The Blackhawks are a franchise-best 6-0 after beating Detroit 2-1 in overtime Sunday night, and the team couldn't have achieved that mark without its strong penalty kill.
The Hawks got into a bit of penalty trouble in the first and second periods, providing the Red Wings with a man advantage a total of six times, including 43 seconds of 5-on-3 play. But none of those opportunities resulted in success for Detroit.
"We had a few chances, we did not score, so that made things a little difficult on the game," Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk said. "We tried to make the power play better, position better, angle the shot but we weren't aggressive. We didn't have a chance in the second half to rebound, too."
The Blackhawks' special teams performance has played a significant role in the team's early success. Despite the number of times the Hawks were sent to the box, the Red Wings only recorded a total of six shots on goal with the man advantage.
"We had our chances, the puck just didn't go in for us on the power play," Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard said. "It's a frustrating loss, I thought we deserved to win tonight. But it's funny the way this game works, sometimes it just doesn't happen. They got an opportunity there in overtime and they scored."
Although the Red Wings lost out on a second point, Howard believes tonight's outcome wasn't a total loss for his team.
"Chicago is a tough place to play. Whenever you can come in here and at least get a point, it's a good thing. Two points were there and we just failed to get it."