Lardis gave the Blackhawks (27-33-13) the early lead at the 17:34 mark of the first period. Defenseman Alex Vlasic made a nice play and found forward Tyler Bertuzzi at the side of the net, who shoveled a pass over to Lardis, who beat Garand for the only exciting play for the Blackhawks all night.

J.T. Miller would tie the game at the 18:32 mark beating Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom to tie the score at 1-1.

In the second period, Matthew Robertson gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead beating Soderblom over his shoulder off a rebound from a Miller shot. New York would score two more times before the middle period ended when Adam Sykora scored the first NHL goal of his career at the 8:20 mark and Jonny Brodzinksi extended the Rangers’ lead to 4-1 at the 16:07 mark.

After being outshot 31-15 in the first two periods, Chicago did not muster much sustained pressure besides almost doubling their shot total with 13 shots on goal in the third period. New York would find the back of the net on the power paly when Alexis Lafreniere scored at the 13:17 mark and Brodzinski would score his second of the game, and sixth of the season, to finish off the Blackhawks 6-1.

Analysis

Chicago played like a bottom team in the NHL most of the night and fans found out very quickly that this has always been a bottom-five defense in the league.

Tee times are close for this young team that has fizzled as of late, having lost six of their last eight games.

Sacha Boisvert got into his first tussle in the NHL with Will Borgen. It was great to see the young kid step up and try and show his worth to the organization, but this team is far from having the “fight” it needs.

The post RECAP: Rangers embarrass Blackhawks 6-1 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Islanders got on the board at the 0:49 mark of the opening period when Anders Lee tipped in Matthew Schaefer’s shot from the point as he made his way to the front of the net untouched. Bo Horvat also assisted on the early tally.

Anders Lee – New York Islanders (16) pic.twitter.com/T4sYEwEbX1

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 25, 2026

Chicago would then fire off three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Lardis scored his seventh of the season assisted by Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi. Lardis’ snap shot beat starting goaltender David Rittich, who would be replaced by Ilya Sorokin after the period.

Nick Lardis – Chicago Blackhawks (7) pic.twitter.com/9mOC1S0WeU

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 25, 2026

The Blackhawks would take the 2-1 lead after forward Ilya Mikheyev fired a shot behind Rittich, which gave former No. 3 overall draft pick Frondell his first NHL point in his first NHL game.

Nick Lardis – Chicago Blackhawks (7) pic.twitter.com/9mOC1S0WeU

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 25, 2026

Bertuzzi scored at the 19:31 mark to get the Blackhawks’ the aforementioned 3-1 lead. The goal, Bertuzzi’s 29th of the season, was assisted by Alex Vlasic and Lardis.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Chicago Blackhawks (29) pic.twitter.com/4DRWr0X8dq

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 25, 2026

Second period

Chicago would score the only goal of the middle frame when Nazar fired home his 12th of the season, notching Lardis’ second assist of the game.

Frank Nazar – Chicago Blackhawks (12) pic.twitter.com/YNY5CntEWw

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 25, 2026

Third period

The Islanders would cut the lead to 4-2 when Simon Holmstrom beat Soderblom for this 19th goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Scott Mayfield.

Chicago would continue to weather the storm of pressure from the home team until the 16:37 mark of the period when Callum Ritchie scored to make the score 4-3. The goal, Ritchie’s 10th of the season, was assisted by Carson Soucy and Mathew Barzal.

Chicago would be outshot 23-5 in the final period but the young team would hang onto the 4-3 victory.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Thursday for a 6 p.m. CDT puck drop against the Philadelphia Flyers at the XFinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Analysis

Soderblom was excellent in the victory, stopping 44 of the 47 shots faced. Chicago was also outshot 35-12 in the final two periods of action and the 26-year-old goaltender stood on his head to earn the victory.

Chicago fans were excited to see Frondell in action after selecting the 18-year-old Swedish forward third overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. Frondell played 15:43 and earned his first NHL point. The forward help that Bedard surely needs has arrived early and Blackhawk fans should be excited about this one-two punch moving forward.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks beat Islanders 4-3, Frondell registers assist in debut appeared first on The Rink.

Lardis would start the scoring with a wrist shot behind Predators goaltender Juuse Saros at the 4:34 mark of the second period. The goal, Lardis’ sixth goal of the season, was assisted by forward Tyler Bertuzzi and defenseman Alex Vlasic.

Nick Lardis – Chicago Blackhawks (6) pic.twitter.com/yXpbLtOxLM

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 22, 2026

Forsberg would tie the game at 1-1 at the 6:31 mark of the middle frame scoring his 31st goal of the season assisted by Jonathan Marchessault.

Bedard would give the Blackhawks the lead beating Saros at the 13:57 mark for his team leading 29th goal of the season. The goal gave forward Ryan Greene his 17th assist.

Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks (29) pic.twitter.com/Y2rFCxkatI

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 22, 2026

Halfway through the third period of action, forward Steven Stamkos scored his 34th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2 and force the game into overtime. Forsberg and defenseman Roman Josi both assisted on the goal.

In overtime, Forsberg scored an unassisted goal after stealing a puck away from Blackhawks forward Andre Burakovsky and fired one top shelf to beat Knight for the game winner.

Filip Forsberg – Nashville Predators (32)
OT Winner pic.twitter.com/9kpCymXlCB

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 22, 2026

The Chicago Blackhawks return to action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CDT to take on the New York Islanders at the UBS Arena. The game will be televised on CHSN and MSGSN.

Analysis

Bedard continues to just be elite every time he touches the ice. The third-year forward is a must-watch and must know where he’s at for all other teams that are facing the Blackhawks.

Chicago managed a point in what was a sleep walk of a game most of the night. The youngsters are learning how to play at this level, CONSISTENTLY, and will show signs of struggles and success sometimes on consecutive shifts. The growing pains are worth it.

The post RECAP: Forsberg scores twice as Predators beat Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

Ryan Donato gave the Blackhawks the 1-0 lead at the 1:08 mark of the first period. Donato retrieved his own dump-in and fired a backhand into the net behind Canuck goaltender Nikita Tolopilo.

Chicago’s lead would not last long, as a minute later Canuck winger Drew O’Connor tied the score at 1-1 beating Arvid Soderblom.

Forward Jake DeBrusk would give the Canucks the lead at 2-1 a few seconds later, tipping home a Zeev Buium’s shot from the point.

Vancouver extended the lead to 3-1 at the 6:32 mark of the opening period Teddy Blueger slid a puck behind Soderblom to give Vancouver three goals on seven shots.

The Blackhawks would answer back at 12:00 with pretty tic-tac-toe play finished by Ilya Mikheyev. The goal, Mikheyev’s 12th of the season, was assisted by Oliver Moore and Tyler Bertuzzi.

With the score 3-2 after one period of action, Nazar tipped a shot from Alex Vlasic from the point that beat Tolopilo to tie the game at 3-3 at the 19:17 mark of the second period.

Boeser scored his first goal of the night early in the third period, on the power play, to give the visitors the one-goal lead. The lead appeared to disappear when Landon Slaggert scored at the 15:00 mark only to have the goal disallowed for a kicking motion to direct the puck into the goal.

Vancouver would take advantage of the disallowed goal and take a two-goal lead at the 18:34 mark of the third period before Boeser scored his second goal of the night into an empty net to give the Canucks a 6-3 victory.

The Blackhawks travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Stars for a 5 p.m. CDT puck drop on Sunday at the American Airline Center.

Analysis

Nazar finding the back of the net and assisting on another is exactly what the slumping sophomore needed. Nazar has been a little snake-bitten this season, shooting at 8.2% for the year and only has eight goals and 19 assists in 46 games played. The 22-year-old has been tasked with more ice time this season at 18:27 and has shown some struggles defensively, which in turn, looks to have spilled over into his offense.

The trade deadline decimated some of the Blackhawks’ older players and it is strictly the youth movement from here on out this season. Bedard is clearly the next player in line and this is his franchise for the foreseeable future. The Hockey News rated Anton Frondell the best prospect in hockey not yet in the NHL. The future is bright and General Manager Kyle Davidson spoke to the media and said they are sticking to their plan. As fans, all we can do is wait…two more seasons before they compete for the playoffs.

The post RECAP: Canucks defeat Blackhawks 6-3 as Boeser scores twice appeared first on The Rink.

Make sure to bookmark this page and come back as the moves happen for up-to-the-minute analysis and breakdowns from our friends at 

Date	The-Rink Division	Outgoing Player/Pick	Opposite Team	Player/Pick Received
3/2/2026		Connor Murphy (50% salary retained)		2028 2nd round pick
3/4/2026		Jason Dickinson (50% salary retained) and Colton Dach		Andrew Mangiapane and 2027 1st round pick (top 12 protected)
3/6/2026		Nick Foligno		Future Consideration
3/6/2026		Aidan Thompson		Derrick Pouliot

Trade Analysis/Breakdown:

• • 
    • • • The Edmonton Oilers acquire Connor Murphy (50% retained) from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2028 2nd round pick.

    

    • • • The Edmonton Oilers acquire Jason Dickinson (50% retained) and Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks for Andrew Mangiapane and a conditional 2027 1st round pick.

      

      • • The Chicago Blackhawks trade Nick Foligno to the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.

      

      • The Chicago Blackhawks acquire Derrick Pouliot from the New York Rangers for Aidan Thompson.

Also, be sure to follow the entire The-Rink staff on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates, as well:

The Rink Official

Chicago Divison
The Rinkcast
Jeff Osborn
Andy Campbell
Eric Andrews
Sean Fitzgerald
Jimmy O’Malley
Andrew Bard
Ray Napientek
Matt Csakai

 

The post Chicago Blackhawks 2026 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Connor Bedard scored his 25th goal of the season on the power play to give the Blackhawks the 1-0 lead at the 6:31 mark of the opening frame. The goal, assisted by forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, would be the only excitement for Chicago fans in Colorado.

Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks (25) pic.twitter.com/zX7mEFVWFb

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 1, 2026

Second period

Colorado would finally answer back to the Bedard goal at the 19:51 mark of the middle period. The back-breaking late goal, the first of the Makar goals, beat Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight, who had stood on his head for most of the first two periods as Chicago was outshot 24-9 in the first 40 minutes of action. The goal gave Nathan MacKinnon his 56th assist of the year and Martin Necas his 42nd assist.

MacKinnon’s feed to Makar for the goal shows their continued chemistry. Opponents will need to double team both to shut down that lethal combo. pic.twitter.com/KJmvq7SLFP

— Wire Report (@WireReportOrg) March 1, 2026

Third period

Gavin Brindley beat Knight at the 7:31 mark of the third period to give the home team the 2-1 lead at the 7:31 mark. The goal, Brindley’s sixth of the season, was assisted by defensemen Sam Malinski and Devon Toews.

The Avalanche finished off the Blackhawks with the aforementioned Makar empty-net goal.

Analysis

Chicago continues to be a one-man offense, as Bedard is clearly the only offense the slowly dying Blackhawks are getting on most nights. Bedard, left off Canada’s silver-winning Olympic team, is really the only hope fans have on most nights when it comes to any consistency. Frank Nazar has scored two goals in the last 33 games and is struggling mightily on most nights to even be noticed on the ice.

Knight was outstanding again, stopping 32 shots, but if you told fans it was 47 saves, it would have seemed correct. Knight was fighting through screens and busy covering up pucks his defensemen could not seem to clear in front of him.

The Blackhawks return to action today at 3 p.m. Central against the Utah Mammoth.

The post RECAP: Bedard scores 25th, Colorado wins 3-1 behind Makar two-goal effort appeared first on The Rink.

Not much action through a period and a half of play when Bjornfot scored on a wrap-around goal beating Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight five hole after bouncing off his pads. The goal, 24-year-old Swede’s first goal of the season, was assisted by forward Cole Schwindt.

Chicago would tie the game at 1-1 after forward Tyler Bertuzzi fired home his team-leading 25th goal of the season at the 19:30 mark of the second period. Forward Ilya Mikheyev and defenseman Wyatt Kaiser assisted on the goal.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Chicago Blackhawks (25) pic.twitter.com/EfR0YDNdz0

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 26, 2026

The visiting Panthers would make the Blackhawks look like they were skating in mud for the third period as Florida scored four unanswered goals. Chicago Steel alum Mackie Samoskevich, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and Bjornfot each scored to finish off the Blackhawks 5-1.

Chicago returns to action on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop versus the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul.

Analysis

The Stanley Cup-winning Panthers showed their class in the third period and put the sleeping Blackhawks to bed. This was a good game in January for a wake-up call for fans and players to show how much of a grind the season is for players. This is also a good reminder that when Connor Bedard is not rolling offensively and finding the scoresheet and the defense refuses to put any body on any player in front of the net and in the corners, this is an underwhelming team that has been winning games with Bedard leading the way.

The post RECAP: Bjornfot scores twice as Panthers down Blackhawks 5-1 appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago took the lead at the 2:38 mark of the game when captain Nick Foligno fired a wrist shot past Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley. The goal, assisted by forwards Colton Dach and Landon Slaggart, was Foligno’s second of the season.

Nick Foligno goes top shelf for his 2nd goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Hc0Ukz3M1p

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 16, 2026

Calgary would tie the game at 1-1 when forward Yegor Sharangovich scored his ninth goal of the season, beating Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight on the power play. Backland and Connor Zary assisted on the goal.

Yegor Sharangovich – Calgary Flames (9) pic.twitter.com/H8lGnBEsK8

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 16, 2026

Backlund would finish off the scoring for Calgary in the first period with the shorthanded goal at the 6:05 mark of the first period. The go-ahead 2-1 goal was unassisted.

What a goal by Mikael Backlund

: Sportsnet | #Flames pic.twitter.com/35uPi0ngGv

— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) January 16, 2026

Calgary would finish the scoring for the night after former Chicago Steel forward Matt Coronato scored his 13th goal of the season into the Chicago empty net. The goal, assisted by Sharangovich, capped off the two-point nights for Backlund and Sharnagovich.

Analysis

Chicago could not muster much pressure on the power play and finished the game 0 for 4 with the man advantage. The Blackhawks’ power play is running at a 22% clip this season, which ranks 12th in the NHL leaderboards, so panic would not be the word for a one-game slip up.

Knight continues to play well even in defeat. The 24-year-old has the task of playing behind a inexperienced blue line and has shown to keep them in games even when the struggle is there in front of him.

The post RECAP: Flames defeat Blackhawks 3-1 behind Backlund’s two-point night appeared first on The Rink.

The Chicago Blackhawks were hit with the illness bug as Jeff Blashill skipped the morning skate and goaltenders Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom were not dressed for the game in Chicago. Drew Commesso ended up getting the start in net and stopped 19 of the 25 shots in the loss.

First period

Decked out in their black sweaters, Chicago looked slow, lost and chasing the puck for most of the period as Washington scored three goals in the early frame to take the 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Anthony Beauvillier received a great pass from Martin Fehervary and tipped in the pass into a wide-open corner as Commesso was anticipating a shot from the point as forward Nick Lardis was slow getting off his check along the boards.

Chicago would fall behind 2-0 at the 15:07 mark when forward Connor McMichael beat defensemen Matt Grelzyck and Kevin Korchinski to a loose puck, skated between the two without being touched and slid a backhand through the five hole of Commesso. The goal, McMichael’s sixth of the season, was a great effort between two undecided defensemen.

Washington scored a minute before intermission when Ethan Frank scored his fifth goal after a Blackhawks turnover at the blue line and scored their third goal in six shots on Commesso.

Second period

Chicago would score its only goal of the game at the 8:48 mark of the second period when forward Oliver Moore snapped home his fifth goal of the season beating Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson.

OLIVER MOORE WITH AN ABSOLUTE SNIPE! pic.twitter.com/dAvHWNFMKX

— NHL (@NHL) January 10, 2026

Washington would not wait long to regain the three-goal advantage when winger Justin Sourdif scored his ninth goal of the season.

Third period

Many fans came out to see the all-time NHL goal scoring leader Ovechkin for perhaps one final time on Chicago ice and the legend did not disappoint fans with his goal at the 13:33 mark of the last frame. Ovechkin found a loose puck in the neutral zone and fired a snap shot through the five hole of Commesso to finish off the Blackhawks 5-1.

Analysis

The Blackhawks had a five-game point streak snapped with the loss to the Capitals, which coincided with the return of forward Connor Bedard after a 12-game absence. Bedard played just over 17 minutes and did look a bit rusty. However, it is great to have the heart and soul back on the ice.

Commesso’s start to his NHL career has been slow, having been called up a few times as a “emergency” start but the 23-year-old goaltender has been solid in Rockford for a season and a half now for the rebuilding Blackhawks.

Korchinski was also called up last night as the “bug” ripped through the locker room and looked a bit out of place chasing the puck a bunch and did not make many positive plays in his 13:53 minutes of action.

The 5-1 loss will be a good learning experience for the young Blackhawks as this is a “throw away” game in the memories and move onto the next game after their run of five-point streak. The locker room needs to get healthy and back to full strength.

The Hawks return to action tonight, traveling to face the Nashville Predators for a 7 p.m. CST start.

The post RECAP: Ovechkin scores in Capitals’ 5-1 victory in Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Pittsburgh scored four goals on 10 shots in the first period as Chicago looked like they were still on their holiday break. Knight allowed four of those goals on nine shots. Anthony Mantha got the scoring going at within the first two minutes of the game and Chicago never really could answer with anything as each shot seemed to find the back of the Chicago net.

Rust and Brazeau scored minutes apart to take the Pittsburgh lead to 3-0 as Knight was helpless as Chicago defensemen either could not find a puck at their feet to clear the zone or let Penguins forwards skate to the net without any check or body on body of any kind.

Rust scored his second of the game and extended the Penguins lead to 4-0 after jumping on the ice from the penalty box and firing a shot through Knight.

Second period

Nick Foligno found his way back to the ice and found the back of the net at the 10:50 mark of the middle frame for his first goal of the season. Foligno made an awesome play screening Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs and pounded home a rebound between his legs off a shot from forward Colton Dach.

Welcome back to Nick Foligno, who scores his 1st goal of the season. He missed the last 19 games with an injury. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/dRAJJsHVsX

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 29, 2025

Pittsburgh answered the Foligno with back-to-back goals by Brazeau to give the 27-year-old Canadian 11 goals on the season.

Trailing 6-1, defenseman Wyatt Kaiser scored his fourth goal of the season to shorten the Penguins’ lead to 6–2. Kaisers wrist shot from the point went wide of the net only to corral off the end boards, hit the back of Silovs’ pads and find the back of the net.

Wyatt Kaiser’s shot goes off the boards, off Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs and in for his 4th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Ml1lG81tl0

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 29, 2025

Pittsburgh would score one more time in the second period when Noel Acciari scored his third goal of the season beating Soderblom as the Blackhawks’ goaltender gave up all three Pittsburgh goals in the second period.

Third period

Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 19th goal of the season with one second left in the game. As time was expiring, Bertuzzi found a puck at the left circle and fired a shot that suprised Silovs and into the back of the net.

Chicago heads to New York to take on the New York Islanders for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop at the UBS Arena on Tuesday.

Analysis

Chicago looked like they were still on the holiday break and spent most of their time chasing the puck. To say that this was a sleepwalk of a game would be an understatement. Artyom Levshunov looked out of place most of the night and Kaiser seems to always have a player behind him making plays.

Bertuzzi continues to be a nice piece to the offensive puzzle as Chicago continues to struggle with Connor Bedard on the shelf. Despite his goal coming with one second left, the 30-year-old forward continues to drive plays offensively and certainly tries to work in the corners and in front of the net, something lacking dearly amongst young Blackhawks forwards.

The post RECAP: Pittsburgh destroys Chicago 7-3 behind Brazeau hat trick appeared first on The Rink.

Konecny scored his 11th goal of the season in the first period after defenseman Wyatt Kaiser lost his man darting to the net and allowed a cross-crease pass from Zegras to find the Konecny for the early 1-0 lead. The goal, also assisted by Sean Couturier, beat Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight glove side.

As both teams continued to sleepwalk through the early part of the game, the Chicago crowd was only sparingly shouting “Green Bay sucks” as fans seemed disinterested with the paid practice they were watching on West Madison Street.

Travis Konecny – Philadelphia Flyers (11) pic.twitter.com/OnLaiTmIUK

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 24, 2025

Philadelphia extended its lead to 2-0 after Noah Cates netted his ninth goal of the season at the 11:13 mark of the second period. Cates found a loose puck after Konecny attempted to drag the puck to his stick and fanned on the attempt, only to find a Cates in front from an easy tap-in goal.

Chicago found a little life late in the second period after a few scuffles and pushing and shoving around the Flyers’ net led to a Ryan Donato goal at the 18:30 mark of the second period. The goal, Donato’s ninth of the season, was assisted by defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and Artyom Levshunov and cut the Flyers’ lead in half at 2-1 going into the second intermission.

Ryan Donato snaps an 11-game goal drought by scoring his 9th of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/UkxQVdXnQN

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 24, 2025

Philadelphia would send the fans to the exits with an empty net goal at the 17:52 mark when head coach Jeff Blashill waived for Knight to come to the bench for the extra attacker, only to be surprised that Philadelphia was already in possession of the puck, and buried home its third goal of the game before Knight actually ever made it off the ice. The goal, scored by Carl Grundstrom, was his fifth of the season.

Knight stopped 23 of the 25 shots while Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the victory.

Chicago is back in action in Dallas on Saturday for a 7 p.m. start at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Analysis

Anyone watching this game, and recent games since his injury, that does not understand that this team’s blemishes this season have been covered up by the great play from Connor Bedard needs to have their eyes examined. Chicago is still a bottom-five team without their star and the defense just does not have the talent to compete on a night-to-night basis at this point in their careers. Growing pains are still coming as the “dog days of winter” are quickly approaching this young team.

Knight kept his team in the ball game but must watch his overpowered and outsmarted defensemen continue to give up easy chances in front of him. The 24-year-old should see out the back end of this rebuild with a strong mental game with the toughness he is providing for this current last-place team in the NHL.

The post RECAP: Konecny and Flyers drop Blackhawks 3-1 appeared first on The Rink.

Louis Crevier scored his third of the season in the second period, shorthanded, beating Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin at the 7:08 mark. The goal was assisted by Matt Grzelcyk and Jason Dickinson. Crevier showed the fans his best Bedard imitation with a little shake and bake with a quick breakaway move.

Shorthanded goal alert!

Louis Crevier scores first for the @NHLBlackhawks!

: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T pic.twitter.com/5PY1nJg4Gl

— NHL (@NHL) December 11, 2025

Bedard was not be to outdone, scoring his 19th goal of the season on a snap shot at the 14:27 mark of the second period. Andre Burakovsky took the puck hard to the net on the left wing and found a streaking Bedard in front of the net for the 2-0 lead.

Gotta be aware when Connor Bedard is lurking

: @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T pic.twitter.com/bd1xkUxAWQ

— NHL (@NHL) December 11, 2025

With a two-goal lead, forward Tyler Bertuzzi continued his hot hand, beating Shesterkin at the 3:52 on the third period of action. Bertuzzi’s 16th goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Greene and Bedard, finished off the Rangers at 3-0.

Tyler Bertuzzi somehow cleans up the rebound from a weird angle for his 16th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ucvdRj3ftg

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 11, 2025

Chicago hits the road on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. CST puck drop in Missouri against the St. Louis Blues. Fans can find your favorite team on ESPN+ and Hulu.

Analysis

Knight continues to be a brick wall for the his team on many nights. With Wednesday’s shutout, the 24-year-old now has seven career shutouts and two for his current team. Knight sits with a 10-6-5 record and a 2.50 goals against with a .916 save percentage.

