Blackhawks blow two-goal lead, fall in overtime

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TAMPAIt was looking pretty good for the Chicago Blackhawks as the midway point of the second period neared.

They had a two-goal lead, thanks to a three-goal outburst in just 65 seconds. But one Tampa Bay time out, a Steven Stamkos hat trick and some poor defense later, the Blackhawks were collecting one point instead of two.

Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane had three assists, but a wide-open Vincent Lecavalier scored the winner with less than a minute remaining in overtime in the Lightnings 5-4 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday night.

It was hardly a demoralizing loss for a Blackhawks team that took three out of four points in back-to-back road games. But it was how the Blackhawks gave up those goals that irked coach Joel Quenneville the most.

We cant give up those kind of goals, open-side goals, he said. (We know) how we have to play, that predictability has to be iron tight and that we dont give up those kind of goals. That was the tough part.

It was pretty much open shooting for both teams in the second period, where all the regulation scoring took place. Marian Hossa, Daniel Carcillowith his first in a Blackhawks uniformand Sharp scored in quick succession to build that 4-2 advantage just 7:22 into the second period.

But Stamkos and company wouldnt be stopped. Literally.

Stamkos was wide open on his power-play goal at the end of the second period, which tied the game at 4. Other Lightning goals came with players getting up close on Ray Emery, who took his first loss as a Blackhawk.

We have to tighten up and give Razor (Emery) a chance to make the save. I dont think we gave him a lot of chances to make the saves, Brent Seabrook said. They had some back-door tap-is and those are tough to save for any goalie.

The Blackhawks couldnt get much going in overtime before Martin St. Louis set up Lecavalier for the winner.

We have no business letting some of these teams back in the game, said Jonathan Toews. We go up two goals in the second period; if you keep that pressure on them, keep that lead going into the third it could be a different game.

Still, the Blackhawks liked a few things out of Fridays game. The power play came through with one, with Sharps first goal snapping an 0-for-20 skid on the advantage. And again, its three points in two nights, including one in a tough building on Friday; the Lightning were 3-1-0 here entering tonights game.

The Blackhawks have had a few close games already this season; Friday marked their third straight game that went beyond regulation. But theyre still getting the points, still getting to where they want to be.

It was a good little road trip but there are a lot of little things we could do better, Toews said. But were getting closer to being the team we want to be.

Briefly

Toews sported stitches on his chin but was otherwise fine after taking a puck there in the first period. It didnt feel the best; it kind of jammed my jaw, but its all good, he said.

The last time the Blackhawks scored two goals in 12 seconds or less was when they tallied two in nine seconds against Nashville on Jan. 20, 2007. The last time they scored three in 65 seconds or less was Dec. 20, 1989, when they did it in 59 seconds against the St. Louis Blues.

Niklas Hjalmarsson and Steve Montador were the only Blackhawks defensemen to finish on the plus side, a plus-1 and plus-2, respectively.

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