal snuck a shot past Corey Crawford into the net. However, the Blackhawks retaliated with a pair of goals in four minutes. Bryan Bickell scored one and Toews scored the other.
The Blackhawks went on to win by a score of 5-1. Toews recorded three points by scoring a pair of goals and notching an assist. Patrick Sharp tallied two points with a goal and an assist while goaltender Crawford made 31 saves on 32 shots.