Crevier has been a pleasant surprise on both ends of the ice. The mammoth former seventh-round pick has three goals and eight assists for the season while averaging 14:17 minutes of ice time per game. This type of production from someone not expecting to do much as a last-round pick is an excellent story fans should gravitate toward.

The post RECAP: Knight’s 21-save shutout propels Blackhawks 3-0 over the Rangers appeared first on The Rink.

Jason Dickinson and Connor Bedard got the Blackhawks on the scoreboard in the second period to make the lead 2-0 with just under nine minutes to play in the middle period. Dickinson’s second goal of the season, unassisted, beat Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson after the Wild lost the puck in their own zone and Dickinson found himself in front to bury home a five-hole tally.

Jason Dickinson – Chicago Blackhawks (2) pic.twitter.com/NKhDoFQ4zR

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Bedard would extend the lead to 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play with defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Tyler Bertuzzi.

Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks (14) pic.twitter.com/BApguvMjjl

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber would score with less than a minute to play in the second period, beating Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight.

After the start of the third period, Chicago could not hold off the Wild, as they seemed to take all advantage of the momentum in the building after the disallowed goal. Minnesota scored to tie the game at 2-2 when forward Nico Sturm scored his first goal of the season.

Chicago defenseman Artyom Levshunov buried home his first goal of his career off a nifty pass by Bedard.

Artyom Levshunov – Chicago Blackhawks (1) pic.twitter.com/oT1GL20TFD

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

Chicago took the 3-2 lead and were outshooting the visiting Wild 31-14 at the time.

The Wild would tie the game at the midway point of the final period when forward Matthew Boldy scored his 14th goal of the season.

In overtime, Chicago forward Ilya Mikheyev was called for a questionable interference penalty, which led to the Wild’s game-winning goal at the 1:43 mark of overtime. Kirill Kaprizov beat Knight for his 14th goal of the season, sending the young Blackhawks home with only a point in a game that seemed to be in hand after what appeared to be a three-goal lead.

Matt Boldy – Minnesota Wild (14) pic.twitter.com/drUShHUhYC

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 27, 2025

The Blackhawks are back on home ice against the Nashville Predators for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop on Friday, when the team will debut the return of the black alternate jerseys.

Analysis

Chicago looked to have the comfortable lead, but the more veteran Wild came storming back to win a game in which Minnesota was clearly not the better team on the ice for most of the game. This is the type of game that Chicago will eventually turn the tides and overcome bad calls.

Bedard continues to be a threat any time he is on the ice. His play in the neutral and offensive zones have been second-to-none of this team and most in the NHL. Anyone complaining about his offensive game is looking for things to complain about.

The post RECAP: Chicago falls to Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on home ice appeared first on The Rink.

The lone goal of the game came off the stick of Cale Makar as the 27-year-old defenseman scored his ninth goal of the season in the second period after he found a rebound off Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight on his stick and fired a wrist shot off the post and in behind Knight. Colorado forward Tristen Nielsen was credited with his first NHL point with the assist.

Cale Makar makes no mistake on the rebound! pic.twitter.com/LeR2SoovfN

— NHL (@NHL) November 24, 2025

Knight was once again excellent in net as his only hiccup was a long rebound off the stick of Nielsen after a turnover in Chicago’s end. The former 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft is now supporting a .924 save percentage through 15 games of action this season. Knight was bombarded in the middle frame with 19 Colorado shots.

Chicago’s head coach, Jeff Blashill, was impressed with the Blackhawks’ performance last night knowing a 1-0 loss to a potential Stanley Cup contender is not something to be disappointed over in November.

“I think if we repeat that performance, we’re winning lots of games,” Blashill said in his postgame presser. “The other team is going to push back, that’s just the reality of life, but if you look at where we were to start the game, I thought we did an excellent job in our structure, excellent job of some of the things we talked about this morning that we didn’t do in Buffalo. We had real, real, real chances in the first, I think the better of the chances in the comparisons between the two periods, and didn’t score. But we stayed with it.”

Analysis

Chicago defenseman Alex Vlasic played his 200th NHL game last night and played an excellent game versus a Stanley Cup-winning level team. The 24-year-old Wilmette, Illinois, native did an excellent job using his long reach and did a nice job with his gaps against speedier forwards and defensemen. Fans need to remember it can take defensemen some time to learn the speed of the game and the “tricks” that make for a top-level defender at the NHL level, and Vlasic is starting to show those improvements.

Knight continues to be the backbone for the Blackhawks. It will be interesting to see how long before the organization brings up his former USHL teammate, Drew Commesso, from Rockford. Commesso has shown signs of brilliance up the road from Chicago and continues to develop a calmness with his movements that shows he’s starting to believe in his talents that made him the second goalie picked in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The post RECAP: Makar and Wedgewood too much in Colorado 1-0 win over Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

“That was pretty cool,” Dach said after the win. “That was a good comeback by the guys. I think, like I said, we’re having a lot of fun. We have great chemistry. We just got to keep riding with it and good things will happen.”

Chicago has now gone 4-0-1 in their last five games after goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 31 shots against the Maple Leafs.

First period

Ryan Greene started the scoring for Chicago with a snap shot after Artyom Levshunov made a great play, dragging tired defenders toward him and their eyes to him and slid a pass through the defenders, finding Greene at the bottom of the circle. Greene’s second goal of the season was assisted by Levshunov and defensman Wyat Kaiser.

Ryan Greene – Chicago Blackhawks (2) pic.twitter.com/PnGFk1sH8N

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 16, 2025

Toronto scored with 0:48 left in the first period when Nicholas Robertson scored his fifth goal of the season off a wrist shot that beat Knight. The goal was assisted by John Tavares.

Second period

Morgan Rielly scored his third of the season at the 9:37 mark of the middle period on a wrist shot that beat Knight. The goal, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larssson and William Nylander, was the only action of the second period and the “comeback kids” once again found themselves down 2-1 going into the third period.

Third period

Teuvo Teravainen buried home a flip shot past Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll with an assist from Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore. Teravainen found himself down low and roofed a sweet shot over the helpless Woll.

Teuvo Teravainen – Chicago Blackhawks (4) pic.twitter.com/JJnDtyiy0o

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 16, 2025

Chicago would finish off the Maple Leafs for the 3-2 victory as Dach tipped home his aforementioned second of the season as defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Ilya Mikheyev assisted on the play.

Colton Dach gets a stick on it as the @NHLBlackhawks take the late lead! pic.twitter.com/woWCUQqeN1

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 16, 2025

Chicago is back on home ice versus the struggling Calgary Flames for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop on Tuesday.

Analysis

Connor Bedard was held without a point for the first time in 10 games but the young phenom still shows with his skill and speed that he can affect games in so many ways, even without denting the scoresheet.

Knight has shown flashes of brilliance with his .924 save percentage. Knight has looked cool and collected and not fighting the puck after giving up goals, something he was known to do in his first few seasons in the NHL. The 24-year-old Darien, Connecticut, product continually sees over 30 shots per night but has been a brick wall as the young defensemen continue to figure out their games.

The post RECAP: Chicago scores twice in third in 3-2 defeat of Toronto appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Bedard gave Chicago the early 1-0 lead with a nasty wrist shot from the right circle that beat Detroit goaltender John Gibson, who stopped 15 shots in the loss at home. Bedard’s goal, his ninth of the season, was assisted by defenseman Artyom Levshunov and forward Teuvo Teravainen at the 0:59 mark of the opening frame.

CONNOR BEDARD SNIPE ALERT

Just 59 seconds into the game! pic.twitter.com/ejGrAAji8r

— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2025

Dylan Larkin would make up for his penalty that led to the Bedard goal with a wrist shot past Soderblom at the 4:19 mark of the first period to level the score at 1-1.

Second period

Teravainen would put the Blackhawks on top with his third goal of the season with a snap shot at the 3:22 mark of the second period. Teravainen’s power play goal was assisted by Andre Burakovsky and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Teuvo Teravainen – Chicago Blackhawks (8)
Power Play Goal
pic.twitter.com/9uGM8ah0Ad

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 10, 2025

Third period

Bertuzzi would fire home Chicago’s third straight power play goal and his ninth of the season a few minutes in with a wrist shot that beat Gibson in deep that gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead. Bedard and defenseman Louis Crevier assisted on the goal.

6 goals in 3 games for Tyler Bertuzzi pic.twitter.com/Xhtqx91KkX

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 9, 2025

Chicago would score an empty-net goal at the 16:37 mark of the final period when Burakovsky scored his seventh goal of the season. Bedard found Burakovsky at his own blue line and bounced in an empty-netter as Detroit was trying to find some offense down two goals. The goal was assisted by Bedard and Crevier. That assist would temporarily put Bedard atop the NHL’s point scoring list.

Andre Burakovsky – Chicago Blackhawks (7)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/GkNGAqp7No

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 10, 2025

Oliver Moore scored his first NHL goal at the 19:44 mark as he found himself in front of the net and buried home the final goal to finish off the Red Wings 5-1.

FIRST NHL GOAL FOR OLIVER MOORE

And what a feed from Ryan Donato! pic.twitter.com/FMSsTcYmxX

— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2025

After a six-game road trip, Chicago is back on home ice on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. CST against the New Jersey Devils at the United Center.

Analysis

Chicago scored on all three of their power plays and that will always be a recipe for success. The Blackhawks have started to move the puck and keep their skates moving a lot better over the past few games, making them difficult to defend with the man advantage.

Soderblom stopped 45 shots in a career game for the 26-year-old Swedish goaltender. Soderblom and Spencer Knight continue to give Chicago good-to-great goaltending most nights.

Bedard is near the top of the league scoring race with nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points in 16 games this season. The 20-year-old is just scratching the surface when it comes to his talents and that is a very scary thing for opponents.

The post RECAP: Bedard’s three-point effort too much for Detroit in 5-1 victory appeared first on The Rink.

First period

There was not much action beside Bedard taking a hooking penalty while forward Vasily Podkolzin was on a breakaway. The ensuing penalty stop was stopped by Blackhawks’ goaltender Spencer Knight.

Second period

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring at the 0:54 mark of the period with snapshot past Knight to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead on the power play. Draisaitl’s ninth goal of the season was assisted by forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid.

Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi beat Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner to tie the game at 1-1 at the 8:32 mark with a tip-in goal. The goal, Bertuzzi’s third on the season, was assisted by Bedard and Andre Burakovsky.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Chicago Blackhawks (3) pic.twitter.com/JhVoKirtN2

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 2, 2025

At the 17:17 mark of the middle frame, Jack Roslovic tipped one behind Knight to give the Oilers the lead back at 2-1. Roslovic’s goal, on the power play, gave the forward his second of the season.

Jack Roslovic – Edmonton Oilers (2)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/te9cVMOzD3

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 2, 2025

Third period

Burakovsky tied the score at the 3:19 mark with his fourth goal of the season with a nice snapshot that found the net behind Skinner. The goal was assisted by Artyom Levshunov and Ryan Greene and the score would remain tied through regulation at 2-2.

Andre Burakovsky – Chicago Blackhawks (4) pic.twitter.com/t2nlDxGokv

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 2, 2025

Overtime

Evan Bouchard finished off the Blackhawks at the 2:43 mark in ovetime to give the home team a 3-2 victory. Bouchard’s second goal of the season was assisted by Draisaitl and McDavid.

Evan Bouchard – Edmonton Oilers (2)
OT Winner pic.twitter.com/7MptD30WAQ

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 2, 2025

Chicago continues their road trip with a Monday night affair with the Seattle Kraken for a 9 p.m. CST puck drop.

Analysis

Chicago learned the hard way that giving the high flying Oilers chances on the power play is a recipe for disaster. The Oilers scored twice with the man advantage.

Bedard has eight points in four games and continues to be a dominant force when the young forward jumps over the boards. In his third season, you can continue to see his off-ice conditioning shining through as the 20-year-old is finding some success at the faceoff circle and has been difficult to knock off the puck.

The post RECAP: Oilers beat Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

“They play really boring. It’s not like a dig or anything. They sit back a lot and make it hard to get zone entries.”

The 20-year-old could take a look at his own quote and learn that winning hockey is sometimes not the prettiest of hockey. Winning games in the NHL is not easy, especially for a young team trying to find their identity, but winning a 3-1 game on the road would have been definitely more fun than losing 5-4 in a shootout but everyone had fun.

First period

Bedard scored his third goal of the season as he tipped home a shot from forward Ilya Mikheyev at the 7:04 mark of the first period. Bedard found himself in front of the net after some nice pressure in the neutral zone that led to Mikheyev taking the puck to the net.

Connor Bedard tips Ilya Mikheyev’s shot to the net, and the puck goes off Anton Forsberg’s skate and in.

It’s Bedard’s third goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/7pDtNcW02Q

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 26, 2025

Chicago would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Second period

Chicago would squander the lead after Alex Laferriere and Kevin Fiala scored minutes apart in the first five minutes of action to give the Kings the 2-1 lead. Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom was beat short side by Laferriere on a 2-on-1 that the 26-year-old Swedish netminder wishes he had back.

Fiala found himself on a breakaway and ran out of room but did an excellent job of wrapping around behind the bet and slammed home the game-winner before Soderblom could get back to his opposite post. Neither goal was pretty but both were an indictment on the Chicago defense giving the visiting Kings too many odd-man rushes.

Kevin Fiala – Los Angeles Kings (5) pic.twitter.com/AGi8rNRnoM

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 27, 2025

Alex Laferriere – Los Angeles Kings (2) pic.twitter.com/QTbRY1mHkr

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 27, 2025

Third period

Joel Armia scored his second of the season into an empty net to give the Kings their 3-1 victory and extend their point streak to five games.

Analysis

The Chicago power play was awful with not much action on five power play chances. For the season, Chicago has hit on 15.6% of their power plays, which ranks 26th in the NHL.

Bedard scored and was a good listen to in the locker room afterward. The third-year center is coming into his own and feeling more comfortable as a leader.

Mikheyev left the game after being tripped and appeared to be holding his right shoulder skating off the ice. As per reports from Ben Pope, the winger is consider day-to-day.

The post RECAP: Bedard scores in Kings’ boring 3-1 victory over the Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

“He’s been unbelievable, like, how much better he’s getting every game,” Bedard said of Nazar. “Just the way he uses his speed, and he thinks the game so well. Guys get pushed back so much when he’s out there. His growth has been remarkable in the last, I’d say, like, 20 games.”

The Blackhawks finished the season on a 4–1–1 streak and a 25–46–11 over 82 games, which is a nine-point improvement over the 2023–24 season.

Bedard added two goals and an assist in Ottawa, giving the 19-year-old phenom 23 goals and 44 assists on the season. The second-youngest player in the league made it through his sophomore campaign playing all 82 games and will be a better leader down the road for having lived through it.

First period

Bedard got the party started at the 1:08 mark of the first period when former Blackhawks goaltender Anton Forsberg could not stop the beautiful wrist shot from Bedard for his 22nd goal of the season, assisted by Ryan Donato and Kevin Korchinski.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Connor Bedard with 18:32 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Ryan Donato and Kevin Korchinski.

Ottawa: 0
Chicago: 1#CHIvsOTT #GoSensGo #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/h99a280Oyw

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 15, 2025

Chicago would beat Forsberg again for the 2–0 start when Joe Veleno fired a snap shot behind the struggling 31-year-old Swedish goaltender. The goal, Veleno’s eighth of the season, was assisted by Oliver Moore and Nick Foligno.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Joe Veleno with 13:47 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Oliver Moore and Nick Foligno.

Ottawa: 0
Chicago: 2#CHIvsOTT #GoSensGo #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/hNkdKw97My

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 15, 2025

Ottawa would answer back less than a minute later when Nick Cousins beat Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight for his sixth goal of the season.

Second period

Chicago would surrender the lead on the penalty kill when defenseman Thomas Chabot fired home his ninth goal of the season after a Bedard hooking penalty a few short seconds earlier.

With the score tied 2–2, Bedard avenged his penalty with a power-play goal of his own to give the visitors the 3–2 lead at the 2:24 mark of the middle frame. Bedard’s 23rd goal of the season was assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Sam Rinzel.

Power play goal for Chicago!

Scored by Connor Bedard with 17:36 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Sam Rinzel.

Ottawa: 2
Chicago: 3#CHIvsOTT #GoSensGo #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/pImlzptwCH

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 16, 2025

Ottawa would finish off all the scoring in regulation at the 15:06 mark of the period when winger Drake Batherson scored his 24th goal of the season to tie the game at 3–3.

Third period

Neither team could grab a lead in the third period, giving Hawks fans some free hockey in the final game of the season.

Overtime

Nazar lit the lamp for the game-winning goal less than a minute into the extra frame with a one-timer from Bedard. The goal, Nazar’s 12th of the season, was assisted by Bedard. While he did not get an assist on the play, Rinzel deserves kudos on the play, having forced Tim Stutzle to turn over the puck to start the Hawks’ transition. Rinzel also drove the net on the play to open the drop-pass lane for Nazar’s tally.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Frank Nazar with 04:12 remaining in the OT period.

Assisted by Connor Bedard.

Ottawa: 3
Chicago: 4#CHIvsOTT #GoSensGo #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/mA2GxVp46n

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 16, 2025

Analysis

Finishing off the season on a 4–1–1 mark was exactly what the young Blackhawks needed. The young core showed flashes of excellence based around their speed and skill. General Manager Kyle Davidson had a vision of speed and the fans got a quick glimpse of it late in the season.

Bedard’s sophomore season is over and the 19-year-old had his ups and downs just like any youngster would at that stage in his career. Not many players can have 150 games of NHL experience before they hit their 20th birthday, but the former first overall pick is one of them. The sky is the limit as Davidson will have the ability to start stacking talent alongside Bedard and not just warm bodies to get to the salary cap floor, apparent in Bedard’s first two seasons in the league.

The list of young players gaining valuable experience this season is aplenty. The defensive core the other night was younger on average than the NCAA national champion Western Michigan Broncos’ blue line average age. As fans, the rebuild should be turning the page as we start to see the talent stockpiled throughout the organization every night on the ice. However, the expectations of contending are still a few seasons away.

The post RECAP: Bedard scores twice in 4–3 overtime win in Ottawa appeared first on The Rink.

With Gretzky, Ovi’s family, and all Caps nation to witness

Alex Ovechkin is now tied for the most career goals in NHL history with 894 goals! pic.twitter.com/MGTg7itw2q

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 5, 2025

First period

All eyes were on Ovechkin as he chased history and the Russian wasted no time scoring his 40th goal of the season at the 3:52 mark of the opening frame. Ovechkin beat Knight after firing home a shot from former Blackhawks center Dylan Strome. The goal left Ovechkin one goal short of tying Gretzky.

Tyler Bertuzzi tied the game at 1–1 beating Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren for his 21st goal of the season. The goal, assisted by forwards Landon Slaggert and Frank Nazar, would be all the scoring in the period.

Washington goal!

Scored by Alex Ovechkin with 16:08 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Dylan Strome and John Carlson.

Washington: 1
Chicago: 0#CHIvsWSH #ALLCAPS #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/7B4jXN85dR

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025

Second period

Less than a minute into the middle period, Nazar buried home his eighth goal of the season to give the visitors a 2–1 lead. The goal was assisted by forward Oliver Moore, his first career NHL point, and the soon-to-be-retired Pat Maroon.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Frank Nazar with 19:29 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Oliver Moore and Patrick Maroon.

Washington: 1
Chicago: 2#CHIvsWSH #ALLCAPS #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/vqbCUVM5Dv

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2025

Martin Fehervary fired a wrist shot past Knight to tie the game at 2–2, but it would be a short-lived tie game after forward Phillipp Kurashev scored his seventh goal of the season to take back the lead for the Hawks at 3–2.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Philipp Kurashev with 12:41 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Landon Slaggert and Oliver Moore.

Washington: 2
Chicago: 3#CHIvsWSH #ALLCAPS #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/wkzznGjS8k

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2025

Third period

Chicago would knock the puck into its own goal and Strome would be credited with the easiest goal of his career to knot things back up at 3–3 at 3:46 mark of the period.

The goal everyone was waiting for, No. 894 of his career, to tie the record found the back of the net at the 6:13 mark to give the Capitals lead at 4–3. Ovechkin found himself at his usual left dot and fired home a wrist shot past Knight.

Power play goal for Washington!

Scored by Alex Ovechkin with 13:47 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by John Carlson and Andrew Mangiapane.

Washington: 4
Chicago: 3#CHIvsWSH #ALLCAPS #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/2mq84YQATs

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 5, 2025

The @NHLBlackhawks remained on the ice after the game to show their respect for Alex Ovechkin. #Gr8Chase pic.twitter.com/90buP67wd3

— NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2025

Capitals forward Ryan Leonard scored his first career goal into an empty net to finish off the Blackhawks 5–3. Ovechkin was given the choice and did not want the record-breaking goal to come by an empty net.

Chicago is back on home ice on Sunday for a 5 p.m. CDT puck drop against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Analysis

Ovechkin has been a polarizing figure since joining the NHL and is one goal away from breaking a record many thought was untouchable. The forward gets his next chance in New York against the Islanders. That game would be the same exact amount of games it took Gretzky to score 894 at 1,487 games played.

Nazar scored tonight and has been doing a nice job playing a simple game and always seems to have a nose for the puck or the open ice to make plays. The 21-year-old forward has also been doing a great job of finding himself in front of the opposing team’s goaltender, a talent a lot of forwards on this team do not possess.

Moore finished the game with two assists and a +2 rating. The youngster has shown the ability to use his speed and slick stick handling to be a factor every time he steps on the ice in his young career.

The post RECAP: Ovechkin ties Gretzky with a pair of goals in 5–3 win over Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

“It felt good, honorable,” said Rinzel. “It was so fun. Guys were great. Like ‘Ollie’ said, as a hockey player, you want to win, so that stings. But overall, it was an unbelievable first game.”

First period

Chicago spent most of the first period turning the puck over and were lucky enough to get away with the 0–0 tied game after 20 minutes of action. Moore and Rinzel enjoyed their pregame skates and looked like both were as pumped as ever to be on the ice. Rinzel looked very comfortable with his decision-making skills and trusted his skating ability to get the puck out of his own zone or jump into a play offensively without hurting the team defensive dynamic.

Second period

Nick DeSimone scored his first goal of the season beating Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom at the 8:21 mark of the middle frame.

Utah goal!

Scored by Nick DeSimone with 11:39 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Alexander Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund.

Chicago: 0
Utah: 1#UTAvsCHI #Blackhawks #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/Q2zhyTc0im

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 30, 2025

Chicago would answer back with the equalizer at the 11:02 mark when Joe Veleno buried home his seventh goal of the season on a shot past Utah goaltender Karel Vejmalka. Veleno took a nice feed from defenseman Artyom Levshunov to finish off the 3-on-2 rush.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Joe Veleno with 08:58 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Artyom Levshunov and Nick Foligno.

Chicago: 1
Utah: 1#UTAvsCHI #Blackhawks #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/53T6gSR13s

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 30, 2025

Chicago would take the only lead of the night at the 14:55 mark when forward Ryan Donato scored his 29th goal of the season with an assist from Connor Bedard, his 38th helper on the season.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ryan Donato with 05:05 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Connor Bedard.

Chicago: 2
Utah: 1#UTAvsCHI #Blackhawks #UtahHC pic.twitter.com/8dSFX6UO6S

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 30, 2025

The Chicago lead would not last long as defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and forward Alexander Kerfoot would beat Soderblom before the end of the period to give Utah the 3–2 lead after two periods of play.

Third period

Kailer Yamamoto scored his first goal of the season at the 10:57 mark before Logan Cooley would send most of the fans to their cars at the 12:54 mark to finish off the overmatched Blackhawks 5–2.

The Blackhawks host the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday for an 8:30 p.m. CDT puck drop. The Wednesday game will be part of the TNT broadcast.

