Now that's the way to end a road trip.  The Blackhawks set out on the annual circus trip needing to get some points, and that's exactly what they did, grabbing 8 out of a possible 12. 

Here's the question of the day - do the Blackhawks have a goaltending controversy?  I say no.  Marty Turco has played too much as it is to this point, and it's good news for Chicago that Corey Crawford has defied the naysayers (me and Fork) to become a servicable NHL goalie.  I'm not sure who the "starter" is at this point, but Crawford's got the hot hand, and it makes sense for Joel Quenneville to ride it while he has the chance, and get Turco some rest in the meantime.  If Corey takes this opportunity to win the number 1 job permanently, then all the better for the Hawks.


THE GOOD

Patrick Kane: Good game from Kane tonight.  He got an assist on the Hawks first goal off a two on one - which was triggered in part by a good backcheck from Kaner in his own zone, then scored the Hawks second goal by driving hard to the net and letting Patrick Sharp's centering pass bounce off him.  Anything to get off the schneid.

Corey Crawford:  Terrific game from Crawford tonight.  In a game where every save was important, it seemed like the Kings were getting a ton of point blank chances, and Crawford stopped nearly all of them.  He definitely earned this win.

THE BAD

Dumb penalties:  Thankfully the Hawks penalty kill was good tonight, because their sense of the moment sure wasn't.  Whether it was taking penalties in the last minute of a period, or giving the Kings on a 5 on 3 at a crucial point in the 3rd period, the Hawks need to be more disciplined.


THE UGLY

Kevin Westgarth's face: I'm not sure what Westgarth looked like at the start of the game, but midway through the second period, he made the life changing decision to fight the Murdersaurus.  Westgarth's next of kin has been notified and his widow has been sent a corsage and a free ham.