SEATTLE -- Garrett Richards walked two batters in the first inning. He pitched out of a jam in the third with runners on second and third. He overcame errors and walks thanks to double plays and strikeouts. On a night the only offensive punch for the Los Angeles Angels came off the bat of Albert Pujols, it was Richards making sure those two runs stood up. Pujols homered for the second straight game while Richards and two relievers combined on one-hitter as the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Wednesday night. "Just with experience I think the game has slowed down for me and so its basically just come down to me executing pitches," Richards said. Pujols hit a two-run homer in the third off Seattle starter Roenis Elias (0-1). Richards (2-0) threw seven shutout innings. Abraham Almonte was the only Seattle batter to reach via hit when he singled in the third inning. Richards walked three batters and the Angels committed two errors, but struck out six. "Confidence is high. And I think that when youre confident youre pretty comfortable youre going to make those pitches at the very least," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think thats the next step Garrett has taken. I think hes getting to know his stuff better." The pitching effort was needed after the Angels had been knocked around by Seattle, getting outscored 31-11 in losing the first four meetings against the Mariners. The pitching, combined with the 494th homer of Pujols career provided a bright spot after a miserable start to the day and the news that Josh Hamilton could miss two months with a thumb injury. Hamilton is likely to miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering an injury to his left thumb the night before sliding headfirst into first base. An MRI Wednesday revealed a complete tear of the thumbs ulnar collateral ligament. Hell be examined in Los Angeles on Friday to determine if hell need surgery. Pujols blast went 418-feet into the netting beyond the Angels bullpen in left field, and like the night before, Mike Trout was on base. Pujols is now six homers shy of becoming the 26th player in baseball history to reach 500 homers in his career. "Albert has very high expectations for what he needs to do," Scioscia said. "He takes it very seriously. He assumes the leadership role, he wants to be the cornerstone of the lineup and he takes that responsibility. Its good to see him do some of the things hes capable of and hopefully itll be there for a long time." Richards throwing a gem in Seattle should not have come as a surprise. The last time he started in Seattle last August, Richards threw 7 1-3 shutout innings. In 12 innings this season, Richards has given up one earned run and struck out 13. His only issue is walks and pitch count. He walked five in his season debut against Houston last week, lasting just five innings. His one jam came in the third when Almonte got Seattles only hit and Brad Miller reached on an error. Robinson Cano grounded out to first and Richards struck out Justin Smoak to end the inning. "When you run into a buzz saw like that where a guy is throwing 96-97, getting an 86-89 slider over for strikes, its going to be a tough night," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He just out-dueled our guy." Notes: Angels SS Erick Aybar was a late scratch from the lineup after getting some pre-game dental work. He was replaced by John McDonald. ... Injured Seattle started Taijuan Walker (shoulder) threw five shutout innings for Double-A Jackson in a rehab outing on Wednesday. Walker struck out 10. ... One of Seattles other injured starters, Hisashi Iwakuma, threw his first bullpen session on Wednesday as he continues to work back from a finger injury that kept him from throwing for most of spring training. 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With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line.Division: Central GM: Stan Bowman Head Coach: Joel Quenneville 2013-14: 46-21-15 (3rd in Central) Playoffs: Lost in Conference Final Goals For: 261 (2nd) Goals Against: 212 (12th) PP: 19.5% (10th) PK: 81.4% (19th) That Was Then: Last seasons Blackhawks thought they were primed to become the leagues first repeat champions in a over a decade-and-a-half in claiming their third Stanley Cup in five seasons. Surely, that would warrant dynasty talk, no? Well, that debate, though it would have been a good one, never came to pass. The Blackhawks fell short in their quest, cruelly losing in overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the eventual Cup-champion Los Angeles Kings on Alec Martinez series-ender. Still, the fact that the Blackhawks came so close yet again will only swell the teams desire to again reach the summit. Last season ended up being more difficult, perhaps, than the Blackhawks had expected, thanks to increased competition in the division. A year removed from the Presidents Trophy (in a shortened season), the team finished third in the Central behind the surprising Colorado Avalanche and the improved St. Louis Blues. But the Hawks got the last laugh, outlasting both of their divisional rivals come playoff time, including dispatching the Blues in the first round of the playoffs, taking four straight after falling behind in the series 2-0. As is expected with great teams, the Blackhawks best players played like their best players. Duncan Keith had, perhaps, what was his finest season as a pro, staking a claim for the mantle of best defenceman in the NHL and claiming a second Norris Trophy. Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa each contributed 30-goal seasons. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane again put up the type of performances youd expect from two elite young players. At 26 and 25, respectively, its still very possible that we have yet to see the best yet from either. Perhaps, the biggest instance of a player proving his mettle came from goaltender Corey Crawford. Suggested more than a few times over the past several seasons that hes more a product of the Blackhawks success than a contributor to it, Crawford proved his critics wrong last season. The 29-year-old started a career-high 59 games and posted a 2.26 goals against average (eighth in the NHL) and 32 wins (10th). Scott Cullens Analytics Blackhawks 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 3.60 3.20 9.3 .913 57.0% .750 21-41 3.90 2.43 10.6 .914 56.1% .738 42-62 2.57 2.29 7.4 .928 54.6% .595 63-82 2.50 2.70 6.4 .903 55.4% .525 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Dominant puck possession and finishing overpowered less-than-stellar goaltending as Blackhawks came out of the gate strong. Games 21-41: Ridiculous, and unsustainable, shooting percentage, during a stretch in which Blackhawks had nine wins by at least three goals. Games 42-62: Decline started, even with a boost in goaltending, as possession dropped a little and scoring pace slowed significantly. Games 63-82: Struggled late in the year, with below-average percentages, but strong possession still made them competitive. Key 2014 Additions: C Brad Richards Key 2014 Subtractions: LW Brandon Bollig, C Michal Handzus, G Nikolai Khabibulin This Is Now: The team you saw last year is almost identical to this years with the added security that dual franchise players, Toews and Kane, are sticking around for the long term. Set to become free agents after this coming season, the pair signed identical eight-year, $84 milliion deals over the summer.dddddddddddd Their annual average salary of $10.5 million per year is the highest current salary in the league, but its hard to argue that the pair isnt fairly compensated. The one key difference for the team comes down the middle. With Michal Handzus departing, the Hawks brought aboard veteran centre Brad Richards to take his place in the top nine. A Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning and fresh off of an appearance in last seasons Final with the New York Rangers, Richards, for the first time in his career, transitions into the role of a complementary piece. Gone are the pressures of a nine-year, $58.5 million contract to live up to, the 34-year-old comes to the Blackhawks at a modest $2 million salary and could slot in to either second or third-line duty, behind Toews and Andrew Shaw. No matter the role, Richards should have the chance to line with up some talented linemates, in the likes of Hossa, Bryan Bickell and Brandon Saad. If there is some cause for concern, its with the clubs final defensive pairing. Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya represent elite to above-average NHL defencemen. The issue was with that final defenceman. Sheldon Brookbank, Mike Kostka and David Rundblad all had opportunities to claim a regular role, but none did and none is back. The likely candidates to get that chance this season are Kyle Cumiskey, returning from the NHL after two seasons in the SEL with Modo, 2011 second-round pick Adam Clendening or Klas Dahlbeck, a third-rounder also in 2011. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Patrick Sharp Jonathan Toews Marian Hossa Brandon Saad Brad Richards Patrick Kane Bryan Bickell Andrew Shaw Kris Versteeg Jeremy Morin Marcus Kruger Ben Smith Peter Regin Teuvo Teravainen Joakim Nordstrom Brandon Mashinter Mark McNeill Ryan Hartman Defence Left Right Duncan Keith Brent Seabrook Niklas Hjalmarsson Johnny Oduya Nick Leddy Michal Rozsival David Rundblad Adam Clendening Stephen Johns Klas Dahlbeck Goaltenders Corey Crawford Antti Raanta Michael Leighton Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Teuvo Teravainen Teuvo Teravainen has the rare gift of 360 degree vision. Seeing all possibilities is one thing when it comes to play making but he has the ability to select the play that is most threatening to an opponent. At the same time he has a precision that makes it very difficult to deter him. With he and Jonathan Toews, the Hawks have the potential for a lethal one-two center combination that will keep them contending for Stanley Cups for years. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Brad Richards On one hand, its easy to see that there has been a decline in 34-year-old Brad Richards production in recent seasons, the last two producing the lowest points-per-game of his career, yet he still finished with 51 points for the Rangers last season. Moving to Chicago, Richards is looking at an excellent opportunity. If, as planned, he has Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad on his wings, thats an upgrade for Richards over his most common linemates in New York and its an upgrade for those wingers, who were often skating with Michal Handzus. At this stage of his career, it would be unreasonable to forecast a massive jump in Richards production, but playing with good players does give him a chance to be more productive than hes been in the past couple years. ' ' '