Jonathan Toews on missing OT goal: ‘It was still perfect’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The script is rarely perfect in sports, and those imperfections are what make sports perfect in itself.
Jonathan Toews had his opportunity. In the overtime period of his final game in a Chicago Blackhawks sweater, he poke-checked the puck away from the Philadelphia Flyers – the team he and the 2010 Hawks once defeated for their first Stanley Cup – and raced for the goal.
One deek and an attempt to go 5-hole against Felix Sandstrom – a move that worked for a goal earlier in the game – failed. He swooped around the goal to try and corral the puck to correct his error, but no dice. He fled to the bench, where he chuckled about the miss, and bowed his head, knowing it would have been a memory for the pantheon.
After the game, Toews backed up the beautiful perfection of his imperfection, knowing he had an all-time opportunity to close out his 16-season career with the Blackhawks on the highest of all notes.
“It was still perfect,” Toews said. “It’s the way it went. Would’ve been nice to see that one go in and finish my last game in that fashion. But I’m not looking back now. I’ve got no regrets. It was perfect.”
As Patrick Kane wrapped up his career as a Chicago Blackhawk, he found himself in a strikingly similar situation. During overtime against the Las Vegas Golden Knights in February, Kane found himself streaking on a breakaway with seconds ticking down on the clock. He wound up his stick high in the air just across the blue line and rifled a shot that scorched the back of the net.
After a lengthy review of the play, however, the goal was overturned. Kane’s not-overtime goal might have been the best non-goal in the history of the game, as the seconds on his career were metaphorically running out on his career with the Hawks.
“Maybe I should’ve taken a slapshot from the blue line or something,” Toews said laughing. “Might’ve had a better chance. Oh well.”
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Still, as Toews mentioned, an indelible, unforgettable moment for him, the Blackhawks and fans around Chicago. He received standing ovations, an eye-watering tribute video after the game and one goal to remember as he finished out his career with the Hawks.
A “perfect” evening for The Captain, indeed.
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