Brett Seabrook scored 3:35 into overtime to give Chicago a 2-1 victory over Detroit as the Blackhawks stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to win the playoff series in seven games.
Defenceman Seabrook collected a loose puck in the neutral zone then carried it into the Detroit end before firing a wrist shot that beat Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard to the glove side. Seabrook’s shot Wednesday appeared to change direction slightly after it hit the left leg of Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall.
Chicago advances to the semi-finals to face the defending National Hockey League champion Los Angeles Kings, who also needed a game seven to punch their ticket to the next round by beating the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
Chicago opens their Western Conference series against the Kings on Saturday at home.
The Hawks or Kings will meet the winner of the other semi-final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup title. Their best-of-seven series also gets underway on Saturday.
After taking game one, Chicago lost three straight to the seventh-seeded Red Wings to trail 3-1 in the series.
But Chicago fought back recording a 4-1 win at home ice in game five and then tied the series at 3-3 with Monday’s 4-3 victory on the road.
This was just the third game seven between the two Original Six clubs and the first one since 1965. Chicago also won that game seven in the semi-finals.
Dave Bolland helped spring Seabrook free on the winner by placing a big hit on Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist. That opened up the middle of the ice for former Lethbridge Hurricane Seabrook who moved the puck quickly towards the Detroit goal then got the fortunate bounce off Kronwall.
The goal was almost justice for a bungled call by game official Stephen Walkom late in the third period that disallowed an apparent Blackhawks’ goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Trailing the play and seeing two players fall to the ice in front of the Detroit bench, Walkom blew his whistle quickly with 1:49 left in regulation and called co-incidental penalties just as Hjalmarsson was up ice beating Howard with a high slap shot.
Chicago protested the call on the grounds they had possession and were in the middle of a scoring chance but to no avail, setting the stage for Seabrook’s dramatic overtime winner.
Chicago is now 6-1 as the home team in the playoffs going 19-3-3 at the United Center during the regular season.
Seabrook's OT winner lifts Hawks past Wings