Analysis

Rinzel looked very good in his first NHL game action. He showed the comfort level of a veteran with the puck on his stick in his own zone and used his skating ability to skate the puck out of his own zone and gave himself three nice scoring chances on the other end of the ice. His play could have been confused with a five-year veteran the way he looked compared to other young Blackhawk defensemen.

Moore showed his excellent skating skills and made a few nice plays, driving some offense through the neutral zone and into his offensive zone.

Soderblom’s run as “The Dominator” for that three-game span earlier in the season is all but over. The netminder has trouble finding pucks in traffic and spent most of the game hoping shots went wide. Soderblom also did not get much help from most of his defensemen in front of clearing traffic. Quite the bad combination.

The post RECAP: Utah spoils Moore and Rinzel’s debuts 5–2 in Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

“I thought it was a really mature win because two goals early, and then that’s it until the empty net (goal late in the game),” Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper said postgame. “We didn’t change the way we were playing, made sure we were defending hard all game. That’s a big road win for us.”

First period

Kings forward Trevor Moore scored his 14th goal of the season at the 8:45 mark of the opening frame on an unassisted wrist shot that beat Knight blocker side off the post and into the net.

Los Angeles goal!

Scored by Trevor Moore with 11:15 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Warren Foegele.

Chicago: 0
Los Angeles: 1#LAKvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/4tcrrGHGkV

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 21, 2025

A minute later, forward Alex Turcotte scored on a nice tip-in from defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to extend the Kings’ lead to 2–0. Chicago lost the draw in their own zone and were caught scrambling before the world-class tip-in by Turcotte.

Los Angeles goal!

Scored by Alex Turcotte with 10:16 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence.

Chicago: 0
Los Angeles: 2#LAKvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/rq2Bm21IV2

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 21, 2025

Chicago was outshot 19–7 in the period.

Second period

Connor Bedard scored his 19th goal of the season on the power play, as the Blackhawks finally put the puck behind Keumper. Tyler Bertuzzi held the puck at the extended goal line and drew a few Kings defenders to stop moving, and found a wide-open Bedard to shorten the Kings lead to 2–1.

Power play goal for Chicago!

Scored by Connor Bedard with 09:10 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen.

Chicago: 1
Los Angeles: 2#LAKvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/mdLmnqA4Mi

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 21, 2025

Third period

Chicago would only muster six shots on goal as the team’s “desperation” mode looked limp until Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson scored an empty-net goal at the 19:41 mark to give the Kings a 3–1 victory.

Chicago skates into St. Louis for a 2 p.m. CDT puck drop on Saturday that can be seen on CHSN.

Analysis

Knight kept the lifeless Blackhawks in the game with his 30-save effort. The young goaltender has shown glimpses of what made him the top goaltender prospect in his draft year.

Chicago looked tired after a long week of practice and after a lengthy stretch of losses. As the season comes to an end, it may be time to get the young kids extended playing time.

There is no sugar coating this one for the Blackhawks. This looked like a team ready to golf.

The post RECAP: Moore, Turcotte score in 3–1 Kings victory over Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Nashville jumped out with a pep in their step and Chicago looked to be sluggish after playing on home ice the night before. Nashville outshot Chicago 17–6 overall in the period and the visiting team was lucky to escape with a 0–0 tie after one period of action.

“I think they kind of jumped on us in the first,” Alex Vlasic said during his postgame interview. “I don’t know what the shots were, but it definitely wasn’t pretty. I think they just kind of came with a little bit more jam. I think we kind of found a way to stick to it, and on a back-to-back sometimes it’s not going to be a pretty game. We gave ourselves a fighting chance.”

Second period

As the game of hockey goes sometimes, the team dominating the play on the ice is not always the first to score, as Vlasic scored his third of the season beating Predators goaltender Justus Annunen at the 1:56 mark of the middle frame.

Chicago put some sustained pressure in their own zone when forward Connor Bedard found Vlasic along the blue line, who fired a wrist shot through three Nashville players, one in which deflected the shot over the shoulder of Annunen, for the 1–0 lead.

Alex Vlasic’s shot from the point goes off a deflection and in, and he’s being credited with his 3rd goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/O04SCZKdTp

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 9, 2025

Stamkos scored his first goal of the game beating Soderblom with a wrist shot only 40 seconds after Chicago took the lead. Chicago defenseman Alex Martinez took a double minor for high sticking and Nashville did not waste any time bouncing back from the Chicago goal.

Stamkos gave Nashville its first lead of the night, at the 12:20 mark of the period, when a loose puck found the stick of center Ryan O’Reilly, who made a slick backhand feed to Stamkos, who buried it to give Nashville the 2–1 lead.

Third period

Chicago would be completely outplayed again in the third period and the only player on the ice that was playing well was Soderblom, as he stopped 37 shots in regulation, while Chicago was only able to muster 19 shots in regulation.

One of those shots tied the game at 2–2 when Ilya Mikheyev scored his 14th goal of the season on a wrist shot at the 12:22 mark of the period. Nashville defense lost their structure and a feed around the boards to forward Ryan Donato led to a quick pass to Mikheyev, who slammed the puck home for the equalizer.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 07:38 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Ryan Donato and Connor Murphy.

Nashville: 2
Chicago: 2#CHIvsNSH #Smashville #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/KlPHtx7qhK

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 9, 2025

Overtime

Stamkos would finish off his hat trick at the 2:39 mark of the overtime as Fedor Svechkov found himself 20 feet outside of the crease and brought everyone to him and dish a great feed to Stamkos, who had a wide-open net to fire home the game winner. The overtime 3-on-3 nonsense bit Chicago in the behind with a late change that led Nashville on a 3-on-2.

HAT TRICK COMPLETED pic.twitter.com/PcQdVrPBpJ

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) March 9, 2025

Chicago plays next on the road as they take on the Colorado Avalanche for a 8 p.m. CDT puck drop in Colorado on Monday.

Analysis

Chicago’s goaltending the past five games has been very good and that may be an understatement. Soderblom was fantastic in this one and the newly acquired Spencer Knight has been just as spectacular. After having to watch the goaltending struggle for months upon time, it is nice to see a stretch of hockey where the goaltending steals points.

Colton Dach continues to have an effect on games even when not putting up points and even stood up for a teammate by dropping the mitts. Dach has been one of the few Blackhawk forward playing with some grit and consistently playing through his man on the forecheck.

Chicago getting a point in five straight games is great to see. The goaltending has been spectacular, but sometimes a team is better with an “addition by subtraction” and the Blackhawks look to have found an extra gear in their skating. Let’s hope this continues over the next stretch of games.

The post RECAP: Chicago extends point streak to five in 3–2 overtime loss in Nashville appeared first on The Rink.

Petr Mrazek started in net and had a fairly good history versus Vegas in his career (5–3–2, 2.74 goals against average, .911 save percentage), but would not replicate that history this evening.

First period

Chicago would fall behind at the 1:06 mark of the game when Keegan Kolesar took a cross-ice feed from forward Brett Howden and fired a slick wrister past Mrazek.

Nick Foligno tied the game at the 6:58 mark of the opening frame, firing a wrist shot past Vegas goaltender Ilya Samsonov for his 12th goal of the season. Foligno found his own rebound and snuck the puck past Samsonov as the netminder sprawled to his right but could not stop Foligno’s second effort.

#17 is right on the money pic.twitter.com/cSqmDQfgiU

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 28, 2025

The rest of the period was a complete disaster for the Blackhawks. Vegas would score four straight goals to take a 5–1 lead into the first intermission. Vegas scored two power-play goals when forwards Ivan Barbashev and Tomas Hertl each beat Mrazek. Nicolas Hague and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored at even strength.

The Blackhawks took three penalties in the opening frame as the Golden Knights stayed out of the box and this was the obvious momentum that spurred the four-goal explosion by the home team. Chicago spent much of the first period chasing the puck, even at even strength.

Second period

The Blackhawks regrouped after the first intermission and scored at the 1:01 mark of the middle frame when forward Colton Dach scored his second goal of the season. Dach was rewarded after finishing his check, something the Blackhawks did none of in the first period, and went to the net and tipped home a Frank Nazar shot from the point.

we stand corrected: this goal is Colton Dach’s! https://t.co/K6NpPnhJNb pic.twitter.com/nEKtSdkNfl

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 28, 2025

This is prime example of how successful teams win games doing the “little things,” as Dach stepped up to make a play and then was rewarded for going to the front of the net.

Ethan Del Mastro scored at the 5:30 mark of the period for his first career goal as Ryan Donato took the puck to the net and found a pinching Del Mastro, who found himself wide open 30 feet from the net and fired a wrist shot past Samsanov. Del Mastro did an excellent job of reading the play and finding open ice to generate a scoring chance and was rewarded for his efforts.

and what a goal it was pic.twitter.com/6LWadi1cwt

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 28, 2025

Kolesar scored at the 13:38 mark to extend the Vegas lead back to four goals at 6–2.

Third period

Chicago jumped out of the intermission again and scored two straight goals to cut the Vegas lead to one goal at 6–5 as forwards Ilya Mikheyev and Philipp Kurashev scored three minutes apart. Mikheyev fired a wrist shot behind Samsanov and Kurashev a snap shot.

Barbashev scored his second of the night at the 15:45 mark of the final period and the Golden Knights would hang on for a 7–5 victory on home ice.

The Blackhawks skate into Anaheim for a 9 p.m. CST puck drop at the Honda Center on Saturday.

Analysis

Chicago does not have the talent to spend half the first period in the penalty box and think they are going to compete with Vegas, and that was evident early on. This Blackhawks would have to play a near-perfect game just to stay in the contest against a far superior Knights team.

Watching Dach make a play on the forecheck and then find himself in front of the net for a screen and tip-in shot is something fans should cherish. This team is not built right now to take the body (even when they do, they are usually late or do not finish the check), so in order for Dach to make that play gives fans something to hold on to as we watch this team struggle to the season’s finish line.

Chicago looks like they are always playing on pins and needles. The offense has been opened up a little bit in the past few weeks to make plays and show their skills but the team as a whole always look like they are one step behind in making plays. That will come with time and confidence, fans hope.

The post RECAP: Vegas fends off Chicago comeback in 7–5 decision in the desert appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Sean Fitzgerald, and Ray Napientek meet up in the Rinkcast Studio to discuss:

Red hot Ryan Donato and what that means for the trade deadline.

A brief look at some prospects.

What’s ahead in the Four Nations Cup.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Subscribe, rate this episode, share it with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 8, Episode 17 – Donato’s Destination, Prospects and Four Nations appeared first on The Rink.

Petr Mrazek stopped 44 shots in the losing effort and forwards Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Donato each had a goal and an assist.

“He was awesome,” Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall said of Mrazek. “He’s been really good for a huge portion of this season. He works hard and he’s always positive. He’s a very good teammate. That would’ve been a nice win to get for him, especially playing his former team.”

First period

Chicago opened the scoring when Kurashev fired a shot past Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen, who played in his 500th NHL game last night. Donato did a nice job working through a check and found a sliding Kurashev on one knee for the nice tap-in for the early 1–0 lead.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ryan Donato with 00:19 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Taylor Hall and Philipp Kurashev.

Chicago: 3
Carolina: 2#CARvsCHI #Blackhawks #RaiseUp pic.twitter.com/BKjyImJHfq

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 21, 2025

At the 16:55 mark, Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 17th goal of the season as the crafty forward banked a Seth Jones shot off the back of Andersen and into the net for a 2–0 lead. The goal, assisted by Jones and Frank Nazar, looked to give the Blackhawks momentum going into the first intermission but that momentum was short-lived.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Chicago Blackhawks (17) pic.twitter.com/btoGSlgM5k

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 21, 2025

Second period

Carolina scored at the 1:25 mark of the middle frame, giving the Blackhawk faithful the “here we go again” feeling. Forward Seth Jarvis scored shorthanded for his 16th goal of the season to cut the Chicago lead to 2–1. The visiting Hurricanes would tie the score six minutes later when forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his seventh goal this season.

The always hard-working Donato scored at the 19:41 mark for his 14th goal to give the Blackhawks a 3–2 lead after two periods of play. The goal was assisted by Hall and Kurashev.

Ryan Donato – Chicago Blackhawks (14) pic.twitter.com/cqbAk6rda7

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 21, 2025

Carolina outshot the Blackhawks 13–6 but the overall play was dominated by the Hurricanes for much of this frame and the next period, as well.

Third period

Carolina came out buzzing and finally tied the score at 3–3 when Jordan Staal beat Mrazek for his 10th marker of the season at the 13:37 mark of the period. The goal, assisted by Jordan Martinook and Dmitry Orlov, was the only puck to find the back of the net on Mrazek in a period in which the Hurricanes outshot the Blackhawks 19–7.

Overtime

Chicago earned a point, which is not bad for this team, but blew the two-goal lead on the first shot of the extra frame when Aho fired home a slap shot past Mrazek for the 4–3 comeback victory.

Sebastian Aho – Carolina Hurricanes (14)
OT Winner pic.twitter.com/pgAYgNQSzP

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) January 21, 2025

Chicago has three days to rest up before the Tampa Bay Lightning (25-–17–3) come skating into town on Friday for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop at the United Center.

Analysis

Surrendering a two-goal lead and retaking the lead at 3–2 was an ideal situation for a team that was outshot 54–36 in attempts and 22–13 in scoring chances. Anyone watching the game knew that the Blackhawks were thanking their lucky stars for the lead and felt the Hurricanes were going to take the lead as some point in the game. Someday fans will get to a point where these losing expectations are gone, but we are a long way from that right now.

Mrazek was great in net. Playing against his former team and riding a roller coaster of a season personally, he kept the Blackhawks in the game, especially as the defense chased the puck most of the last 40 minutes and were outplayed drastically in all three zones.

The post RECAP: Chicago falls 4–3 to Carolina in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

Bedard (112 games) required the fewest games by a teenager to reach 100 career points since Sidney Crosby needed only 80 games in 2005–06.

After the game, fans could not help but noticed a defeated Bedard as he answered questions.

“Right now, I couldn’t care less, but, yeah, ask me in a couple days and probably look at it a little different, but just frustrated right now,” Bedard said. “Do I feel powerless? No, I’m a player on the team. We’re all in this as one, and we’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously. Our record shows that.”

Petr Mrazek (8–16–1) stopped 31 shots in the losing effort. Mrazek has now squandered at least four goals in seven of his last nine starts.

First period

Pelletier opened the scoring at the 1:14 mark with a nice snap shot that many would call a soft goal behind Mrazek. The goal, assisted by forward Rory Kerins, who was making his NHL debut, and defenseman Brayden Pachal, gave Pelletier his second goal of the season.

Chicago would bounce right back when defenseman Louis Crevier fired the equalizer behind Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf for his second goal of the season. The goal, assisted by Lukas Reichel, came off a turnover by the Flames in their own zone that found the puck on Reichel’s stick, who found Crevier.

Louis Crevier scores his 2nd goal of the season, and Chicago responds quickly. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/hwCdAPYOfg

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 14, 2025

Pelletier scored his second goal of the period when he fired a wrist shot past Mrazek at the 11:47 mark of the period. Mikael Backland would waste no time extending the Flames’ lead to 3–1 with a tip-in at the 14:08 mark of the period. Forward Matt Coronato found a loose puck in front of Mrazek and fired a shot that tipped Backlund’s stick before finding its way into the back of the net.

Calgary goal!

Scored by Matt Coronato with 05:52 remaining in the 1st period.

Chicago: 1
Calgary: 3#CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames pic.twitter.com/mQTzUvrJ2L

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 14, 2025

Chicago was outshot 14–7 in the period and that seemed to be not as bad as the home team was playing on the ice.

Second period

Calgary extended its lead to 4–1 with defenseman Jake Bean’s second goal of the season at the 1:55 mark of the middle frame. The goal, assisted by forward Yegor Sharngovich and Pelletier, ricocheted off the boards behind Mrazek and found the stick of Bean for a wide-open net.

Calgary goal!

Scored by Jake Bean with 18:05 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Yegor Sharangovich and Jakob Pelletier.

Chicago: 1
Calgary: 4#CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames pic.twitter.com/w5joaymKAS

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 14, 2025

The Blackhawks would cut the lead to 4–2 as Bedard scored his 12th goal of the season on the power play. The goal gave the 19-year-old his 100th point of his short NHL career. As the team’s only hope to score offensively most nights, whether with a slick assist or nifty goal, Bedard continues to show he is the real deal in this league.

Power play goal for Chicago!

Scored by Connor Bedard with 08:31 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Seth Jones and Teuvo Teravainen.

Chicago: 2
Calgary: 4#CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames pic.twitter.com/N6iSlQ03Ja

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 14, 2025

Sharangovich scored his seventh goal of the season shorthanded when he fired a wrist shot past Mrazek to give the Flames a 5–2 lead, the score the away team would win the affair.

Third period

Chicago could not muster much in the last period and somewhat looked disinterested in making any sort of comeback. Chicago would be outshot 10–8 as the Flames went into prevent mode and the lack of talent up and down the roster showed as the home team never really put any sort of pressure on the Flames.

Analysis

Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen continue to be the offense for this lackluster team. Fans need to watch the young phenom most nights, as he is usually the only piece that is worth the price of admission.

Reichel won all seven of his faceoffs on the night. That is impressive for anyone, let alone Reichel, who is winning just 40.6% of his draws for his career.

Anything else about Monday’s game was terrible. The “dog days” of January are amongst us and this team will be unwatchable most nights, and that is not just because they are blacked out or not on a channel fans receive.

Chicago skates into Tennessee for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, seen on CHSN and FDSNSO.

The post RECAP: Bedard records 100th NHL point in 5–2 loss to Calgary appeared first on The Rink.

“Long time no win,” Mrazek said after the game. “After I came back from injury, I haven’t got a win. Early on, I saw a lot of pucks, so that was the key for me tonight. I just was battling since I returned, every day on the ice, in the practice, in the game. I knew I can make some saves, and I knew there was going to be a game that I could prove I can still play the game.”

First period

Colorado scored its only goal of the night at the 6:14 mark of the period when 23-year-old Finnish center Juuso Parssinen scored on the backhand to give the Avalanche a 1–0 lead. Parssinen took a loose puck the length of the ice and beat Mrazek with an excellent back shot over the glove hand.

Chicago would tie the score behind forward Ilya Mikheyev’s eighth goal of the season, assisted by Bedard. Bedard did a nice job on the forecheck to tip a pass from an Avalanche defenseman and Mikheyev took the puck to the net and fired a wrist shot past goaltender Trent Miner, making his first career NHL start.

The goal is a prime example of making a good play in the offensive zone on the defensive side of things that creates a chance for your teammate; the simple reason “experts” cannot just look at a stat sheet and decide who played well and who did not.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 03:12 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Connor Bedard.

Chicago: 1
Colorado: 1#COLvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/s249Q5pCPy

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 9, 2025

Second period

Frank Nazar scored his first goal of the season and forward Colton Dach registered the first point of his NHL career at the 10:17 mark of the middle frame when Nazar fired a wrist shot past Miner. The goal was also assisted by forward Tuevo Teravainen, his 19th assist on the season.

Postgame, this is what Bedard had to say about Nazar.

The post RECAP: Chicago beats Colorado 3–1 as Bedard extends streak to eight games appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Chicago opened the scoring at the 5:37 mark when Bedard gathered a loose puck in the Rangers zone and found a kneeling Tyler Bertuzzi open for a backdoor feed and an easy tap-in for his 14th goal of the season. Bertuzzi made a nice play to get to the net and did an even better job of keeping his stick on the ice, as the Bedard feed slid past two Rangers for the easy goal. Bertuzzi – an actual NHL talent on this team – continues to be a nice spark plug next to Bedard early in the season as the 19-year old extended his point streak to seven games, six of those games being losses.

Tyler Bertuzzi buries it to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/Jls3KgtrJi

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 5, 2025

The Blackhawks’ goal found the back of the net after a Rangers giveaway but would be answered by the 17 Blackhawks giveaways they were credited with for the afternoon game. Chicago was as careless with the puck as they have been in weeks and the only aspect of their game that is worse is their lack of clearing space in front of their goaltender.

Jonny Brodzinski and William Borgen both scored for the Rangers to answer the Bertuzzi goal before the period ended and gave the Rangers a 2–1 lead heading into the intermission.

Second period

Filip Chytil, Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck each scored to put the game out of reach and give the Rangers a 5–1 lead and did not look like a team that just played a hard-fought game the day before against the Washington Capitals.

As the camera crew at the United Center did an excellent job showcasing the young children at the game, some audibly getting an “awe” from the bored Madison Avenue crowd, the Blackhawks defenseman were doing nothing in their own zone. Allan Nolan – drafted 60 spots too soon by Stan Bowman – looks lost and timid out on the ice and results in opposing players finding good positioning for tap-in and rebound chances. The overrated stat of plus-minus was not wrong in this game as Allan was a -4.

Louis Crevier looks like he is playing hot potato with the puck on his stick in the defensive zone and will be a nice addition to Rockford hopefully soon. At 6-foot-8 and 234 pounds, it would be a nice addition to his game if he were to clear the front of his net. The game looks like it is going too fast for the 23-year-old at this level.

The lone bright spot of the period came when Kaiser buried his first NHL goal past Rangers goaltender Louis Domingue to take us to intermission at 5–2 and give something for the home fans to cheer about as the biggest cheer came when the Bears kicked a last-second field goal to down the rival Green Bay Packers. The televisions in the 300 level were packed with fans watching another last-place team in the city, but the obvious cheer was a laughable one for most fans that were in their seats.

Wyatt Kaiser’s first NHL goal pic.twitter.com/S9W6Qc1GmF

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 5, 2025

Third period

Chytil scored his second of the game and 10th goal of the season in the middle stages of the last frame and ended the scoring for both teams. Chicago would fall to the struggling Rangers 6–2 as 80% of the crowd was already on their way home to put their kids to bed.

Analysis

• This is a bad hockey team that will challenge for the first overall pick in the upcoming NHL draft. Former head coach Luke Richardson did his best to try and lose games 2–1 with a style to keep games tight and hope a lucky bounce would end up in the back of the net. New bench boss Anders Sorensen has opened up the reigns a bit and is trying to let the defense turn into offense, but the Blackhawks do not have the horses to compete this way, evident by their 35 goals given up in their past seven games; four of those games they have given up six goals.
• Bedard and Bertuzzi are fun to watch but can only do so much offensively and both come with their faults defensively. If this team is going to continue to be the worst in the NHL, at least let these two try and generate in the offensive zone. Bedard is too good to be playing with donkeys.
• Soderblom has come back down to Earth after his nine periods of Vezina Trophy play early in the season, but he – and Petr Mrazek – get zero help in front of the net. Opposing teams are able to get great position on most nights and some players spend so much time there that the city parking enforcement came out to put a boot on them for having so many parking tickets. If there is any takeaway from the embarrassment going on with this team the past few weeks, it is that there is no one who can clear the front of the net and no one who can do the dirty work in the defensive zone in the corners.

The Blackhawks return to home ice on Wednesday for a matchup with the Colorado Avalanche for a 6:30 p.m. CST puck drop. The internet clams the game will be seen on TNT but it is always fun to guess if the game will be on TV or not; the anticipation may be the best part of the week for fans.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall to Rangers 6–2 as Bedard extends point streak to seven appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Chicago would play very well in the first period of play and a tic-tac-toe early in the period with forwards Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato was turned aside by Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord. Forward Tyler Bertuzzi would hit the post a few minutes later and Chicago had nothing to show for on the scoresheet when it could have easily been a two-goal lead.

Forward Taylor Hall would find himself in a 3-on-1 and fired a shot into the shins of Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson and Daccord would slam the door on a rebound. Chicago continued to put the pressure on early with nothing to show for their excellent efforts when Allan dinged another shot off the post.

