The Black Hawks` Troy Murray has impressed the entire National Hockey League with his blossoming two-way skills at center, but Friday night he added a third dimension with an impressive display of courage.
Just 48 hours after coming within a fraction of an inch of losing his left eye after being struck by an opponent`s stick, Murray, disdaining a facemask, scored the Hawks` go-ahead goal in the Winnipeg Arena in what turned out to be an important 5-2 victory over the slumping Jets.
Murray, after getting the okay from an eye specialist Thursday morning, had to make an extra effort just to join his Hawk teammates who had already left earlier in the day. He arrived here late Thursday night, following the cancelation of one flight, and turned on his own jets against Winnipeg with an early third-period goal to put his team up 3-2.
The score, a career-high 37th for the four-year pro, was quickly followed by Denis Savard`s historic 40th that tied him with Hall of Famer Stan Mikita for the most goals in one season by a Hawks` center. It came at 11:23 of the final period, when he finished a peppering of the Winnipeg net with teammate Steve Larmer.
The Hawks` Eddie Olczyk added an empty-netter in the final minute, off passes by Murray and Doug Wilson.
The victory kept the Hawks from suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since Dec. 14. Chicago lost Wednesday 6-5 to Minnesota. This victory also avenged an earlier 5-1 loss here. Winnipeg has lost three straight.
The Hawks got off to a much better start than on their last visit to Winnipeg, when they fell behind 4-0 before losing.
In that contest, the Hawks didn`t score until 17:05 of the third period. This time, Al Secord put them ahead with the game`s first goal at 14:05 of the first period. His sizzling, 50-foot slapshot from a tough angle was too much for goalie Brian Hayward.
Secord`s score, off Jack O`Callahan`s assist, was his 34th of the season. The Hawks` lead didn`t last long. Winnipeg`s Paul MacLean tied the game 1-1 on a power play at 18:38 of the first period. Goalie Bob Sauve, making his first start against the Jets this season, vehemently argued with officials that the puck was kicked in, but the score stood.
The contest remained close through the second period, which ended 2-2 after each club took 25 shots.
Larmer put the Hawks ahead 2-1 just seconds after his team missed on a power play. The goal, scored at 6:23, came with the right winger calmly collecting the puck at his feet before shooting into an empty net vacated by an overextended Hayward.
Savard and Secord got assists on Larmer`s 23d goal of the season. This was the point Savard could have used on the last visit, when his personal-high scoring streak was ended at 19 games.
