Stars Beat Blackhawks But Lose Mats Zuccarello to Injury

The Dallas Stars picked up veteran forward Mats Zuccarello from the New York Rangers as the NHL trade deadline approached, in an effort to solidify their hold on a playoff berth. The move paid off in Zuccarello’s first game with his new team, as he had a goal and assist in the Stars’ 4-3 win over the Blackhawks at the United Center in Chicago on February 24th. Unfortunately, it will be a while before Zuccarello can help the Stars some more, as he exited the game with a broken arm. Mats said he blocked a shot that wound up hitting him in the arm. He’s expected to miss four weeks or so.

After the win, the Stars were fourth in the Central Division with 67 points (31-26-5), and are in the top Wild Card position in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks fell to 26-28-9, 61 points, and are last in the Central but only five points behind the other Wild Card team, the Minnesota Wild. But the Blackhawks, who had won 10 of 12 and were making a late season run, lost for the second straight game to a team that is in front of them for a playoff berth.

Chicago’s problems this season have been on the defensive side of things. The Blackhawks are allowing 3.73 goals per game, dead last in the NHL. Corey Crawford has had concussion issues again this year, and has played in only 23 games, with a record of 6-14-2, a GAA of 3.28 and a save percentage at .902. Crawford was activated after the Stars game, but with his history of concussions, both he and the team should consider if it’s time he stepped away from playing for his own good if nothing else. Chicago picked up former Carolina goalie Cam Ward in the off season, but while he has a 14-10-4 record, he’s allowing 3.71 goals per game and his save percentage is .893. A third goalie, Collin Delia, is 6-4-3 with a 3.48 GAA and a .909 save percentage. With Crawford activated, Delia was sent to the Blackhawks minor league Rockford Icehogs.

Of course, this can’t all be blamed on the goalies. The Blackhawks have not played good defense this season, putting more pressure on their netminders. Sure, veteran defensemen Brent Seabrook (33 years old) and Duncan Keith (35) are still there, but while they have been productive offensively, they have dropped off a bit defensively. But again, it’s not just on them; defense is a team concept and there is plenty of mediocre defensive play to go around. On the brighter side, there are some promising defensemen in the Blackhawks system, so help may be on the way in the near future.