Good things happened for the Chicago offense and one could argue they completely outplayed Seattle even though the 0–0 score would not indicate as such.

Second period

Chicago would take that momentum into the middle frame and finally found the back of the net when Mikheyev scored his fifth of the season on a goal assisted by Teravainen at the 10:54 mark. After a terrible turnover by Seattle in their own zone, the puck found the stick of Teravainen, who took the puck to the net and made a nice pass to Mikheyev for an easy deflection while the forward slid on one knee. The goal gave Chicago a 1–0 lead and also gave Mikheyev three straight games with a goal.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 09:06 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen.

Chicago: 1
Seattle: 0#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/ha1fvcSFdT

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Third period

Mikheyev scored his second of the game and sixth of the season at the 6:06 mark of the third period to give Chicago a 2–0 lead. Bertuzzi found a streaking Teravainen with a nice pass in the neutral zone and dumped a pass back to Mikheyev, who beat Daccord with a wrist shot glove side.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 13:54 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Chicago: 2
Seattle: 0#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/zSrZOXzCHX

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Seattle would finally crack the Soderblom code with a snap shot from forward Ryker Evans at the 11:26 mark of the period. The goal, Evans’ fourth of the season, looked like the momentum Seattle needed to turn things around, but Chicago would answer a few minutes later to take back the two-goal lead.

Allan made a great cross-ice pass to Donato and snuck behind the defense and buried home a wrist shot behind Daccord. An excellent read by Allan and an even better feed by Donato was exactly what Chicago needed as the Kraken were starting to put the pressure on Chicago.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Nolan Allan with 04:49 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Ryan Donato and Connor Murphy.

Chicago: 3
Seattle: 1#SEAvsCHI #Blackhawks #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/QWwcwzzkjM

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 20, 2024

Chicago would be outshot 28–24 for the night and lost 57.4% of the draws but would ultimately go home with the 3–1 victory.

Chicago hits the road for a three-games away from home ice with a 3 p.m. CST game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday that can be seen on CHSN.

Analysis

Mikheyev has scored in three straight games after being a ghost on the scoresheet to start this season. The 30-year-old Russian forward now has six goals and five assists in 31 games played this season. The veteran of now 301 NHL games played will not kill you in his own end and will not give you a ton of chances but when he is scoring you know things are going Chicago’s way.

Soderblom stopped 27 Kraken shots for his fifth win of the season. The 25-year-old Swedish-born goaltender has been a pleasant surprise this early part of the season and has won four of his last five starts.

Chicago outplayed Seattle for most of the first half of the game and found themselves with a two-goal lead and weathered the Kraken storm when it looked like the home team was ready to make a mistake and find themselves tied before Allan’s goal in the third period, and in the postgame interviews, captain Nick Foligno probably said it best:

“I think it’s the first one since I’ve been here. It’s a good feeling. It’s a credit to the guys and believing in what we’re trying to do here and knowing there’s more to give and expecting more of ourselves. I think we’re excited [with] the direction we’re going with Anders here, and he’s done a great job of coming in and solidifying some things, but it’s a credit to the group.”

The post RECAP: Mikheyev and Allan help Chicago sink Seattle 3–1 for third straight win appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Bedard opened the scoring in the first period on the power play with a wrist shot that beat Islander goaltender Ilya Sorokin at the 16:47 mark of the frame. Bedard found the puck on his stick after a wild pass from Alex Vlasic could not be corralled by the Islanders and Bedard scored a beautiful goal moving to his left while shooting right. The goal was assisted by Ryan Donato and Vlasic.

Connor Bedard with a ridiculous shot for his 6th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ZhaxnpMNZO

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 13, 2024

Chicago outshot New York 11–6 in the period and played well for most of the period.

Second period

New York scored twice in the middle period to take a 2–1 lead with goals from Dennis Cholowski and Simon Homlstrom. Chowolski took a nice pass from Holmstrom and fired a slap shot past Soderblom, a bad goal that beat him glove side. Holmstrom’s goal took a nice saucer pass from Ryan Pulock and fired home a snap shot that Soderblom apparently did not see as the puck was in the net before he could even make a true reaction.

Down 2–1 and after the second period of play while chasing the puck most of the period seemed like the tides were turning in favor of the home team.

Third period

New York scored three straight goals as Noah Dobson, Bo Horvat and Maxim Tsyplakov each beat Soderblom to give the Islanders what many thought would be a comfortable 5–1 lead. The good news, down four goals, was the substitution of Drew Commesso into the game and the exit of Soderblom, who has now given up 3-plus goals in four of his last five starts.

Commesso, a potential Blackhawks goaltender when the rebuild is over, stopped both shots he faced in his first NHL game action.

Just over halfway in the period, T.J. Brodie fired home a slap shot behind Sorokin to cut the Islander lead to 5–2. The goal, assisted by Bedard and Nick Foligno, gave the newly acquired defenseman his first goal of the season.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Tyler Bertuzzi with 00:10 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Alex Vlasic and Connor Bedard.

New York: 5
Chicago: 4#CHIvsNYI #Isles #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/nqspYh0G12

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 13, 2024

Chicago would get two goals in a minute from Bertuzzi to cut the Islander lead to 5–4 with 10 seconds to play in the game, making the score appear better than the actual play on the ice.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Tyler Bertuzzi with 00:10 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Alex Vlasic and Connor Bedard.

New York: 5
Chicago: 4#CHIvsNYI #Isles #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/nqspYh0G12

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 13, 2024

The last-place Blackhawks travel to Newark, New Jersey, to take on the New Jersey Devils for a 12 p.m. CST puck drop. Fans can potentially see the game on the NHL Network, CHSN or MSGSN unless management and companies decide they cannot.

Analysis

After what many fans thought was the coming-out party of Soderblom has turned into a mess over his last five appearances. In this time, the 25-year-old has faced 118 shots while stopping 103 for a whopping .872 save percentage.

Bedard continued to show his offensive skills with a three-point night, giving the young phenom 85 points in 97 career games as he approaches the 100-game mark for his career.

Chicago lost 72.7% of the faceoffs in the game and it showed, as they were chasing the puck most of the night. Some will argue faceoffs do not matter, but just like winning the coin flip in overtime in football, no coach would rather lose the faceoff than win it.

The post RECAP: Bedard tallies three points in Blackhawks’ 5–4 loss to Islanders appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Connor Bedard opened the scoring 2:59 into the game when he beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for his fifth goal of the season. Bedard buried the goal after a nice dish from Ryan Donato found himself with the puck in front — something Donato does well for this team — took his time to gain possession and made a great backhand pass to Bedard.

Connor Bedard scores his second goal in three games and fifth of the season. He’s also on a three-game point streak. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/fK7LtyiJd8

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 1, 2024

In typical Chicago fashion, the lead did not last long, as Ivan Provorov scored his second goal of the season at the 4:27 mark as he beat Mrazek to tie the game at 1–1. Mrazek never saw the puck with a huge screen in front and the Chicago defense chasing the puck without success.

Kent Johnson would give Columbus a 2–1 lead with his sixth goal of the season. Johnson was allowed to skate in 1-on-5 and eventually found the puck back on his stick for a one-timer that beat a sliding Mrazek.

Second period

Chicago scored its second power-play goal of the game off a nifty tip from Craig Smith from a Taylor Hall pass that found a wide-open net to tie the game at 2–2. The tip-in was a thing of beauty, but as the theme of the Sunday matinee game went, the goal would be given right back a few moments later.

Craig Smith – Chicago Blackhawks (6)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/nI9g7FtADB

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 1, 2024

Columbus took the lead for good when Sean Monahan scored his eighth goal of the season on a wrist shot less than two minutes after the Blackhawks tied the game. Monahan beat Mrazek as he was on his knees, something he did a ton early, which opened up a ton of shooting lanes for the Blue Jackets all game, and Columbus led 3–2 at the end of the second frame.

Third period

Columbus would take a 4–2 lead at the 3:08 mark of the third period when Dante Fabbro scored his third goal of the season, beating Mrazek short side during a 4-on-4 after a nice job by Fabbro pulling the puck into his body and releasing a shot screened by Chicago defenseman Alec Martinez.

Chicago captain Nick Foligno would score seventh goal of the season at the 8:08 mark of the period for Chicago’s third goal on the power play to cut the Columbus lead to 4–3. Foligno tipped in a great pass from Teuvo Teravainen, who made a tic-tac-toe pass from Bedard, who found Foligno standing just outside the crease for the tap in on the two-man advantage.

Nick Foligno – Chicago Blackhawks (7)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/4PQRnxL1du

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 1, 2024

Columbus would finish off the home team with an unassisted goal from Kirill Marchekno and an empty-net goal from Dmitri Voronkov as the home team skated off the ice to an empty home crowd in a 6–3 loss.

Analysis

Bedard got things going early with a goal and added an assist, which makes two goals and two assists in his last three games. The 19-year-old played 23:17 minutes of ice time and finished the game a -4. In his last three contests, Bedard has fired 11 shots on goal after back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Florida in which he was held without any.

Mrazek spent most of the game looking around Columbus forwards in front of the net with no one there to move them or on his knees opening up shooting lanes for easy goals. The 32-year-old veteran has shown glimpses of hope in net only to find himself back on the struggle bus.

The Chicago defense as a whole was horrible. The combination of Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy having a terrible game is not good news when Wyatt Kaiser and TJ Brodie are your stars on the back end for the contest, and they did nothing significant. Add in the fact that most of the Blackhawks’ forwards cannot defend the neutral zone or their own end at a NHL-level talent and that was a recipe for disaster for the defense as a whole.

Chicago (8–14–2) skates in Ontario tonight to face the Toronto Maple Leafs (14–7–2) for a 6:30 p.m. CST puck drop which can be seen on CHSN.

The post RECAP: Three power play goals not enough as Chicago falls to Columbus 6–3 appeared first on The Rink.

Luke Richardson gave the nod to goaltender Petr Mrazek, who made some excellent saves to keep his team in the game, but the 32-year-old Czech’s 21-save effort was not enough.

First period

In what was an evenly boring offensive period for both teams, the goal with 1.5 seconds left in the period by former Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat was a sign of what was to come for the mistake-filled defense on the night. Detroit entered the zone on a 2-on-4 as forward Dylan Larkin entered the zone with 5.7 seconds left in the period, found his way into the middle of the ice without ever being touched and after having his initial pass attempt blocked, skated to within 10 feet of Mrazek, got off a shot and DeBrincat was able to hammer home the rebound before the horn would sound for the period.

Alex DeBrincat – Detroit Red Wings (6) pic.twitter.com/X6YI2rPkJa

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2024

Second period

The only part of the game fans were able to cheer came at the 8:42 mark of the second period when captain Nick Foligno scored his fifth goal of the season on a back shot that beat 37-year-old goaltender Cam Talbot for his only blemish of the night. Tyler Bertuzzi won a board battle and found a streaking Foligno, who was able to tap home a second chance as Talbot’s skate blade just could not keep the post.

Nick Foligno – Chicago Blackhawks (5) pic.twitter.com/mBjcwvoczQ

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 7, 2024

The tie game would not last long, as Detroit took advantage of a tired Blackhawks team on a long shift when Larkin used his world-class speed to easily work around a tired Isaak Phillips and fire a wrist shot past Mrazek for a 2–1 lead at the 12:27 mark of the middle frame. The goal, Larkin’s eighth goal of the season, was assisted by DeBrincat.

The goal was generated by a Bertuzzi turnover just inside his own blue line, a turnover the home team made several times throughout the night instead of getting the puck in deep and working along the boards.

Detroit goal!

Scored by Dylan Larkin with 07:33 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Alex DeBrincat.

Chicago: 1
Detroit: 2#DETvsCHI #Blackhawks #LGRW pic.twitter.com/MyKyzFJWcT

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 7, 2024

Third period

As fans started to find exits and left the building about 3/4 filled, forward Joseph Veleno tipped home a deflection from a Moritz Seider attempt to give the Red Wings a 3–1 lead at the 3:03 mark of the third period. The goal was Veleno’s first goal of the season after the Blackhawks lost a board battle and found two Blackhawks team members following the puck carelessly before Seider fired a weak attempt on Mrazek that was deflected by Veleno, who was standing all alone in front.

Detroit goal!

Scored by Joe Veleno with 16:57 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Moritz Seider and Michael Rasmussen.

Chicago: 1
Detroit: 3#DETvsCHI #Blackhawks #LGRW pic.twitter.com/M6UWAIyaaK

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) November 7, 2024

Chicago never threatened late and Andrew Copp scored an empty-net goal that sent the few Chicago fans packing and the Red Wings a 4–1 victory.

Probably the best part for the fans left was a quick “encore” that forward Patrick Kane gave before exiting the ice in his red and white sweater.

Analysis

The aforementioned mistakes were the downfall of the Blackhawks. As shown in the first goal of the night, Chicago does not have the physicality to make many mistakes in their own zone and get away with them. If they are not physical around the net, then their positioning needs to be perfect and that is a crapshoot on most nights. Throw in the fact the offense turns the puck over consistently in the neutral zone and at the blue line and that is a recipe for disaster for a bottom-five hockey team in the league.

Foligno scored his fifth goal of the seaason and continues to be a bright spot for the overmatched Blackhawks.

This was a night that Alex Vlasic needs to flush, as evident by his -4 rating for the night. Even without the overrated stats of plus-minus, Vlasic was terrible. Those nights happen, and the great thing about having one yesterday is there is a game in Dallas tonight. It will be interesting to see the young defenseman’s bounce back, as he has been the best Blackhawks defenseman on many prior nights.

That game tonight can be seen on CHSN and Victory+, as the Dallas Stars host the Chicago Blackhawks with a 7 p.m. CST puck drop in Dallas.

The post RECAP: Red Wings down mistake-filled Blackhawks 4–1 appeared first on The Rink.

Luke Richardson’s starting lineup was as follows:

Blackhawks lineup in warmups
Kurashev-Bedard-Teräväinen
Hall-Foligno-Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Donato
Maroon-Reichel-Smith

Kaiser-Jones
Vlasic-Murphy
Allan-Brodie

Mrázek
Söderblom

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) October 29, 2024

First period

Colorado looked a little sluggish early in the second game of a back-to-back after defeating Ottawa last night, and Kurashev scored his second goal of the season on the power play after Alex Vlasic made a nice play in his own zone to carry the puck into the Colorado zone, corral his own rebound and find the streaking forward for a quick slap shot that beat Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev for the 1–0 lead.

Philipp Kurashev – Chicago Blackhawks (2)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/ZEB3Lx8Mcz

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 29, 2024

Less than two minutes later, Casey Mittelstadt beat Mrazek with a wrist shot to tie the game at 1–1, but Chicago would answer right back when Reichel scored his first goal of the season when a shot from Craig Smith hit the backside of Reichel and fooled Georgiev for the 2–1 lead. If there were ever a way for the fan headache named Reichel to score his first goal, this was the way.

Wie kurios willst du treffen? Lukas Reichel: JA! #Blackhawks | @NHLBlackhawks | @lukas__44 | #Reichel pic.twitter.com/9pqKGuBgln

— NHL Deutsch (@NHLde) October 29, 2024

The Blackhawks would take a 3–1 lead after Donato’s first goal of the night, and fourth of the season, at the 16:56 mark of the period. Donato found a rebound from a Jason Dickinson shot and put a backhand behind Georgiev. Donato was in the tough area that is rewarded when a forward finds himself in front of the net.

Ryan Donato scores his team-leading fourth goal of the season and his second in as many games. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/6ZmHtFSUAi

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 29, 2024

After a high-sticking call on Wyatt Kaiser, Colorado took advantage of the man advantage after Nathan MacKinnon fired his fifth goal of the season behind Mrazek to shorten the Blackhawks’ lead to 3–2. After a wild first period of action, the next goal would not happen until after the Avalanche pulled Georgiev for the extra man late in the game.

Second period

The Blackhawks weathered the storm in the middle frame and were outshot by Colorado 10–5 in the period. Chicago had the look of a team that knew the lead was only one bounce away from disappearing, but the lineup stayed strong and Mrazek played very well to keep the score at 3–2 after 40 minutes of action.

As a fan, this is the type of period that good teams need in order to hunker down in their own end and get solid goaltending in order to weather a storm. A little luck helps, too.

Third period

In an evenly matched third period, Chicago would take a 4–2 lead after Colorado pulled their goaltender, but the home team would not take advantage, as Donato scored his second of the game and fifth of the season into the empty net after a nice play by Dickinson to waste some time along the boards, take a hit and find an open Donato.

Ryan Donato – Chicago Blackhawks (5)
Empty Net Goal pic.twitter.com/sxurZAXxYq

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 29, 2024

Chicago would finish off the home team 5–2 when Mikheyev scored into the empty net from beyond the blue line for the team’s third win of the season.

Analysis

Secondary scoring was great to see early in the season, as Donato, Kurashev, Reichel and Mikheyev all found the back of the net. Early in the season, the Blackhawks were reliant on Bedard and Teravainen to do the heavy lifting. Colorado may be banged up and playing the backend of a two games in two nights, but skating into Denver and winning 5–2 is a good win any time.

Mrazek was excellent in net, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced and really weathered the storm in the second period when the team in front of him looked like they were spinning their wheels in their own zone a few times.

Vlasic and Connor Murphy were excellent. Both finished the night with 25 and 27 shifts, respectively, and both did an excellent job positionally and took away time and space negating some of the Colorado speed that can be overwhelming. The development of Vlasic over the last few seasons has been impressive to watch and he is only scratching the surface on his talents.

Chicago takes on the 1–7–2 San Jose Sharks on Thursday in San Jose for a 9:30 p.m. CDT puck drop that can be seen on CHSN. The Halloween night matchup is the type of game the Blackhawks need to win versus the worst team in the league as they find their identity early on in the season.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks bury Avalanche 5–2 behind pair of Donato goals appeared first on The Rink.

Here is a look at Luke Richardson lineup for the game.

Blackhawks lines in practice in Calgary:

Foligno-Bedard-Teravainen
Hall-Kurashev-Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Anderson
Maroon-Athanasiou-Smith
(Reichel, Donato)

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Kaiser-Murphy
(Allan)

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) October 14, 2024

First period

The game started with some solid end-to-end action that resulted in some entertaining hockey for fans. Chicago did not take advantage of the only power play of the period, and a few moments later, Calgary took the early 1–0 lead when forward Matt Coronato scored his first goal of the season at the 16:01 mark. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson fired a shot on net that bounced and ended up behind the Blackhawks’ net. Mrazek, caught sliding 12 feet out of his crease, allowed Coronato to corral the puck off the end boards and stuff it home as defenseman Alex Vlasic tried his best to help out his wandering goaltender.

First of the season for Matt Coronato! #Flames @wincolumnCGY
: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/3GVoWZxhMC

— Mackenzie Grafton (@mgrafton37) October 16, 2024

Only 10 seconds later, captain Nick Foligno won the draw back to Alec Martinez in the offensive zone, proving faceoffs are important, who slung the puck over to Seth Jones, who fired a shot on net that was tipped by Foligno as he went to the front of the net, exactly what should be done after winning the draw. The Foligno goal was his second of the season and tied the game 1–1, which is where we stood at the end of the period.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Nick Foligno with 03:49 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Seth Jones and Alec Martinez.

Calgary: 1
Chicago: 1#CHIvsCGY #Flames #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/yMXPDk7tyt

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) October 16, 2024

Second period

Chicago pulled off the impressive penalty hat trick in the third period as Philipp Kurashev, Connor Bedard and Foligno were all whistled for infractions. The Blackhawks killed off the first penalty but were unable to take advantage of the Foligno slash on Jonathan Huberdeau to make it 6-on-4 and take a 2–1 lead at the 12:32 mark of the middle frame, with Bedard still in the box. The goal, scored by Andrei Kuzmenko, was assisted by Huberdeau and Connor Zary.

Kuzmenko gets the lead back for Calgary! pic.twitter.com/V6uDUI1U0K

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 16, 2024

After two periods of action Chicago led in shots 22–20, while the Flames led in scoring chances 25–20.

Third period

Chicago looked like a team tired from a long road trip and could not even the score on the second penalty Foligno drew this game when Brayden Pachal was called for high-sticking. After some end-to-end action that saw Calgary do a nice job of limiting Chicago, the Flames finished off the visitors when Coronato scored his second goal of the game after the Blackhawks pulled Mrazek.

Overall, Mrazek played well, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced in the 3–1 Calgary victory.

Analysis

Foligno was all over the ice and was rewarded with his second goal of the season. The captain won six of his 10 faceoffs and also drew two penalties. The “lead by example” forward has been playing well overall early in the season.

Chicago came into the game with a hot power play that would ultimately go cold in both their attempts. After the game, Foligno told reporters that he thought the team played well enough to win but the lost the power play battle, as the Flames scored once in their three chances with the man advantage.

Chicago finally gets the chance to skate on home ice as the San Jose Sharks come to town for a 7:30 p.m. CDT puck drop on Thursday.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall to Flames 3–1 to end season-opening road trip appeared first on The Rink.

Here was the Blackhawks’ opening night lineup:

#Blackhawks lineup at practice:
Mikheyev-Bedard-Teravainen
Hall-Kurashev-Bertuzzi
Foligno-Dickinson-Anderson
Maroon-Donato-Smith

Martinez-Jones
Vlasic-Brodie
Allan-Murphy

Mrazek
Soderblom

Extras: Athanasiou, Reichel, Kaiser (illness)

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 7, 2024

First period

Utah scored first when forward Dylan Guenther fired a one-time blast past Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek to put the home team up 1–0 at the 4:46 mark of the frame. The shot appeared to surprise Mrazek and looked to be one that the netminder would like back.

WELCOME TO THE HISTORY BOOKS, DYLAN GUENTHER!

THAT’S THE FIRST GOAL IN UTAH HOCKEY CLUB FRANCHISE HISTORY! pic.twitter.com/vcOfBRZNw8

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 9, 2024

Utah Captain Clayton Keller would not waste much time putting a puck behind Mrazek when he put a backhand attempt into the net at the 12:25 mark to put Utah up 2–0. A horrible turnover at the blue line by Craig Smith ended up on the stick of Keller, and after a fanned attempt by forward Nick Schmaltz, Keller finished the opportunity.

CAPTAIN, OH CAPTAIN

Clayton Keller scores his first goal as captain of the @utahhockeyclub! #NHLFaceOff

: @espn & @ESPNPlus https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/dbnIIhi9QO

— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2024

Second period

Chicago came out in the middle frame and showed a jump in their step they did not possess in the opening frame. A few chances rang off the goal posts early and the visiting team showed nothing on the scoreboard from the chances and it started to look like it was going to be “one of those nights” for the Blackhawks.

That night continued when forward Barrett Hayton tipped in a shot from Mikhail Sergachev at the 8:46 mark of the period.

Barrett Hayton gets a piece of the Mikhail Sergachev point shot, and Utah takes a 3-0 lead!

: Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/bcEPqoyr4C

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 9, 2024

Teuvo Teravainen scored the Blackhawks’ first goal of the season to shorten the Utah lead to 3–1 when Connor Bedard took a puck around Sergachev at the blue line and found Teravainen for a backhand goal. Sergachev either got caught not wanting to lay the hit on Bedard or was not sure he could play the puck, but Bedard made the defenseman pay for the indecision as the puck ended up behind Utah goaltender Connor Ingram.

A silky feed from Connor Bedard sets up Teuvo Teravainen who gets the @NHLBlackhawks on the board! #NHLFaceOff

: @espn & @ESPNPlus https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/QxEOiKd2VS

— NHL (@NHL) October 9, 2024

Third period

Newly named captain Nick Foligno beat Ingram with a tip-in after winning a faceoff in his own zone—faceoffs do count—and redirected a shot from Alex Vlasic’s point shot past Ingram to pull within a goal at 3–2 at the 4:48 mark of the final period.

Nick Foligno wins the faceoff cleanly then goes straight to the net and redirects Alex Vlasic’s shot from the point to score his first goal as captain of Chicago. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/8BcKzkpSA3

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 9, 2024

That would be all the scoring for the Blackhawks, as Guenther scored an empty-net goal for this second tally of the game. The goal would not be the last, as Lawson Crouse scored his first of the season 20 seconds later to finish off the Blackhawks 5–2.

Analysis

The Blackhawks could not overcome a slow start after falling behind 3–0 but did show some grit to fight back and make the game 3–2 midway through the second frame. After an empty-net goal and another soft goal by Mrazek, the end score of 5–2 looked worse than the game actually played out.

Mrazek was in mid-season form giving up a soft goal early and stopping only 20 of the 24 shots he faced for an .833 save percentage for the night.

Bedard looked good all night with two assists in 21:14 minutes of ice time for the game. His chemistry with Teravainen will be fun to watch early in the season. The hope would be Richardson keeps the two swift forwards together as they try and find a good fit to the puzzle on the other side of Bedard, as Ilya Mikheyev probably will not be the answer.

The Blackhawks return to the ice on Friday for a 7 p.m. CDT puck drop in Manitoba against the Winnipeg Jets.

The post RECAP: Chicago falls at Utah 5–2 after slow start in season opener appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Eric Andrews, Sean Fitzgerald and Ray Napientek reconvene live from the Rinkcast Studio to talk about the upcoming season:

The bizarre circumstances behind the Jeremy Swayman contract negotiations.

The Patrick Laine incident and injury.

The status of the CHL and NCAA eligibility.

Michkov-mania in Philadelphia.

The current state of the Blackhawks.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Subscribe, rate this episode, share it with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 8, Episode 2 – League Wide Pre-Season Mayhem appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Eric Andrews, Sean Fitzgerald, Jimmy O’Malley and Ray Napientek head back into the Rinkcast Studio to talk about the upcoming season:

Nick Foligno is your new Blackhawks Captain.

Off-season Additions, fits and expectations

Rookies in camp, Strong Rockford roster ahead, any surprises who can make it out of camp?

Predictions: How will the Hawks finish this season?

Around the league: CHL-College Hockey case study, MTL (Hawks doppelganger in the East?, Mo Seider, Jeremy Swayman, other RFA’s out there.

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Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Subscribe, rate this episode, share it with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 8, Episode 1 – Blackhawks 24/25 Season Preview appeared first on The Rink.

After the gift of Connor Bedard in the 2023 draft lottery, Chicago found the top center and generational talent teams drool over and the cornerstone of the rebuild. Davidson has continued to add pieces in the system, who with the correct development and time, should be mainstays in the NHL lineup for years to come.

Here is a breakdown of the top prospects.

Artyom Levshunov, Defenseman, 6-foot-2, 208 pounds

The Michigan State University product is the top overall prospect in the system after being selected with the second overall pick a few months back. The 6-foot-2 Belarusian has the size and smarts to be the No. 1 defenseman that is needed in order to have sustained success at the NHL level as an organization. His skating is advanced enough to play at the NHL level now, even though he should see time in Rockford this season. Levshunov also brings the puck-moving and offense that will make him a threat in all three zones on the ice, and is as close to a complete defenseman as anyone not yet in the NHL. Throw in the fact that he is a right-handed shot and Levshunov checks all the boxes.

Oliver Moore, Forward, 5-foot-11, 180 pounds

After Moore slipped to the 19th pick in the same draft as Bedard, the lightning-fast forward should develop nicely into a top-six talent and power play threat. When you think of break-neck speed all over the ice, you think of Moore. He plays like his hair is on fire but is also disciplined enough to be defensively responsible. Moore shows he wants to help his team win in all facets of his game, all the while netting 33 points in 38 games as a rookie at the University of Minnesota. This is the type of pick that pays off three-fold, as he does not have to play with top talent to be good or only a one-trick pony. When it is all said and done, he could be the power play and penalty-killing middle forward behind Bedard.

Frank Nazar, Forward, 5-foot-9, 175 pounds

The University of Michigan product saw ice time last April and scored in his NHL debut. The 5-foot-9 product plays bigger than his size and has a little bit of a nasty streak in him to succeed at the NHL level. He shows a propensity to make plays in the corners and in front of the net, a much-needed skill within the Blackhawks organization. The Detroit product is freakishly confident with the puck on his stick and makes his linemates better. The 13th overall pick in 2022 is the type of player fans love while opponents hate playing against.

Sacha Boisvert, Forward, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds

Davidson traded up to select Boisvert in this past summer’s draft and has the goal-scoring talent scouts look for in juniors. Much like Moore in his draft year, Boisvert could eventually be a steal at 18th overall. The 18-year-old can score from anywhere on the ice and shows a one-timer that could be deadly on the power play. He has also shown the willingness to get to the net and pound home rebounds and be a distraction to the opposite team’s goaltender. Very well-versed already in using his size, Boisvert is coming off a 36-goal campaign for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL. However, he can disappear in stretches, which brings some concerns.

Sam Rinzel, Defenseman, 6-foot-4, 193 pounds

The University of Minnesota product has shown an offensive skill that can play out as an offensive defenseman. Add in his size and the Blackhawks have a nice all-around prospect on the blue line behind Levshunov. Rinzel can skate with the puck and make plays to stretch defenses, apparent by his 26 assists last season at Minnesota. His decision-making and positioning is solid for what teams want in the NHL and his skating is very good for his size. The 6-foot-4 Chanhassen, Minnesota, product uses his size well but could use a little bit of physicality to go along with his size.

Drew Commesso, Goaltender, 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

The 46th pick in the 2020 draft saw plenty of action in his first professional season in Rockford last season. As a goaltender that needed to stand on his head most nights for a poor offense, he showed the poise and positioning that can play out in the NHL level over time. As fans remember with Corey Crawford, it can be beneficial for goaltenders to marinate in the AHL before becoming full-time NHL starters. The 22-year-old has sneaky-quick reflexes and anticipates the play very well. Commesso challenges shooters and has shown the ability to bounce back after poor outings.

Ethan Del Mastro, Defenseman, 6-foot-4, 210 pounds

Del Mastro saw two games at the NHL level last season after a successful season in Rockford. Another tall defenseman who uses his size well, De Mastro could be the bottom-pairing penalty-killing defenseman who goes unnoticed most nights, which means he did his job. At the NHL level, he can be a responsible puck-mover as well. It will be interesting to monitor if his playmaking at the highest level as see if it can pan out.

Adam Gajan, Goaltender, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds

Gajan is a perfect example of why stats cannot be the only scouting tool one uses in the junior ranks. The 6-foot-3 University of Minnesota-Duluth product plays with excellent athleticism for his size. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and has a knack for the heroics, shown during his time wearing the Slovakian sweater over the past few years in U18 and U20 tournaments. In terms of development, Gajan sits behind Commesso in age only. Gajan has the upside to be the hulking goaltender winning teams possess.

Marek Vanacker, Forward, 6-foot-1, 174 pounds

The offensively gifted Vanacker has shown he can create scoring chances in the OHL and that is about all his game consists of at this time. The 27th pick in the 2024 draft is another prospect who plays with his hair on fire in the offensive zone, plays very well off the rush and can score, as shown by his 36 goals in Brantford last season. As far as his development goes, Vanacker is the bottom-six type who could help bring secondary scoring. It will be interesting to see how his defensive game comes along over the next few seasons as it could be the one tool that limits his NHL upside.

Ryan Greene, Forward, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds

The Boston University prospect is the defensive center who can bring leadership in the bottom six of the lineup. However, his back-to-back 30-point seasons in college shows he has the ability to make plays with the puck on his stick. He is a heady player and seems to play one pass ahead of his opponents. His development in the defensive zone could make him a fine player for the Blackhawks when he finishes up his college career.

The post ANALYSIS: Breaking down the Chicago Blackhawks’ top prospects appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Jan. 12 — Rockford 2, Grand Rapids 0

Rockford goaltender Mitchell Weeks continued his excellent start to the season, stopping all 22 shots in a 2–0 victory for the visiting Rockford IceHogs. With his first career AHL shutout, Weeks is off to a 3–0–0 start and a .923 save percentage on the early season. The undrafted 22-year-old has been a pleasant surprise in Rockford.

In one of the most lopsided AHL periods one will watch, Rockford outshot the Griffins 22–4 in the first frame of action but could not find the back of the net behind Sebastian Cossa. Cossa stood on his head as the defense in front of him took the form of Swiss cheese and took three minor penalties.

Ironically enough, at the 20-second mark of the second period, Rockford forward Mike Hardman beat Cossa for the first of the game and eighth of the season. The goal, assisted by Dave Gust, put Rockford ahead and would be all Weeks would need. Hardman did an excellent job on the forecheck, forcing the Griffins to turn over the puck, and was rewarded with the goal.

We’re off to a fast start pic.twitter.com/bzZMZOYZn3

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 13, 2024

Rockford’s second goal came with an empty net at the 18:48 mark of the third period when forward Brett Seney scored his ninth of the season. Cossa played an excellent game in net for the Griffins, surrendering only the goal to Hardman while stopping 33 IceHog shots on the night.

Saturday, Jan. 13 — Rockford 3, Grand Rapids 2 (overtime)

Rockford ran it back the following night with an excellent game to take the back end of the two-game series. In a close, tight-knit affair, the IceHogs finished off the Griffins in style with a 3–2 victory in overtime.

In the first period of action, defenseman Austin Strand scored his second goal of the season after Griffins goaltender Michael Hutchinson gave up a rebound that found the stick of forward Michal Teply in front and fed a streaking Strand for the goal.

Lamp: lit pic.twitter.com/X44J4JRce7

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 14, 2024

Grand Rapids would score the only goal of the second period when right winger Dominik Shine buried a shot behind Rockford goaltender Drew Commesso.

With the score tied 1–1 after two periods, Grand Rapids would take their only lead of the weekend after forward Tim Gettinger scored on the power play. Rockford would not waste any time tying the game a few minutes later when Seney scored his second of the weekend to tie the game at 2–2 with less than five minutes left in regulation. The end-to-end rush by Jalen Luypen was a thing of beauty before finding Seney racing toward the net.

“WOOOOOOOOOW” –@KaleHowarth15 pic.twitter.com/ecKWHjE4lL

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 14, 2024

In overtime, veteran Anders Bjork buried the game winner after a nice puck possession play by Gust and finding a wide-open Bjork for the game winner and the 10th of the season.

A beautiful goal for a beautiful OT win pic.twitter.com/BfLZTAlYY5

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 14, 2024

Commesso stopped 22 shots in the his seventh victory this season. The rookie stands with an .894 save percentage this season with a 7–8–2–1 record.

High on the Hog

— Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro was selected to participate in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5. The fourth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft leads all Rockford defensemen in goals and points and has been a whale of a difficult player to play against in his own zone using his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame to his advantage.

— Mitchell Weeks recorded his first career AHL shutout on Friday night and is off to an unexpected hot start in net. The recent call-up from the Indy Fuel has been a nice addition to a Rockford three-headed tandem in net alongside Drew Commesso and Jaxson Stauber.

— Brett Seney scored twice this weekend, albeit one was an empty-net goal, but has reached double digits in goals for the fourth time in his AHL career. The undersized forward is a sneaky playmaker who has a decent scoring touch that will be needed as Rockford pushes through the dog days of winter toward a playoff birth.

Upcoming week

After playing five of the past six games on the road, the 15–14–3–1 IceHogs will play host to their Interstate 90 rivals, as the Chicago Wolves come to BMO Center on Friday for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop. On Saturday, the Iowa Wild come skating into Rockford for another 7 p.m. CST start.

The post Weeks, Seney impress in sweep of Grand Rapids appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Jan. 5 — Texas 4, Rockford 1

The Rockford IceHogs skated into Texas a little sluggish and dropped a hard fought affair 4–1 to the host Texas Stars. Texas jumped on top of Rockford at the 11:48 mark of the first period when forward Matej Blumel scored his 14th goal of the season behind IceHogs goaltender Drew Commesso.

Rockford would tie the game early in the second period after Antti Saarela buried his fourth behind Stars netminder Remi Poirier. The goal was assisted by Jalen Luypen.

Bar pic.twitter.com/WHMQNFkyzN

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 6, 2024

The final period would be a mess for the visiting team as Texas scored three straight goals and finished off the contest with a 4–1 victory.

Saturday, Jan. 6 — Rockford 5, Texas 3

Game two of the back-to-back was a great bounce back for the IceHogs even though Texas led after the first period of play 2–1. In the period, Texas scored first with a nice goal by Derrick Pouliot that beat Mitchell Weeks to take an early lead. Rockford answered at the 7:12 mark when Logan Nijhoff scored his fourth goal of the season behind Poirier, who was playing both ends of the series in net for Texas. Rockford took a 3–2 lead after Mike Hardman and Anders Bjork scored early in the first half of the second frame. Bjork’s goal was shorthanded after a mess of a second period that included 11 penalties total, six against the IceHogs.

Super chill goal, no big deal pic.twitter.com/BMesG8FAQr

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 7, 2024

After a late-period goal by Texas tied the score at 3–3 after two periods of action, Rockford would finish the scoring in the third period with two goals, started by Jackson Cates scoring off the rush after a nice cross-ice pass from Marcel Marcel. The goal was Cates’ fourth of the season.

A moment for Mr. Jackson Cates please pic.twitter.com/JtkAEOZZKU

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 7, 2024

Bjork would finish off the scoring when he netted his sixth at the 15:12 mark to seal the deal on the victory. The 28-save night for Weeks gives the 22-year old two victories in two chances this season.

High on the Hog

— Bjork scored twice and was the No. 1 star of the game on Saturday. The Mequon, Wisconsin, native continues to show a nice offensive touch at the AHL with 19 points in 23 games with Rockford this season. With the injury mess going on in Chicago, Bjork should not go too far from his phone, as he could get an NHL contract and call-up to the parent club.

— Weeks has been a nice surprise with two victories in two contests, giving up three goals in each contest. Weeks is showing early on that he can make some big saves as he continues to gain confidence as a prospect who does not get talked about much. It will be interesting to see how the three-headed monster in Rockford is used as Commesso, Weeks and Jaxson Stauber can all win on any given night.

Upcoming week

Rockford plays two more road games on Friday and Saturday as the Grand Rapids Griffins welcome the IceHogs in the Van Andel Arena. Both games are scheduled for 6 p.m. CST puck drops.

The post Rockford splits with Texas on the road appeared first on The Rink.

Saturday, Dec. 30 — Milwaukee 5, Rockford 4 (shootout)

The Rockford IceHogs took the short trek across the Wisconsin border for the first of a back-to-back against the Milwaukee Admirals at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Arena. The Admirals skated away with the 5–4 victory after the game ended in three rounds in the shootout.

Rockford scored first at the 10:35 mark of the first period when forward Michal Teply scored his fourth goal of the season only to be equaled 20 seconds later when Milwaukee center Jasper Weatherby beat Jaxson Stauber to tie the game and would be the first of four straight goals for the home team as the Admirals would lead 4–1 after two periods of action.

The no-quit IceHogs scored three straight in the third period to tie the game at the end of intermission. Defenseman Nolan Allan scored his first goal of the season at the 1:28 mark beating Admirals goaltender Troy Grosenick.

We’re so proud pic.twitter.com/ZHTFeo5gyK

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 31, 2023

Forward Antti Saarela scored his third of the season to cut the Admirals lead to one goal at the 8:35 mark of the third period before Logan Nijhoff fired home his third on the power play at the 15:50 mark to eventually send the game into overtime.

Holy! Guacamole! pic.twitter.com/VRNC5j1bSC

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 31, 2023

Rockford made the overtime interesting with back-to-back tripping penalties by Brett Seney and Allan, but Milwaukee would not capitalize on the mistakes.

In the shootout, Teply buried home Rockford’s first attempt, but that would not be enough, as Anders Bjork and Dave Gust were stoned by Grosenick as Jordan Gross and Egor Afanasyev beat Stauber in their chances, giving Milwaukee the 5–4 victory.

Sunday, Dec. 31 — Rockford 4, Milwaukee 3

Here is a nice look at the lineup for Rockford in their 4–3 victory on New Year’s Eve.

Last lines of 2023 pic.twitter.com/I0DNwgX8zq

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 31, 2023

Rockford returned home and jumped on the Admirals early in the contest when Seney, who would be sent up to Chicago after the game, scored his eight goal of the season at the 5:20 mark of the opening frame. The goal, assisted by Gust and Bjork, was on the power play after an interference call on Egor Afanasyev and a high-sticking infraction on Reid Schaefer 23 seconds apart.

Starting with a BANG pic.twitter.com/79R8ET4Xdg

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) December 31, 2023

In the middle frame, each team scored twice, as Milwaukee tied the contest when Anthony Angello buried home his third of the season behind Rockford goaltender Mitchell Weeks. Rockford scored to take the lead at the 11:46 mark, only to be matched by defenseman Marc Del Gaizo a few minutes later.

Forward Ryder Rolston scored the IceHogs’ second power play goal of the game at the 18:34 mark to give the home team a 3–2 advantage after two periods of action.

In what can only be described as an ugly third period, both teams ended up with four penalties each, including a tilt between Milwaukee’s Jake Livingstone and Rockford’s Jalen Luypen, and both found the back of the net one time as Gust fired home the game winner behind Admiral netminder Gustavs Davis Grigals at the 14:58 mark before both teams went home to celebrate the New Year.

Gusty has plans tonight pic.twitter.com/llZgz0zwip

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) January 1, 2024

High on the Hog

— Rockford is currently tied for third in the Central Division with a 12–13–3–1 for 28 points. The IceHogs were a defenseman carousel in December, as the parent Blackhawks recalled Wyatt Kaiser, Filip Roos and Isaak Phillips all at one point in the month of December.

— Dave Gust continues to be a fan favorite as he leads the IceHogs in goals, assists and points in his 26 games played this season in Rockford. The Orland Park, Illinois, native could be the next in line as a forward call-up to Chicago as the Blackhawks see a rash of injuries and poor play amongst their forwards.

— Chicago fans are getting a first-hand look at why rushing a goaltender is a poor idea. Drew Commesso showed signs of struggling in the month of December and ended up watching both games agains the Admirals as he sets himself up for the new year. Commesso has shown signs of athleticism and compete level that wins at the next level. However, as a 21-year-old still learning the pro game, his struggles are in front of AHL fans each night and not NHL fans each night. The psyche of a goaltender can be quite fickle for even the best. The star still shines bright on Commesso as Blackhawks fans continue to watch Arvid Soderblom burst right before their eyes.

Upcoming week

Rockford travels to the Lone Star State to take on the Texas Stars on back-to-back nights starting Friday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Arena. Both contests are scheduled for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Rockford splits with Milwaukee to bring in the new year appeared first on The Rink.

Wednesday, Nov. 22 — Rockford 6, Manitoba 2

The Rockford IceHogs jumped out to a dominating 6–0 lead and never looked back on their way to a 6–2 victory over the visiting Manitoba Moose. Rockford scored three goals each in the first two periods, five of them while 5-on-5 hockey.

Cole Guttman got the scoring started after defeating former Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia midway through the first period of action. Only 19 seconds later, David Gust beat Delia with his fourth goal of the season as Manitoba’s heads were left spinning.

Sheeeeeesh pic.twitter.com/Q0eMBNH2zF

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 23, 2023

With five minutes left in the opening frame, Ryder Rolston scored his third goal of the season on the power play to give the IceHogs a 3–0 lead at the end of the period.

Hogs are bringing the heat pic.twitter.com/NvjrlxqSFu

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 23, 2023

Gust scored his second of the game at the 1:19 mark of the second period to continue the onslaught on Delia. Andrew Perrot and Colton Dach assisted on the play.

'Tis the season for Gusty goals pic.twitter.com/XlPZSW74b4

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 23, 2023

Rolston would not let Gust upstage him when he fired home his second of the game at the 2:27 mark. The goal looked to be a great opportunity to switch up for the Moose in net but head coach Mark Morrison stuck with Delia as he would give up all six goals on 25 IceHogs shots for the game.

Rolly be gobblin' up these goals pic.twitter.com/X93AN6Avuq

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 23, 2023

Brett Seney would end the scoring for the IceHogs on the evening with his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Perrot and Guttman.

Jaxson Stauber stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced on the evening on his way to his fourth victory on the season.

Friday, Nov. 24 — Rockford 2, Milwaukee 1 in overtime

Gust and Colton Dach would each score to give the IceHogs a 2–1 victory in overtime at home against the Milwaukee Admirals. Dach’s fifth goal of the season gave Rockford the lead at the 0:29 mark of the third period and was the first tally of the game for either team. Milwaukee would tie the game at the 11:45 mark when Keaton Thompson scored his first of the season after beating Drew Commesso. Gust’s goal in overtime at the 3:55 mark would end the game when Milwaukee netminder Yaroslav Askarov surrendered the goal.

Commesso would continue his hot streak stopping 32 shots for the victory.

We're feeling a little under the weather, good thing the Dach-ter is in pic.twitter.com/02ahU5KjFu

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 25, 2023

We'll be watching this one on repeat all night long pic.twitter.com/WYgSOqrOCS

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 25, 2023

Saturday, Nov. 25 — Milwaukee 3, Rockford 2 in overtime

Milwaukee would fight back and earn their overtime victory the next night in Wisconsin with a 3–2 victory. Each team looked sluggish after a long, tough game the evening before.

Just called up from the Indy Fuel, Ryan Gagnier scored his first AHL goal at the 12:37 mark of the second period. Gagnier’s goal on Troy Grosenick was assisted by Louis Crevier and Marcel Marcel.

First AHL goals just never get old pic.twitter.com/CK7X7JJPXi

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 26, 2023

Milwaukee would tie the game up after a Bryce Kindopp tripping penalty a minute later to tie the game at 1–1 after two periods of action.

Zach Jordan scored his first goal of the season after his shot beat a floundering Grosenick in net.

Nothing but good vibes and smiles over here pic.twitter.com/y8TjmpLlNQ

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 26, 2023

Milwaukee would finish off the night with a goal in the third period and one in overtime for their 3–2 victory. Stauber would stop 29 shots in the overtime loss.

High on the hog

• On Nov. 23, the Chicago Blackhawks called up Guttman and Joey Anderson to the parent club. Both forwards were off to a great start in Rockford and the call-ups were definitely earned. In the NHL, both can be seen as a fill-in for bottom-six roles, with Anderson always playing at a breakneck speed.
• Commesso continued his hot start, and not to sound like a broken record, is showing an excellent adjustment to the professional game. Commesso’s athletic ability is sneaky good and his positioning has grown substantially since my viewing in the USHL prior to being drafted. Blackhawks fans should be very excited about his hot start.
• Rockford is currently in second place in the Central Division with 20 points, only trailing the Texas Stars by one point. With a 9–5–2 record, the Hogs are showing fans a great product on the ice.

Upcoming week

Rockford hits the ice in Manitoba for a Friday-Sunday matchup with the division rival Moose. Friday’s puck drop is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. CST followed by Sunday’s start of 2 p.m. CST.

The post IceHogs take five points over three games for second straight week appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Nov. 17 — Milwaukee 5, Rockford 4 (OT)

The Rockford IceHogs scored with 11 seconds remaining in regulation when Joey Anderson beat Troy Grosenick to tie the game at 4–4 and force overtime in Rockford. Anderson’s sixth goal this season would get the IceHogs a point but Milwaukee’s Cal O’Reilly beat IceHog goaltender Drew Commesso at the 2:20 mark in overtime.

Rockford fell behind 2–0 after one period of action only to tie the game at 2–2 when Antti Saarela and Anders Bjork each scored in the middle frame. Bjork’s tally came on the power play late at the 16:04 mark.

Just gonna slide in behind ya and clean that up pic.twitter.com/bV0cadzBiT

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 18, 2023

BURIED. IT. pic.twitter.com/vIUGDCprEN

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 18, 2023

Milwaukee would take back the lead early in the third period, but that lead would be short-lived after Colton Dach buried his first professional goal to tie the game at 3–3. After Milwaukee took back the lead, the aforementioned Anderson goal sent the teams into overtime.

Commesso stopped 19 of the 24 shots he faced in the overtime loss.

Saturday, Nov. 18 — Rockford 4, Iowa 3 (SO)

Dach would conitnue his hot weekend with a hat trick, scoring the only three regulation goals for the visiting IceHogs. The second-round pick was a force to be reckoned with and carried the IceHogs on his back for the entire game. Dach scored one goal each period, giving him a total of four goals on the season.

BURIED. IT. pic.twitter.com/vIUGDCprEN

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 18, 2023

The unstoppable Colton Dach pic.twitter.com/fnbKOl3BUR

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 19, 2023

First pro hat trick, nbd

pic.twitter.com/H6D0F97zrg

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 19, 2023

In the shootout, Cole Guttman and Dach would beat Wild netminder Zane McIntyre to secore the 4–3 victory, snapping the IceHogs’ four-game losing streak.

If you need us, we'll be watching this on a loop until further notice pic.twitter.com/kYhGztGkUN

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 19, 2023

Sunday, Nov. 19 — Rockford 3, Iowa 1

Rockford would jump out to an early lead when Bjork scored his fourth goal of the season at the 16-second mark of the opening period. Bjork won the opening face-off and found himself at the right circle and fired a shot behind McIntyre for the early 1–0 lead.

Mind blowing pic.twitter.com/xYFEwnYfKz

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 19, 2023

Anderson continued to show his scoring touch with his seventh goal of the season on the power play early in the second period to give the visiting IceHogs a 2–0 lead before the Wild’s David Spacek scored midway through the third to cut the Rockford lead to 2–1 before winger Bryce Kindopp scored into an empty net for his second goal this season and topping off the Rockford 3–1 victory.

High on the hog

• Colton Dach scored his first professional goal on Friday and followed up with a hat track on Saturday. The brother of former first-round pick Kirby Dach has the size and nose for the net that can raise havoc on the ice for opposing teams. Dach’s development in Rockford as a 20-year-old is one to keep an eye on as he learns the professional game without the spotlight of the NHL.
• Anders Bjork and Joey Anderson continue to lead the way on the ice with Brett Seney and David Gust. All four are players to keep an eye on if Chicago decides to bring up some hot hands in Rockford.
• Goaltender Drew Commesso continues to show he is prepared early on in his professional career. Commesso uses his athleticism and his excellent positioning to compete on every shot. With some health and Jaxson Stauber taking a night in net every once in awhile, the former second-round pick should see 50–60 games in net this season, exactly what a 21-year-old goaltender needs in his development.

Upcoming week

The IceHogs take on the Manitoba Moose at home on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop. The Milwaukee Admirals will come skating into Rockford on Friday for a 7 p.m. CST start before traveling up to Milwaukee for a Saturday matchup with the Admirals scheduled for a 6 p.m. CST start.

The post Rockford takes five points in three-game weekend appeared first on The Rink.

Saturday, Nov. 4 — Rockford 4, Manitoba 3

The Rockford IceHogs flew up to Manitoba for the fist game of a back-to-back and held on late for a 4–3 victory. Goaltender Jaxson Stauber was solid in net, stopping 33 of the 36 shots in net.

Michal Teply opened up the scoring at the 15:30 mark of the first period when he buried a one-timer behind former IceHogs goaltender Collin Delia. The goal gave Teply his third on the early season with assists from Filip Roos and Mike Hardman. Manitoba answered back a few minutes later to tie the game at 1–1.

*chef's kiss* pic.twitter.com/SsYova6zgY

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 4, 2023

With the score 1–1, Anders Bjork scored his second of the season off a 2-on-1 rush that ended with Bjork going top shelf on Delia.

An absolute beauty pic.twitter.com/me9yE4TEta

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 4, 2023

Manitoba would score the only goal of the second period when Brad Lambert fired his fifth goal of the season behind Stauber. Midway through the third frame, Cole Guttman scored his first goal of the year to take back the lead at 3–2. Roos would score into the empty net to extend the lead to 4–2 before the Moose scored a meaningless goal with eight seconds left on the clock.

Too easy pic.twitter.com/g4O3H1xe3c

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 4, 2023

Sunday, Nov. 5 — Rockford 4, Manitoba 1

Drew Commesso continued his hot ways, stopping 26 shots for his third win on the season. After Sunday’s game,  the former second-round pick possesses a .936 save percentage through four AHL games.

The IceHogs would score twice in the first frame when Andrew Perrott and Brett Seney both beat goaltender Oskari Salminen to give the visitors a 2–0 lead going into the first intermission. Perrott scored in his season debut when his shot worked its way through a screen and behind Salminen.

We're so proud pic.twitter.com/ger6hLf3i2

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 5, 2023

Daniel Torersson would draw the Moose to within one goal at the 3:08 mark in the second period and would be the only blemish on Commesso’s night. Joey Anderson answered on the power play after an excellent pass from behind the net from Seney, who found Anderson in front of the next for his fifth goal this season.

Effortless pic.twitter.com/1INhYFvrk7

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 5, 2023

Antti Saarela scored at the 2:27 mark in the third period and the IceHogs would shut the door the rest of the way for their 4–1 victory and two-game sweep in Manitoba.

High on the Hog

• Goaltender Drew Commesso continues to shine this early season. The Norwell, Massachusetts, native is displaying the professional game is not too much for him early on this season.
• Joey Anderson scored his fifth goal of the season on only his 18th shot. The former third-round pick in 2016 is firing on all cylinders with his second stint with the IceHogs.
• The IceHogs sit a top the Central Division standings with at 5–2–0 record.

Upcoming week

Rockford plays its first midweek game this season as the Texas Stars visit the BMO Center for a 10:30 a.m. puck drop on School Day. The Iowa Wild skate into Rockford on Friday for a 7 p.m. CST contest before the IceHogs hit the road for their in-state rival matchup in Chicago with a 3 p.m. CST puck drop against the Wolves.

The post Rockford sweeps both from Manitoba for fourth straight victory appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Oct. 27 — Rockford 6, Iowa 2

The Rockford IceHogs scored the first five goals of the game and Jaxson Stuaber stopped 22 shots in a contest that saw Rockford dominate the Iowa Wild in all three zones.

In the first period, Dave Gust, Ryder Rolston and Brett Seney all scored to put the game out of reach. Gust opened the scoring with after taking a nice pass and firing a shot past first-round pick Jesper Wallstedt early in the first period.

Bet you didn't see that one coming pic.twitter.com/wTvEWGKYfP

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 28, 2023

After a turnover in the Wild zone, Rolston fired a wrist shot past Wallstedt. Rolston has a nose for the net and can be a sneaky good shot when he has time.

NAILED IT https://t.co/KA5XyiAmZK pic.twitter.com/wsd1o3J9jv

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 28, 2023

Midway through the second period, Logan Nijhoff scored his first AHL career goal, assisted by defenseman Isaak Phillips.

First career AHL goal for Nijhoff

HOGS ARE COOKIN pic.twitter.com/2PKh9MabAY

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 28, 2023

Michal Teply and Joey Anderson would find the back of the net to finish off the IceHogs’ 5–2 victory.

Saturday, Oct. 28 — Rockford 3, Grand Rapids 0

Drew Commesso stopped all 18 shots he faced in the whitewashing of the Griffins in Rockford. Commesso has shown an excellent approach in net in his first three games this season. The former second-round pick is adjusting to the professional game quite well.

Rockford scored twice within a minute in the first period when defenseman Ethan Del Mastro scored his first AHL goal of the season and Seney fired his third of the season past Michael Hutchinson in net.

and what a goal it was https://t.co/HmnC2qW3h6 pic.twitter.com/Rn0FlUxCeX

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 29, 2023

Anderson continued his early-season success after scoring his fourth goal of the season into an empty net to finish off the Griffins 3–0.

High on the Hog

• Drew Commesso has shown a nice calm presence in net early on this season. In his three appearances, he shown an athleticism that not many would notice and an excellent job staying square to pucks.
• Isaak Phillips was recalled to Chicago after Alex Vlasic was sidelined with a concussion issue. Phillips does a nice job controlling the blue line in the AHL but needs to simplify his game at the NHL level, make the simple play and get off the ice.
• Joey Anderson has four goals and five assists in five games and shows the veteran presence along the forward lines.
• Dave Gust has eight points in five games and has shown he could be one of the first players called up from Rockford if the parent club needs some forward depth. Not bad for an undrafted local player.

Upcoming week

Rockford travels to Manitoba to take on the Moose on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT with the second of the back-to-back on Sunday for another 2 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Rockford wins both in dominant weekend appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Oct. 21 — Chicago 5, Rockford 2

In what was a close affair after Rockford tied the score at 2–2 early in the third period, the visiting Chicago Wolves ruined the season home opener for the IceHogs with three straight goals to finish off the 5–2 decision.

The difference in the third period were the two power play goals scored by Chicago. Cole Schneider and Chris Terry each scored with the man advantage, Terry’s goal was an empty-net tally, and Dominic Franco scored his second goal of the young season.

Phillips threads the needle pic.twitter.com/pt0VZltjRU

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 22, 2023

Rockford found the back of the net in the second period when Isaak Phillips beat Wolves goaltender Adam Scheel for his first goal of the season. Rockford scored the game-tying goal when Joey Anderson scored his second of the season early in the third period before Chicago would rip off their next three goals to finish the game.

Did someone say power play to tie the game?? pic.twitter.com/ke062LvgqL

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 22, 2023

Goaltender Drew Commesso faced 29 shots while turning aside 25 for the loss.

IBEW Highlights: Screaming THANK YOU to all 6,360 cheering fans tonight!!https://t.co/0VfiSYd61Y

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 22, 2023

High on the Hog

It was good to see Phillips find the back of the net. The late training camp release by the Chicago Blackhawks continues to show he is continuing to develop along the blue line.

Anders Bjork led the team with four shots on goal.

Left wing Mike Hardman added an assist and finished the game +1.

Upcoming week

The Rockford IceHogs are back on home ice for a pair of games this weekend. The Iowa Wild come to town for a 7 p.m. CDT puck drop on Friday while the Grand Rapids Griffins will visit for a Saturday game scheduled for another 7 p.m. CDT face-off.

The post Wolves top IceHogs 5–2 in home opener appeared first on The Rink.

Friday, Oct. 13 — Rockford 7, San Jose 2

Dave Gust scored twice as Drew Commesso earned his first professional victory, stopping 34 San Jose shots. Forward Joey Anderson added three assists on the night. Rockford also received goals from Anders Bjork, Mike Hardman, Michal Teply, Ryder Rolston and Bryce Kindopp.

Rolston, Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro, Jalen Luypen and Antti Saarela made their regular season AHL debuts in Friday night’s victory.

Take a look at all the opening night action while we get ready to do it again tomorrow! https://t.co/Qd11QjgjBT

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 14, 2023

Saturday, Oct. 14 — San Jose 7, Rockford 2

San Jose returned the 7–2 favor on Rockford behind two goals from forward Ryan Carpenter. Carpenter spent three years in the Blackhawks organization. Goaltender Jaxson Stauber surrendered the seven goals while being barraged by 49 shots.

Anderson recorded his fourth point on the weekend after he scored his first of the season early in the second period. Brett Seney scored two minutes later and that would be all the IceHogs could muster on the night.

IBEW Highlights: Next stop home sweet homehttps://t.co/ZhlC65EU7l

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 15, 2023

High on the Hog

Commesso earning the victory on opening night is an excellent start for the former second-round pick out of the U.S. National Team Development Program and Boston University. Commesso also added an assist on the second Gust goal.

Rolston scored his first AHL goal, set up by Luypen’s first AHL point.

RYDER ROLSTON FIRST AHL GOAL
JALEN LUYPEN FIRST AHL POINT pic.twitter.com/xAojWs45d3

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 14, 2023

Gust played an excellent game on opening night after being a late cut by the Blackhawks in training camp. The 29-year-old Orland Park, Illinois, native will bring a ton of respect and leadership to a young Rockford squad.

ANOTHER ONE FOR GUSTY

HOGS UP 5-1 pic.twitter.com/loJ7w3OPWs

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 14, 2023

Upcoming week

The IceHogs welcome the Chicago Wolves to Rockford for their first home game of the season on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT.

The post IceHogs split 7–2 games in San Jose appeared first on The Rink.

The opening night roster is as follows:

Forwards

Joey Anderson
Brandon Baddock
Anders Bjork
Ryan Gagnier
Dave Gust
Mike Hardman
Kale Howarth
Zach Jordan
Bryce Kindopp
Jalen Luypen
Marcel Marcel
Logan Nijhoff
Ryder Rolston
Antti Saarela
Brett Seney
Michal Teply

Defenseman

Nolan Allan
Louis Crevier
Ethan Del Mastro
Josh Healey
Josh Maniscalco
Andrew Perrott
Isaak Phillips
Filip Roos

Goaltenders

Drew Commesso
Jaxson Stauber

The post Rockford IceHogs open the season against San Jose Barracuda appeared first on The Rink.

• The goaltending for Chicago was outstanding. Mrazek stuffed Sidney Crosby a few times, one on a short breakaway, and stood on his head, earning Chicago two points. Mrazek now owns a 10–22–3 record for the season while having a -12.7 goals saved above average. Mrazek did his best to tank this season, but came up huge when Chicago needed him to fail most.
• Pittsburgh looked like the better team most of the night, but a few bounces really took the wind out of their sails. Evgeni Malkin fired his 27th goal of the season to tie the game 1–1 early in the third period, but Chicago would go on to score the next three goals and put the game away.
• Buddy Robinson netted his first goal of the season, beating Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who was not very good when Pittsburgh needed him the most. Andreas Athanasiou scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period for his 19th of the season. Robinson and Athanasiou both played great, and depending on which side of the “tank coin” you sit, is either a fun or horrible performance.
• Seth Jones was great. His ability to move the puck and play as an extra forward is second-to-none from the back end, and on occasion, he can really show he can be a force defensively. However, saying “he was great” needs to happen more than once a month when he is taking up 11.66% of the cap hit this season (that number will slightly change if the cap ceiling rises) and the next seven seasons moving forward.

Chicago will be back on home ice to finish the season as the Philadelphia Flyers come to the United Center for a 7:30 p.m. CDT puck drop on Thursday. The contest could be the last time fans get to see captain Jonathan Toews on home ice, as his future in the league is a big question mark.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — April 11 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins appeared first on The Rink.

• Chicago scored two of its three times with the man advantage. Andreas Athanasiou potted his 15th goal of the season to tie the game at 1–1 midway through the second period and Tyler Johnson made it to double digits in goals this season when scoring early in the third period. Boris Katchouk scored the Blackhawks’ third and final goal of the game for Chicago, his fifth this season.
• Brandon Saad scored an empty-net goal for his 19th goal of the season. Saad played a nice game, doing a lot of the little things that do not show up on the scoresheet, but as an evaluator, one would like his game. Jordan Kyrou also played an excellent game. Kyrou scored his 34th goal of the season, but spends a lot of his time starting in the offensive zone and not making too many plays in his own end.
• Back to Johnson, he was the best Blackhawk on the ice, and when healthy, he is a fireplug that tries hard and makes plays with and without the puck. It is a little shocking that, outside of injury, he was not used as trade bait for some team looking for some secondary scoring punch, even with the extra year left on his contract.
• With the loss, Chicago falls into a tie with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the least points in the league. This team is set up to lose and right now that is something that needs to continue.

Chicago is back in action at home on against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday for a 7 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — March 30 vs. St. Louis Blues appeared first on The Rink.

• Ian Mitchell continues to show he was overhyped by the former general manager three seasons ago. The AHL power play expert can jump into a play or fire a shot that makes its way through to the net, but when it comes to defending in his own zone, the neutral zone or anything from keeping the puck out of the net, he is clearly below average at the NHL level. Chicago can make things easy for fans and move on and watch him score eight goals one season for a non-playoff team and people can show they gave up on him too early.
• Mikko Rantanen scored his 47th goal of the season when he beat Alex Stalock for the third goal of the game. Rantanen is the type of player management would build statues for if he played for the Montreal Canadiens. If you are looking for something to do in April as a Blackhawks fan, keep an eye on the highly skilled winger from Nousiainen, Finland.
• If a fan is looking for a plus from the whitewashing in Denver, Jarred Tinordi logged 21:43 of ice time and looked real good doing so in his own end. The burly defenseman was also credited with four hits and used his size to keep the pesky Avalanche forwards at bay. There are nights when Tinordi looks like he could be a serviceable hulk of a defenseman and then there are some nights when speed looks like it will always give the 31-year-old troubles. With that being said, that was a positive against Colorado and not a glowing evaluation of needing him in the future.
• As Chicago continues to lose games and fans feel like they are getting slighted, having the worst record at the end of the year gives the team the best chances of receiving the No. 1 overall pick. If a fan was told they had a 99.9% chance of living and a 97.9% chance of living, we all know we would take the 99.9% and run with it since we do not want to take on the extra 2% and lose sleep at night. It is called odds. You want to have the best ones.

Chicago heads to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Capitals on Thursday for a 7 p.m. CDT puck drop.

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• Seth Jones scored twice to reach double-digit goals for the season. Jones has shown a propensity for the offensive zone that we all knew he had in his game. Since the breakdown of the NHL roster in Chicago the past few weeks, Jones has found himself in deep in the offensive zone trying to create more offense. It is almost like he is a forward playing on defense.
• Youngster Lukas Reichel scored his second goal of the season late to finish off the barrage of goals for the Blackhawks. Reichel does a lot of things well on the ice and can use his speed to create in the offensive zone. The one thing that goes unnoticed is his ability to work and make plays along the boards, a skill that many do not have or are not willing to do, and his positioning in both zones. Reichel is rarely out of position in his own zone; he is young, so mistakes will happen, and gives himself an advantage when shielding off the defender in his own zone to either control the puck or get position to take advantage of the rebound.
• Anders Bjork recorded a trio of assists in 14:27 of total ice time. The Mequon, Wisconsin, native has been playing with a jump in his stride since joining the team and it is noticeable the 26-year-old is trying to showcase his best with his new-found opportunity since coming over from the Buffalo Sabres. Bjork will not wow you with any one skill, but when given a fresh start, it is a nice sign to see a player try and take advantage of his future.
• Philipp Kurashev and Jason Dickinson both scored their ninth goals of the season. Kurashev’s goal was the first of the game that found the net behind Senator goaltender Mads Sogaard. Sogaard would manage to stop only 16 of the 21 shots he would face after showing a nice three-game stretch he was having in net.
• Chicago scored early and often and that took the wind out of the Senators’ sails. The one thing that has been mentioned and should not go unnoticed is the effort Luke Richardson’s teams have been playing on a nightly basis. Think back to the Jeremy Colliton era and how a team with a sprinkling of talent looked so disinterested and lost on most nights, and this was with multiple ready-to-win talents in the lineup, and how well Richardson’s teams are prepared on the ice each night with a fraction of the talent. Kudos to Richardson for teaching these kids how to be pros and how to prepare for games, which is not easy when you are trying to tank. This is what an organizational approach to development looks like, fans.
• Of course, the game was also former Blackhawk Alex DeBrincat’s first time back to the United Center as a member of the Senators. Needless to say, DeBrincat’s revenge game did not quite go as he would have hoped.

Chicago is back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Michigan to take on the Detroit Red Wings at 6:30 p.m. CST on TNT.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — March 6 vs. Ottawa Senators appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Jeff Osborn, Eric Andrews, Andrew Bard, Ray Napientek and Sean (Goldstein) Fitzgerald discuss the end of the Patrick Kane era in Chicago:

Thoughts on the Patrick Kane saga and the deal to the New York Rangers

The Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty trade to Toronto

Is Patrick Kane the best Blackhawks player ever?

What are our greatest Patrick Kane memories?

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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Watch the entire replay of the Twitter right here:

Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 6, Episode 9 – Goodbye, Patrick Kane https://t.co/EXPHTIzj9c

— Hockey Rinkcast Channel (@TheRinkcast) March 2, 2023

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 6, Episode 9 – Goodbye, Patrick Kane appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago entered Tuesday’s game after a 4–2 loss at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, finally snapping the Blackhawks’ five-game winning streak. Goaltender Alex Stalock was back in net against the Coyotes after being activated off the injured reserve.

• Chicago looked like a team that just lost its superstar earlier in the day. Andreas Athanasiou scored the one and only goal for the visiting team late in the third. Arizona goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped 23 shots on his way to victory.
• Former Blackhawk forward Nick Schmaltz scored his 18th goal of the season, extending a four-game goal-scoring streak, to finish off the Coyoes’ scoring. Travis Boyd, Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain also scored, as Chicago trailed 4–0 until the Athanasiou tally.
• Stalock stopped 29 Coyotes shots in his first game back in net after missing 18 contests with a head injury and vision issues. The loss dropped Stalock to 6–6–1 on the season.
• If you are looking for a silver lining from the game, Arizona is also in the hunt for the worst record in the NHL and snagged two points against the hapless Blackhawks. The loss was Chicago’s second straight defeat after winning five straight.

The Blackhawks are back on home ice on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop against the Dallas Stars.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Feb. 28 vs. Arizona Coyotes appeared first on The Rink.

General Manager Kyle Davidson also acquired veteran Nikita Zaitsev, a 2023 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations prior to puck drop. Zaitsev had Chicago on his limited no-trade list of approved teams and Davidson took the advantage to snag another early draft pick. Chicago now has 13 picks in the first three rounds of the upcoming two drafts.

• This team does not quit under Luke Richardson. Richardson has done an excellent job getting his team prepared and playing the style of hockey he wishes. The record does not reflect the job he is doing because of the lack of overall NHL talent on this team, but the Blackhawks showed no quit again tonight after falling behind the pesky Stars 3–0 and firing back with four straight goals.
• Kane and Max Domi both found the back of the net twice tonight. Domi’s goals gave him 17 on the season and Kane’s pair gives him 16, in what has been an excruciating season for Kane. The on-going storyline of whether the future Hall of Fame winger will wave his no-trade clause has become nauseating. With that being said, Domi and Kane are definitely two players Davidson could get a nice return for at the deadline.
• Speaking of Kane, whatever ailment he was working through before the all-star break clearly is in the rearview mirror. Kane can still take over games and an interested Kane is a great Kane. If a team needs a playmaker, he can still drive an offense. At most trade deadlines, playoff teams are looking for scoring depth and/or depth on the blue line; Kane gives a team a top-line threat when playing alongside talent. Do not be fooled by some that show you chart graphics; you are looking at a bored, banged up Kane. Also, a Kane in April, May and June is a different type of Kane. I would not bet against him.
• Dallas entered Wednesday’s contest first in the Central Division and one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for top points in the Western Conference. You read that correctly fans. Vegas and Dallas are the top two teams in the conference and Chicago beat both on back-to-back nights. With that being said, the Stanley Cup should go through the Eastern Conference this season, as one could make an argument that six or seven teams in the East would outplay Dallas and Vegas in a seven-game series.
• Goaltender Jaxson Stauber gave a solid effort behind a team that played a game that went into overtime last night and finished in a shootout and found themselves getting in to Dallas at 3:30 a.m. last night. With Wednesday’s victory, Stauber now has five wins in six starts and continues to battle each night and is a joy to watch in net as a 23-year-old netminder finding his way in the NHL. Talent will always be the most important part in the crease in the NHL—you cannot fake that—but Stauber brings a calm and fight that you do not see much with such a young goaltender.
• Chicago found some karma for Tuesday night’s Kane disallowed goal in overtime. Dallas appeared to squeak a puck behind Stauber late in the third, but after another long review, there was “insufficient evidence” that the puck crossed the line. The one replay angle showed the puck on edge and the puck could have reasonably trickled over the line, but Stauber’s sweater blocked the view. Not to be outdone, the Hawks avoided disaster again at the horn, as Tyler Seguin appeared to score for Dallas before the goal was waved off for coming after time expired.

Chicago heads out west for a road trip starting with a contest against the inept San Jose Sharks on Saturday with puck drop scheduled for 9 p.m. CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Feb. 22 vs. Dallas Stars appeared first on The Rink.

• Jaxson Stauber allowed four goals on 31 Montreal shots. The loss dropped Stauber’s season record to 3–1–0 with a .911 save percentage. He looked like he was battling it behind a team disinterested in being in Canada.
• Connor Murphy made a clean hit on Nick Suzuki, which he had to answer the bell when Josh Anderson jumped him. Murphy was on the losing end of the tussle but the game of hockey is in a bad spot when players cannot make clean hits on players. The 10-minute misconduct is great and all, but the silliness needs to stop.
• Jake Allen stopped all 22 Blackhawks shots in what could be one of the easiest shutouts in quite some time. Chicago did not generate many high-quality scoring chances and did not do much in the “tough” areas on the ice.
• The contest started a six-games-in-nine-nights stretch for the fledgling Blackhawks. As fans, we can only hope this team is going to run out of steam and bottom out, allowing them to fall to the bottom of the standings. The pressure will mount for Kyle Davidson to make moves, and we may see this team completely bottom out in March and April. Then all we can do is hope the odds work out. It is time to cheer on Columbus and Anaheim.

Chicago is back in action on Wednesday to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Feb. 14 vs. Montreal Canadiens appeared first on The Rink.

• Jaxson Stauber played an excellent game in net. Stauber backstopped Chicago with 34 saves, while looking like a calm veteran in net. The 23-year-old has two victories in as many attempts since being called up from Rockford.
• Chicago found an early goal from forward Taylor Raddysh for his 13th goal of the season and 24th of his young career. The former second-round pick has shown a slight usefulness this season in the offensive zone, as his overall game has not quite lived up to NHL standards.
• Fans should be allowed to split-screen the game with a small box concentrated on Flames head coach Darryl Sutter. The hockey legend would be a blast to watch coach, especially when his team is struggling. As Calgary fights for a playoff spot, Sutter will keep his team prepared each night. As a Blackhawks fan, you cannot help but see Luke Richardson doing the same thing each night, albeit with only a fraction of the talent.
• Chicago scored three times in the second period to distance themselves from Calgary. Forwards Boris Katchouk, Jason Dickinson and Sam Lafferty all found the back of the net behind Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Chicago took advantage of a Swiss cheese defense that found the home team scrambling in their own zone, as they struggled positionally and got caught flat-footed in their own end on multiple occasions.
• Chicago tried its best to let Calgary gain a little life in the third period as Luke Philp and Dickinson took careless penalties, but the visitors withstood their ground and killed off both infractions and all three in the contest.

Chicago drives north for a Saturday night puck drop against the Edmonton Oilers at 9 p.m CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Jan. 26 vs. Calgary Flames appeared first on The Rink.

• Goaltender Petr Mrazek surrendered four goals on five shots before being pulled midway through the first period of action. Alex Stalock did not stop the bleeding, allowing two quick goals himself as Chicago entered the first intermission trailing the Kraken 6–1. With the game out of reach early after forward Jonathan Toews’ only Chicago goal, the Blackhawks were playing for pride the rest of the night.
• Isaak Phillips scored his first career goal on a nifty backhand after jumping up on the rush from his defensive position to beat Seattle goaltender Martin Jones top-shelf. Phillips’ goal was the only highlight of the second period of play as Chicago saw the Kraken slowdown their attack. As fans look to the future, Phillips struggles in the defensive end with the speed of the NHL level but has a sense of when to jump into the offensive action.
• Seattle forward Jared McCann finished off his hat trick in the third period of play which garnered two lonely fans heaving their hats onto the ice. In something of a highly unusual scenario, the referee skated over to one of the hats and threw it back over the boards to its rightful owner. I guess when a new franchise like Seattle scores a hat trick on the road in front of a crowd that spent most of their time on their phones in the final frame.
• Chicago scored three goals in the third period, two on the power play, to make the game appear closer in the end. Max Domi scored the first goal of the period, only to have Seattle score two quick goals and take an 8–3 lead. Two late goals by the home team was the final action of the night as most fans were already in their cars on the way home.

Chicago has Sunday off of all activities before practicing on Monday to prepare for the Buffalo Sabres skating into town for a 7:30 P.M. (CST) puck drop on Tuesday night.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Jan. 14 vs. Seattle Kraken appeared first on The Rink.

• The days of falling behind 3–0 and hoping this Chicago team could climb its way back into a game has long been forgotten. The Rangers found goals from Filip Chytil, Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko in the first period.
• Philipp Kurashev scored his fourth goal of the season in the second period. The 23-year-old forward continues to audition for his spot in the future, but as a one-trick pony (goal scorer?), that will most likely not be at the NHL level.
• At the beginning of the season, the organization needed goaltender Arvid Soderblom to play as many nights in Rockford to continue to get adjusted to the pro level and not play behind a team trying to lose. The 23-year-old has been a sitting duck in net, and unfortunately, management will have a hard time evaluating if he can be the goaltender of the future. Soderblom was forced into action because of injury, but fans can start to see why protecting a rookie in their development is important. He stopped 19 of the 26 shots faced.
• If you are looking for some silver linings, Jarrod Tinordi was the only plus player with his 6:12 minutes of ice time after catching a puck to an already stitched part of his face and exiting the game. Chicago also continues to win draws and fleeced the Rangers for 60% on Sunday.

Chicago will be back in action on Wednesday to face the Nashville Predators on home ice with a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Dec. 18 vs. New York Rangers appeared first on The Rink.

• The Blackhawks have given up the first goal in seven straight games. Connor Murphy gave away the puck at center ice after a soft pass was intercepted and ended up behind goaltender Arvid Soderblom. This is horrible hockey for even the most talented of teams and devastating to a team that is void of offensive talent.
• Caleb Jones scored his first of the season when he snuck backdoor and buried a shot past Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault. Jones made an excellent read off of a Canadien turnover and gave Jason Dickinson an easy assist on the play. Jones’ goal will give the meatheads something to talk about to overshadow his horrible defensive play this season.
• Taylor Raddysh scored late in the third period on the power play to tie the game at 2–2 as Chicago outshot, and for the most part outplayed, the visitors. Raddysh banged home a rebound off a Kane shot from the point. Raddysh does not bring a ton to the table but is always willing to get into tough areas.
• Dach’s return to the United Center was a pretty uneventful affair until his shootout goal sealed the deal for Montreal. Dach’s change of scenery has been a great thing for him for 20 games, but it will be interesting to see if he does a disappearing act as the season trucks along. Maybe he is allergic to something on West Madison, or maybe he just had a bad game. Either way, now is a good reminder that Stan Bowman ruined his development in Chicago.
• With an assist today and a solid overall game, one could make the argument that Dickinson has been a solid overall player so far this season, and could make the argument to see more ice time in the future.

Chicago is back in action Sunday night as the Winnipeg Jets skate into town for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Nov. 25 vs. Montreal Canadiens appeared first on The Rink.

• The Blackhawks were a step slow to start the game, trailing 2–0 early and having been outshot 16–1 with eight minutes left in the first period. Chicago’s two goals before the end of the second period were registered to Jarred Tinordi and Filip Roos; both goals were the defenseman’s first goal of the season.
• Max Domi and Patrick Kane each had two assists. Both forwards were rewarded, and outside of Jonathan Toews, have been the two most effective forwards so far this yearly season at generating chances.
• Arvid Soderblom continued his excellent start to the season with a 38-save performance. Anaheim’s Troy Terry scored 19 seconds into the game, but Soderblom settled back in and kept his team in the game. Keep an eye on Kyle Davidson jumping at the chance to send down Soderblom as soon as he can to stop the Arvid bus that is ruining his plans for a high pick in the draft.
• The “most unlikely hero award” goes to Tinordi, as he scored his second goal of the game with just under four minutes left in the third period. At the time, Chicago was being outshot 40–22 but had found the back of the net three straight times. Tinordi doubled his career goal output in the game, as he entered the contest with two career goals in 122 games played.

The Blackhawks are back in action on home ice on Monday, as the Carolina Hurricanes drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Nov. 12 vs. Anaheim Ducks appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Rinkcast staff members Andy Campbell, Ray Napientek, Sean (Goldstein) Fitzgerald, and Jeff Osborn provide a season preview for the Chicago Blackhawks an hour before the 2022-23 season opener.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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Blackhawks Rinkcast – S6Ep3 – Ready to go? https://t.co/h0qbYZWfHD

— Hockey Rinkcast Channel (@TheRinkcast) October 13, 2022

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 6, Episode 3 – Ready to go? appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by Rink staffers Sean (Goldstein) Fitzgerald, and Andrew Bard to discuss some of the outlandish rumors and silly takes regarding Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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Blackhawks Rinkcast – S6Ep2 – Patrick Kane Trade Rumors https://t.co/zGoEOlQpMH

— Hockey Rinkcast Channel (@TheRinkcast) September 1, 2022

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 6, Episode 2 – Patrick Kane Trade Rumors appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by Rink staffers Jeff Osborn,  Sean (Goldstein) Fitzgerald and Ray Napientek to discuss a turbulent two weeks for the Chicago Blackhawks in this first episode of season 6.

• Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach trades
• Review of the Blackhawks’ 2022 NHL draft
• Petr Mrázek and Alex Stalock in the pipes
• Goodbye Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik
• Hello Andreas Athanasiou, Max Domi, and Stalock
• Evolving Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews narratives

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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Blackhawks Rinkcast – S6Ep1 – Goodbye to the Old, in With the New! https://t.co/IMvxJjQvsC

— Hockey Rinkcast Channel (@TheRinkcast) July 20, 2022

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We were able to get another look at defensemen Alec Regula and Alex Vlasic, who both look very promising early on in their careers. Regula plays a simple game defensively and looks comfortable with the speed at the NHL level while Vlasic has noticeably improved his skating since his draft year and can really use his size and stick in the defensive end.

Blackhawks lines in warmups vs. Kings:

DeBrincat-Strome-Kane
Kubalik-Toews-TJohnson
Kurashev-Lafferty-Raddysh
Katchouk-RJohnson-Borgstrom

Vlasic-SJones
McCabe-Regula
Stillman-de Haan

Delia

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 22, 2022

Midway through the first period, the Kings buried the first goal of the game when former Blackhawk Phillip Danault buried a backhand behind staring goaltender Collin Delia while fighting off a penalty by underwhelming defenseman Seth Jones for a 1–0 Los Angeles lead. The goal gave Danault five straight games with a goal.

Outside of a shorthanded breakaway by Sam Lafferty, the visitors did not generate much offensively and spent most of the period chasing the Kings as their puck possession was outstanding.

Future Hall of Fame forward Anze Kopitar scored at the 9:16 mark of the second period to give the Kings a 2–0 lead. As Kopitar buried his 19th goal of the season, Chicago had yet to have a shot on goal in the period and had been outshot 24–6 in the game.

Twine. @AnzeKopitar with the deflection! pic.twitter.com/fw0t8M0tEq

— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 22, 2022

Chicago finally beat Jonathan Quick when Patrick Kane scored on the power play at the 4:47 mark of the second period to trim the margin to 2–1. Kings bench boss Todd McLellan challenged the goal, as it appeared Kane never touched up before Alex DeBrincat entered the zone. After review, the goal stood and Chicago was back to the power play for delay of game on the Kings.

Very close, but the Patrick Kane goal stands. Officials rule this onside. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/858GqIqPAS

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 22, 2022

Chicago looked to show a little life after being dead in the water for much of the period and only trailed the Kings 2–1 after two period of play and being outshot 28–11 in the game.

#Blackhawks trail Kings 2-1 at the end of Period 2.

Shot attempts: 59-23 LA
Shots on goal: 28-11 LA
5-on-5 scoring chances: 19-7 LA
5-on-5 high danger chances: 9-3 LA pic.twitter.com/8yuUAWE2wE

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 22, 2022

Los Angeles scored back-to-back goals within 15 seconds of each other to extend their lead to 4–1. Forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Trevor Moore both beat Delia, who left the ice with an injury after the second goal. It was hard to believe the Blackhawks were only down 2–1 with just under 10 minutes left to play in the game, however, it was not hard to fathom being down 4–1 shortly thereafter with how poorly they played.

Los Angeles did what they needed to do and extinguished a Blackhawks team playing out the season.

Chicago heads to Northern California to take on the San Jose Sharks on Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT.

The post Kings make quick work of Blackhawks in 4–1 victory appeared first on The Rink.

Pat Foley addressing the United Center crowd:

"If I leave you, it doesn't mean I love you any less." pic.twitter.com/nHowyUb166

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 15, 2022

Early on in the contest, Patrick Kane beat San Jose Sharks goaltender James Reimer with goal No. 24 on the season. Kane made an excellent defensive play at his own blue line, stopping a shot attempt by Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, which lead to a 3-on-1 with Kane taking a pass from Dylan Strome to take a 1–0 lead before fans were even in their seats.

Patrick Kane scores the opening goal a minute after Pat Foley steps back into the broadcast booth. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/rV3KZ8nm81

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 15, 2022

San Jose forward Timo Meier would beat Kevin Lankinen to tie the score at 1–1 at the 4:45 mark of the first period.

Both teams would find some offensive push, but both goalies stood tall, at least in the first period, as the score was all square after one period of action.

Recently acquired Taylor Raddysh netted his ninth goal of the season, on the power play, when Kane made a great cross-ice pass to defenseman Seth Jones, who found Raddysh on the doorstep for an easy redirect goal and a 2–1 Chicago lead.

San Jose would tie the game at 2–2 when forward Scott Reedy beat Lankinen after a harmless shot from Burns deflected to a wide-open Reedy for his third goal this season.

Chicago responded a few minutes later when Calvin de Haan buried his fourth goal when Kane made a “sweet dish,” as Foley belted, for another easy tip-in goal for Chicago to put the Hawks ahead 3–2. The assist gave Kane a point on all three goals.

Calvin de Haan scores his fourth goal of the season and Patrick Kane earns his third point of the night. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/pusS1zaU7d

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 15, 2022

As the horn sounded on the second period, Chicago led 3–2 in about as an evenly matched contest one would expect from two teams looking to the summer.

Early in the third period, Foley gave an accurate description that “the Globetrotters have just shown up” as a perfect tic-tact-toe passing play ended up in the back of the Sharks’ net for Dylan Strome’s 21st goal of the season.

DYLLY DYLLY (with some help from friends of course) pic.twitter.com/GmK4qgmpr0

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 15, 2022

The Blackhawks’ 4–2 lead would be cut back to one when Lankinen was left sprawling all over the crease and allowed left winger Rudolfs Balcers to score his ninth goal of the season. Lankinen has definitely had a difficult season behind a wonky defense, but has done nothing but give the organization doubt about his future between the pipes.

Rudolfs Balcers responds for San Jose with the rebound tally in tight! Sharks back within 1!#SJSharks pic.twitter.com/cT4NSg5hw4

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 15, 2022

Lankinen found himself flopping around again in his crease after making two stops on his back, but could not find the answer for the Jaycob Megna attempt, which tied the game at 4–4. A silver lining for fans: We get more time with the great Pat Foley as both teams were off to overtime.

Fans got their money’s worth with Kane and Alex DeBrincat working most of the overtime together, ending on an excellent rush by DeBrincat beating Erik Karlsson 1-on-1, but DeBrincat got in too deep and could not elevate a shot past Reimer. Through five extra minutes of Foley, the game remained tied 4–4.

“Lankinen! Hawks win! Hawks win!” shouted Foley as Lankinen made his third and final save in the shootout after DeBrincat scored to ultimately give the Blackhawks the 5–4 victory in a shootout.

Analysis

Pat Foley will go down as the greatest voice in Chicago sports history and will be missed by fans. Foley mentioned several times during the broadcast that he was the “luckiest man in the building” when us Blackhawks fans were truly the “luckiest fans.” Cheers, Pat! You will truly be missed.

The post Kane and DeBrincat refuse to lose on Pat Foley night, Chicago beats San Jose 5–4 appeared first on The Rink.

Pat Foley, a Glenview, Illinois, native, took over as the Blackhawks play-by-play announcer in 1980 and has spent the good portion of the past 39 seasons (yes, we all know that he was forced out for two seasons) giving Chicago fans something to cheer for, when he belted “Hawks Win! Hawks Win!” all the way to “Bannerman!” and even when the Blackhawks came out on the short end of the score with a “I hope you enjoyed the broadcast in spite of the outcome.” Foley truly is synonymous with the Madhouse on Madison.

Never one to hold back his thoughts, Foley could paint a picture on the radio and articulate a story on the television better than any play-by-play master. The legend was not afraid to stick it to a player that was not quite living up to his end on the ice, but was always quick to praise a player that deserved the spotlight.

As the organization has seen its highest of the highs and lowest of the lows over the past four decades, Foley’s voice was the one constant that fans could get lost for a few hours a night into something that was bigger than themselves.

As the Blackhawks wind down another season without action after the regular season, it was an absolute honor to listen to Foley for close to four decades as the voice of the Blackhawks. As a youngster, many were listening to him on their transistor radios (go ahead, look up what it is) while listening to the Chicago Stadium crowd erupt when the organist drowned out Foley describing the Blackhawks’ goal. All the way to present day, as we say good bye watching on our iPads and Smart TV, to crowds that are reminiscent to the early–mid-2000s when Foley was ousted by the Wirtz family.

Foley gave us chills when shouting our favorite player’s name. He is the reason we remember the run to the Cup in 1991 and also remember the fledgling years of the ABC line. He is also the reason we can get romantic about Marian Hossa and he is also the reason we can cheer about the three Stanley Cups. He is also the reason we look forward to the moments of him and Dale Tallon chuckling about travel and Eddie Olczyk talking about his love for ice cream during the rebuild.

There was nothing better than seeing Mr. Foley up on stage after the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup runs, celebrating with his hometown team. Fans all across the country could see the excitement on his face and how proud he doing broadcasts of three of the greatest teams in Chicago sports history. The great city of Chicago loves their announcers, and Foley is definitely on the “Mount Rushmore” of play-by-play announcers of the Windy City, if not the greatest ever.

So, whether your favorite moments run all the way back to “Larmer!” or maybe “Chris Chelios in overtime!” or even more recent “Crawford! Call the cops!”, take some time to reminisce about your favorite Pat Foley moments and thank a friend or family member that brought the legend into your life through the great game of hockey. The list of memories is truly endless as we hope for a few more “Kaners!” this season.

As we move forward as a fan base, we know no one will be able to replace him, but we need to hold onto the memories we have shared while listening to him. We do not hear it as much as we have in the past, but fans will always remember the great Pat Foley shouting “Hawks Win! Hawks Win!” every time this team brings us out of our seats in the future, even if he is on the golf course enjoying retirement.

Thank you, Pat! It was a hell of a run.

The post Farewell to the voice of the Blackhawks’ Pat Foley appeared first on The Rink.

Best Golf Courses in Florida#Florida #Golf #GolfCourses #FloridaGolf #GolfTravelhttps://t.co/kDsmxtfuFk

— Golf Reviews Guide – Latest Golf Equipment Reviews (@GolfReviews__) March 12, 2022

The visitors surprisingly jumped into the game with a bunch more energy, but still gave up a season-high 19 shots to the Lightning in the first period. Forwards Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point both scored their 31st and 26th goals, respectively, on the power play as both teams found themselves shorthanded twice in the opening frame. Stamkos’ goal was the exiting type of hockey we have become accustomed to from the two-time Stanley Cup champions.

De Kucherov à Point à Stamkos (1 de 2) pic.twitter.com/nf2Yz8oUu1

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 1, 2022

In a rarity, defenseman Calvin de Haan scored his third goal of the season while shorthanded. Chicago would tie the game when Alex DeBrincat buried his 39th goal of the season at the 17:21 mark of the period. Many still believe that there was no market for de Haan at the deadline; I truly believe that over Kyle Davidson’s asking price being too high, others did not know about his ability to pile on the shorthanded goals against the Lightning.

Calvin de Haan on target. pic.twitter.com/RdqvNgctdi

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2022

The first period overall was a mess with Chicago not being able to stay out of the penalty box, but as we know in sports, always expect the unexpected, as the period ended with the score tied 2–2.

The Lightning took back the lead when Ross Colton scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season, beating Kevin Lankinen at the 6:12 and 12:15 marks of the second period to give the Lightning the lead back at 4–2.

After two periods of play, the Blackhawks were completely outplayed, as the great Charlie Roumeliotis showed on Twitter. The Lightning looked to do their part trying not to fall asleep long enough to let the Blackhawks back into the game.

#Blackhawks trail Lightning 4-2 at the end of Period 2.

Shot attempts: 51-29 TB
Shots on goal: 35-20 TB
5-on-5 scoring chances: 31-6 TB
5-on-5 high danger chances: 13-3 TB pic.twitter.com/P1JRWyBh5r

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 2, 2022

We could beat a dead horse, but Chicago was able to muster one shot in the first 12 minutes of action, as the talented Lightning made quick work of the rebuilding Blackhawks in the third period. A Hall of Fame college basketball coach used to use a four-corners offense before the shot clock was implemented in order to keep the ball way from his opponents and use the clock up to win games. The Lightning did their best in making Coach Smith happy with locking down the offense and making Chicago look like they were running around chasing their own tales.

Roberto Duran said it best.

39 years ago Roberto Duran uttered one of the most famous phrases in boxing history, “No mas.” pic.twitter.com/XChjXv5uam

— ESPN (@espn) November 25, 2019

Analysis

Chicago fans were able to get another look at their favorite bottom-line forward Brandon Hagel for a whopping 12 minutes or so and anyone that thought he was not worth two prospects, albeit not top prospects, and two first-round picks really need to open their eyes and see that Hagel will be nothing more than a bottom-minutes forward and chip in his fair share of goals, but will not fire away at 23% ever again. These type of forwards are useful on Stanley Cup-type teams, however, there are another 150 Hagels skating in the NHL. Davidson did exactly what he needed to do at the trade deadline. His empty-net goal was really something, though.

As a 15 handicap in golf, I was able to spend a lot of the hockey game working on my grip as I prepare for the upcoming golf season here in the Midwest. As a fan of the Blackhawks for over 40 years, I did not want my team to feel alone. If I can save some strokes off the tee, I can really push my handicap toward 10–12, awarding me with an eight-year deal with a full no-movement clause, oh wait, those days are in the past.

Chicago is back on home ice on Sunday as the Arizona Coyotes come to town for a 6 p.m. CDT puck drop on Madison Street.

The post Chicago one step closer to the golf course after 5–2 loss in Tampa Bay appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by The Rink co-founder Jeff Osborn from The Rink Seattle and Rink staffers Ray Napientek, Andrew Bard, Sean Fitzgerald, and Eric Andrews to talk about the Blackhawks and Kraken 2022 trade deadline deals.

• • (0:00) Blackhawks unload Brandon Hagel, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Ryan Carpenter.
  • (44:00)Kraken unload Calle Jarnkrok, Mark Giordano, Colin Blackwell, Jeremy Lauzon, Marcus Johansson, and Mason Appleton.
  • (1:03:00)And some listener/viewer questions.
  • Sean brushes his teeth and takes us for a drive.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Watch the entire replay of the Twitter right here:

Blackhawks/Kraken Rinkcast – S5 Ep18/S1 Ep10 – Trade Deadline Extravaganza Part II https://t.co/HdJXRrlyu0

— Chicago Blackhawks Rinkcast (@TheRinkcast) March 22, 2022

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With Marc-Andre Fleury starting tonight in net, one would hope this would be a nice tune-up game for him before being shipped off to a competitor.

Earlier today, defenseman Seth Jones was quoted at this morning’s skate “It’s been frustrating the hell out of me this entire year” when asked about only having three goals so far this season. The forward disguised as a defenseman only has eight more years on his deal with the Blackhawks.

Derek King went with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen to start tonight’s contest.

#Blackhawks projected lineup vs. Senators:
DeBrincat-Strome-Kane
Hagel-Toews-Dach
Kubalik-Carpenter-Lafferty
T. Johnson-Entwistle

de Haan-S. Jones
McCabe-Murphy
Stillman-C. Jones
Gustafsson

Fleury
Lankinen

*Borgstrom, Kurashev and Regula are the scratches

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 12, 2022

This move left King with six defensemen after Senator Parker Kelly sent Connor Murphy into the boards awkwardly which resulted in Murphy being stretchered off the Ottawa ice. Kelly was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. Chicago would not take advantage of the man-advantage and found themselves down 2–0 after the first period of action.

To make matters worse, Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews dropped the cloves with Senators’ forward Zach Sanford after Sanford leveled Kirby Dach with his head down. Toews jumped in to protect his young linemate, only to receive a few blows to the head, something Toews does not need with his concussion history.

All-in-all, the first period was a poor showing for the beleaguered Blackhawks with Murphy being stretchered off, Toews taking hits to the head and Fleury surrendering two goals on 10 shots.

Chicago would go on a barrage of goals, scoring six of the game’s next seven goals led by two from Toews in the first three minutes to tie the game 2–2. Toews’ second goal, on the power play, was his 7^th goal of the season. Both goals would open up the floodgates on former Chicago goaltender Anton Forsberg who had been on an excellent five-game stretch and playing very well for the young Senators.

Patrick Kane assisting on Jonathan Toews’ goal to move into sole possession of second with 1,154 points in franchise history. Fitting. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/zXANj1Yf8N

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 13, 2022

The assist gave Patrick Kane sole possession of second with 1,154 points in Blackhawks’ history. The former first overall pick has been a pleasure to watch on the ice each and every season.

Chicago took their first lead of the game when defenseman Caleb Jones scored his third of the season. Nick Paul would tie the game at the 15:41 mark of the period only to have forward Sam Lafferty take back the lead for the visitors 18 seconds later. The goal gave 27–year old his third of the season.

ok @SamLafferty18 we see you IT'S 4-3 pic.twitter.com/4gDfx7g0tS

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 13, 2022

Caleb Jones scored midway through the third period to extend the Blackhawks lead to 5–3. The goal gave Jones his first multi-goal game of his career. The streaking Dylan Strome scored his 16^th goal of the season off a nice tip from a shot from defenseman Seth Jones from the point.

THOUGHTS

Patrick Kane can still control a game when he wants. His skill with the puck is second to none. However, is he the key piece to starting the rebuild by getting draft picks and prospects to start building up the organization’s future talent? Remember, the Seth Jones’ trade gave up last season’s first-round pick and this year’s first-round pick.

Marc-Andre Fleury showed his veteran leadership after giving up a tough third goal and shouldering the blame for the youngster Caleb Jones. Jones played the puck fairly well but Paul came to a screeching halt and bury a shot behind Fleury in one quick, swift motion. This type of leadership would look great in Toronto come April during the Maple Leafs’ playoff run.

Chicago lost Connor Murphy to a scary play early in the game and also lost forward Tyler Johnson to concussion protocol midway through the contest. Let’s hope both are doing well as reports were Murphy stayed at the arena after being stretchered off the ice.

As a fan, this was a game that was exciting to watch. Now let’s keep the phone lines busy Mr. Davidson and prepare to make this team a playoff team within the next half-decade. It’s already been five seasons since you were relevant.

The post Blackhawks storm back to beat Senators 6–3 appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by Rink staffers Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, Andrew Bard and Jeff Osborn from the Rink Seattle to discuss updates on the Blackhawks search for a new general manager, possible trade destinations for Marc-André Fleury and others, other possible deadline moves from around the league, and the most recent suspension of Bruins winger, Brad Marchand…and several obscure baseball references.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Watch the entire replay of the Twitter right here:

Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 14 – Hawks GM search, Flowers next seed and a look around the league. https://t.co/tbJJJUyz0T

— Chicago Blackhawks Rinkcast (@TheRinkcast) February 11, 2022

Subscribe, rate this episode, share with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

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Early in the first period, Chicago was awarded a power play and could not get a better start when forward Alex DeBrincat scored his 11th goal on the power play, 27th overall, when Patrick Kane found the Michigan native for the early 1–0 lead with a nice no-look pass across the center of the ice.

Incredible no-look pass by Patrick Kane to Alex DeBrincat, who buries it. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/YnE2MGNHUO

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 10, 2022

One minute later, forward Brandon Hagel scored to give the 2–0 lead when Hagel beat Smith blocker side. DeBrincat did an excellent job of drawing a defender to him and found a streaking Hagel on a nice center lane drive by Caleb Jones. Watching Smith give up two goals within the first three minutes of the game is always fun.

Chicago looked very sloppy to start the second period and let the Oilers cut the lead in half when Leon Draisaitl scored his 33rd goal of the season. Fleury made several excellent saves, some in desperation, but Draistil’s power play goal was just a matter of time.

Oilers’ forward Evander Kane was sent off at with 11:28 left in the second period after boarding Hagel in the Oilers’ zone. At this point in the middle frame, Chicago had been outshot 12–0 since intermission. To say the Blackhawks were scrambling in their own zone and creating zero offense would have been an understatement.

Chicago was lucky to walk out of the period with the one-goal lead. If the period had to be described, it was methodical and boring for the Blackhawks.

Dylan Strome scored the second power play goal of the season at the 1:08 mark of the third period when he beat Smith for the Chicago 3–1 lead. The goal was Strome’s eighth goal this season. A few minutes later, Kirby Dach found the back of the net for his seventh goal this season. Chicago claimed the game 4–1 despite being outshot 37–22.

Three-point night for Alex DeBrincat, who connects with Dylan Strome. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/opxRGfTDsN

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 10, 2022

Analysis

Fleury was fantastic again tonight. When his game is on, he can be the huge Band-aid this leaky defense needs.

DeBrincat continues to lead the way with his fire power on offense. Blackhawks fans know what Kane has brought in his career, but we are starting to see that DeBrincat is the face of this franchise moving forward.

Chicago slept-walked for the middle frame and still came away with a three-goal victory. Hockey is a crazy game sometimes, but overall, the away team was forcing the issue in the first and last periods.

Edmonton is nothing without Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. Nothing.

Watching Mike Smith give up goals never gets old.

The Blackhawks return to action Saturday when they travel to face the St. Louis Blues for a 7 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Blackhawks top Oilers 4–1 behind Fleury’s 40 saves appeared first on The Rink.

The Blackhawks’ energy appeared to be ramped up early, as forwards Henrik Borgstrom and Alex DeBrincat both scored in the first period to give Chicago a 2–1 edge at the end of the frame. Minnesota found the back of the net when Joel Eriksson Ek beat Kevin Lankinen for his 12th goal of the season.

What a pass by Seth Jones to Alex DeBrincat, who scores his 24th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Rj8CEJG2Yp

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2022

Borgstrom made an excellent defensive play at the Wild blue line that generated in a quick scoring chance that was kicked aside by Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, only to have Erik Gustafsson fire a puck on net that was deflected in front by Borgstrom. This is the type of effort the 24-year-old center needs to give on every shift. Creating a turnover, a shot and then stopping in front for a redirect cannot be a result of him sitting in the press box the night before. This type of effort must be shown every night in order for Borgstrom to show he belongs.

borgy's back ALRIGHT pic.twitter.com/rULM31XkCV

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2022

Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala scored in the third period of play with another goal sandwiched in between by Borgstrom, his fourth goal of the season, to tie the game up at 3–3. Chicago surrendered the last goal when Minnesota pulled Kahkoken. Legendary television play-by-play announcer Pat Foley mentioned Minnesota had scored a wild 12 goals this season already with the goaltender pulled. Minnesota would not disappoint their fans and tied the game up late.

Henrik Borgstrom, as of now, is being credited with his second goal of the game. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/tuC70o4YU9

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2022

Minnesota’s second goal would come after Chicago captian Jonathan Toews was sent off for hooking Kaprizov and received an unsportmsnalike conduct to add to his frustrations. The double-minor penalty resulted in the Wild finding the score sheet and left Toews with egg on his face.

OMG KEVIN#mnwild pic.twitter.com/37pXFlqJBi

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 23, 2022

In overtime, Chicago could not put the Wild away with Kane in the penalty box for hooking Kaprizov, who in turn received a high-sticking penalty. With the most talented overtime player in the game in Kane in the sin bin, Marcus Foligno scored the pretty game-winner on a nice play from Jordan Greenway for a 4–3 Minnesota victory. The Blackhawks really have no chance when Kane is not on the ice in the overtime 3-on-3, which leaves DeBrincat as the only talented skater that can finish a game consistently.

Analysis

Chicago showed heart after Friday night’s embarrassment by coming out and playing with energy and showing the ability to jump on top of the home team with the first two goals of the game. However, once Minnesota decided it was time to play, the Wild are far too talented for Chicago to generate much sustained success. Let’s face it, fans, this Chicago lineup is not very good.

Lankinen kept his team in the game for most of the game until Minnesota fired 34 shots in the final two frames of regulation.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night in Denver to face off against the highly talented Colorado Avalanche. Chicago should easily be outclassed in yet another contest.

The post Chicago falls to Minnesota 4–3 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

Saturday’s affair with the Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights (23–13–1) provided Knights’ fans with the return of their Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender and franchise icon Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury returned to the Vegas ice with a special video presentation before the game. Fleury mentioned to the press that he felt goose bumps coming back to Vegas.

Fleury tears up after watching video montage from Vegas Golden Knights pic.twitter.com/jO5dP0MPuP

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 9, 2022

Vegas started former Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner in the opposite net. For a fan of good goaltending, this was a fun matchup to get excited about.

Vegas did not waste much time taking the 1–0 lead after center Ryan Carpenter lost a draw in his own end, and defenseman Ben Hutton scored his first goal of the season past Fleury. This is a great place to mention that face-offs do in fact matter in the NHL, contrary to what some would claim. A win at the dot by Chicago does not lead to Vegas getting a shot that found the back of the net. Seems pretty simple.

https://twitter.com/ATTSportsNetRMW/status/1480016887417389056

Chicago’s best highlight was their lack of production in the offensive zone. The visitors were able to go over 12 minutes without a shot on goal. In the Sin City, sleep-walking through the first period is a common issue for visiting teams. Unfortunately, this is from a lack of offensive talent up and down the Bowman-constructed lineup.

In the second period of action, Jujhar Khaira scored in his third game back from injury after beating Lehner blocker side for his third goal of the season. Khaira found a loose puck on his stick just over the Vegas blue line and buried the wrist shot home to tie the game 1–1.

Jujhar Khaira scores his third goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/r7HKubIc7a

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 9, 2022

Chicago’s energy and battle for loose pucks were noticeably better in the middle frame. Interim Head Coach Derek King has mentioned on numerous post-game interviews that this team has not played a full 60 minutes of hockey much since he has taken over behind the bench this season, and once again, you can see this in only 30 minutes of action against Vegas.

Not to go unnoticed, King did shake up his first period lines.

With 5:39 left in the second period, defenseman Riley Stillman fired a shot from the left point that deflected off Brett Howden and passed Lehner to give Chicago a 2–1 lead. Having only managed to muster 11 shots to that point, Chicago somehow found themselves on top of Vegas. The goal was Stillman’s first this season.

Riley Stillman gives Chicago its first lead of the night after his shot goes off Brett Howden and in. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/ol2z4gBtAP

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 9, 2022

Vegas started the third period with the sense of urgency one would expect from the top team in the West, peppering Fleury without any luck into the first commercial break. The Blackhawks needed to show they believe in themselves and understand the importance of executing the small details that help protect a one-goal lead.

Chicago executed a simple plan of making safe exits out of their own zone and playing a solid five-man effort in the defensive zone. Offensively, Chicago got pucks in deep and did well to clog up the neutral zone and not overcommit too deep into the Vegas zone. With this defensive effort, Chicago allowed only six shots on net the final dozen or so minutes.

With Lehner pulled, Vegas could not muster much pressure, and Chicago held on for the one goal victory behind Fleury’s 30-save effort.

Analysis

It was awesome to see Khaira score after his return from a scary concussion.

Stillman found the back of the net after throwing a puck on net. Fans hear it all the time that pucks need to be put on net and good things happen.

How about the sport of hockey? Chicago lost to the worst team in the NHL a few days before winning at the home of the Western Conference’s top team. That is why we come back to watch.

The Blackhawks return to action on Tuesday, traveling to Ohio to face the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Fleury comes up aces in return to Vegas as Chicago wins 2–1 appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawk forward Jujhar Khaira was also back on the ice after taking a nasty hit in December and missing time. Today’s game was the first for the Blackhawks since a road overtime loss at the Dallas Stars on Dec. 18.

Blackhawks lines vs. Predators:

DeBrincat-Borgstrom-Kane
Hagel-Toews-Strome
Kubalik-Dach-Kurashev
Khaira-Carpenter-Entwistle

De Haan-Seth Jones
Stillman-Murphy
McCabe-Gustafsson

Delia

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 1, 2022

First period

Just 66 seconds into the first period, Predators forward Filip Forsberg beat Delia high glove side for a quick 1–0 lead for his 15th goal of the season. This was definitely not the start Delia was looking for in his first start this season. Forsberg has a sneaky quick shot, but this is a goal Delia should have had early on to get his game going.

FILin good! pic.twitter.com/4RHV6afPXN

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) January 1, 2022

At the 5:52 mark of the period, Predators forward Ryan Johansen scored after Forsberg won a board battle and found Johansen all alone for a quick breakaway, beating Delia with a nice juke move before sliding into the net. Johansen’s 10th goal of the season came after defenseman Seth Jones took a slashing penalty and Nashville’s Michael McCarron went off for unsportsmanlike conduct, leaving the teams 4-on-4.

After forward Dylan Strome went off for tripping at the 17:27 mark, Nashville extended their lead to 3–0 after defenseman Mattias Ekholm scored his second from the point on a quick wrist shot. The goal came on Nashville’s seventh shot of the period, as the Blackhawks peppered Juuse Saros for 15 shots without finding the back of the net.

Second period

The Predators would not waste much time when Tanner Jeannot scored 28 ticks into the second period and defenseman Roman Josi scored at the 5:34 mark. Both goals came after Derek King made a switch in net to Soderblom, who entered to make his NHL debut. With the score 5–0, Chicago still had an 18–15 advantage in shots.

Chicago finally found the back of the net when Philipp Kurashev beat Saros for his second goal this season. Defenseman Calvan de Haan created a nice rush up the center of the ice and found a streaking Kurashev on the right wing, who beat Saros blocker side to shorten the Predators lead to 5–1.

First goal of 2022 pic.twitter.com/0rejSZpeSN

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 1, 2022

Third period

For the third time this game, the Predators scored in the first 1:02 of a period when Jeannot scored his second goal of the game. A shot from Matt Benning from the point looked harmless until Jeannot tipped home the shot behind Soderblom.

Chicago did outshoot Nashville 38–24 in the game.

Analysis

Turn the page to tomorrow’s home contest against the Calgary Flames. Chicago was off the ice for 14 days, while Nashville played their fourth game in six days. Throw out the tape and move on. It is hard to replicate game situations for two weeks and play your first game back with your Rockford goaltenders.

The post Opportunistic Predators top rusty Blackhawks 6–1 on New Year’s Day appeared first on The Rink.

Much as one would anticipate with these two teams, a grand total of five shots combined were peppered toward Marc-Andre Fleury and Juuse Saros in the opening frame. However, Thomas Novak scored his first NHL goal for the Nashville Predators on the power play after Connor Murphy went off for cross checking at the 10:32 mark of the first period. Novak’s first goal was a beauty, as he beat Fleury glove side with a well-placed wrist shot top shelf.

As broadcasters Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk were deep in conversation about the outbreak amongst dozens of NHL players, MacKenzie Entwistle created a scoring opportunity that Kirby Dach took advantage of at the 13:57 mark in the first frame. Entwistle’s hustle found him with the puck and made a quick play to Dach, who buried a tough-angle shot off Saros and into the net for his fifth goal of the season.

Just what the Dach-tor ordered pic.twitter.com/ZoU9mfFLq0

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021

The second period of action would generate zero goals, but would see Nashville play with the puck in their offensive zone for long stretches at a time. Chicago fought to keep the score tied 1–1 after two periods of play, however, to say Chicago looked like the team that was down a large number of regulars would not have been wrong.

The third period play found Colton Sissons scoring his fourth goal of the season and Jonathan Toews collecting his third tally this season. Sissons’ goal found the back of the net for the Predators’ second power play goal of the game after Erik Gustafsson was called for delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass.

The Chicago captain scored after winning an all-important face off in the Hawks’ own zone (yes, if you want to win games, you will need to win important draws) and created some open space for himself just left of Saros, which is where Riley Stillman made an excellent pass across the ice to a wide-open Toews for a 2–2 tie game.

TOEWS TIES IT UP pic.twitter.com/MX977Lc4Cp

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 18, 2021

Chicago would not get an opportunity in overtime to create any chances, as Nashville broke up Chicago’s first rush and scored on the other end of the ice when Tanner Jeannot tipped home a nice pass from Roman Josi for his eight goal this season.

Fleury stopped 28 shots in the loss.

Analysis

To say this was a boring hockey game may be an understatement. Chicago did not generate many prime chances with 19 shots on goal.

Entwistle, Toews and Dominik Kubalik all played solid games up and down the ice, which is a very encouraging sign, especially for Kubalik.

Chicago needed to take advantage of winning against a depleted team and found themselves on the wrong side of the scoresheet after giving up two power play goals.

The post Chicago falls to Nashville 3–2 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

King has his team playing with confidence and playing a more structured game in their own defensive zone, a huge change from what Blackhawks fans saw early in the season. The kicker? King has not come in and made a huge adjustment. His players are playing responsibly in their own zone (especially the forwards) and have been a tough team to play against in the neutral zone. Mix in the fact that the team does not look shaken after a goal, King has been a breath of fresh air for the Blackhawks.

If there was any time for the Blackhawks to look shook, it would have been Sunday, as Islander defenseman Noah Dobson scored the game-tying goal with less than three seconds left to tie the contest at 2–2. Fleury had no chance with a great screen in front, and the Blackhawks of the early season most certainly would have looked like deer in headlights, but not Sunday.

In overtime, neither team generated many chances, as the Islanders controlled much of the play, but could not muster a shot in the first four minutes of action. At the end of the uneventful five minutes, Chicago bested the home team in the shootout.

Patrick Kane beat Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov with his patented “slowdown” move and backed Varlamov deep into his net that left the top shelf wide open for the future Hockey Hall of Famer, and Kane buried the puck in the back of the net for what would be the only goal scored in the shootout to give the visitors a 3–2 victory.

THAT’S HOCKEY BABY pic.twitter.com/mXXdI8M10O

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 6, 2021

Chicago took an early lead, scoring the only goal of the opening period when a shot from the left circle from Alex DeBrincat caromed off Brandon Hagel’s shin pad and found its way behind Varlamov for the former sixth-round draft pick’s eighth goal of the season.

Hagel’s power play goal was matched in the middle of the second period when forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau buried his second of the season behind Fleury after defenseman Riley Stillman was sent off for roughing. Pageau’s redirect on a point shot left nothing that Fleury could do.

Chicago would retake the lead 2–1 when forward Dylan Strome beat Varlamov after a loose puck found itself on Strome’s stick, and the forward buried his second goal of the season. The goal was set up after a nice rush from defenseman Erik Gustafsson through the neutral zone into the offensive zone.

DYLAN STROME MAKES IT 2-1 pic.twitter.com/Airj39kUll

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 6, 2021

The goal stood as the difference until Dobson’s last-second goal sent the game into overtime.

Fleury’s victory gave the Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, native his 499th career victory.

Analysis

Kirby Dach did not find his way onto the scoresheet, but he was in front on a few separate occasions and did have an excellent chance to bury a shot in front, but could not beat Varlamov.

Fleury did not see a ton of action, as the stingy Blackhawks defense would only give up 24 shots to the Islanders.

Chicago keeps winning under King. With the victory, Chicago has proven they can win on most nights when they play with confidence.

The Blackhawks return to action on Tuesday, hosting the New York Rangers for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop at the United Center.

The post Hagel and Strome pace Blackhawks to 3–2 shootout win over Islanders appeared first on The Rink.

The loudest cheer for lineup introductions happened when former Chicago forward Brandon Saad was mentioned as a starting winger for the visiting St. Louis Blues. Chicago fans were barely vocal as the five starters were mentioned for the home team, as Coach Derek King ran his fourth line out for the start of the contest.

At puck drop, Chicago found themselves down 1–0 just short of a minute when forward Pavel Buchnevich scored his sixth goal of the season. The play started with an excellent decision by Blues defenseman stepped up to take time away from Patrick Kane stepping over the blueline along his wing. The pass was intercepted and forced a two-on-one the other way for the Blues. Seth Jones gave a half-hearted effort to take the pass away and did not get into the scoring lane, looking like a forward playing defense, and Buchnevich buried the pass from forward Jordan Kyrou.

Chicago would appear to tie the game after a terrible miscue by Blues’ goaltender Jordan Binnington handed the puck over to Jonathan Toews who buried the puck into a wide-open net. St. Louis challenged the play and it was determined that Kane kicked the puck to his stick while crossing the blue line and drew himself offside. The challenge put Toews back to the goose egg in the goal category this season.

In a solid period in which Chicago did beat Binnington and pinged one off the crossbar by Borgstrom, St. Louis led 2–0 when Ivan Barbashev beat Chicago netminder Kevin Lankinen on the power play.

St. Louis outshot Chicago 16–10 in the first period but the visiting Blues would only muster nine more shots over the next 43 minutes of hockey.

Chicago came out in the second period with a much better approach to their zone exits and puck possession. Forward Jujhar Khaira was in the right place at the doorstep to tip home a puck that could not be challenged this time. The goal, the second of the season for Khaira, was assisted by Mike Hardman and Reese Johnson at the 0:34 mark of the period.

go to the net where good things happen they say pic.twitter.com/mp9V8DQORD

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 26, 2021

Over the next 20 minutes of action, the Blues played a quiet game, not pushing much action. Chicago did an excellent job of supporting teammates in their own zone and did a much better job protecting the puck in their own zone. Both teams looked to make safe, easy plays and not many “high danger” chances were accrued.

Chicago was awarded for their structured play at the 14:56 mark of the third period when Hagel tipped home a low shot from Jones at the point. Hagel’s redirect found Binnington out of position and the puck tickled the twine, giving the Blackhawk faithful still in attendance something to jump to their feet. The goal was Hagel’s seventh of the season.

The finish of the third period had the crowd on edge for the final four minutes of regulation. The crowd felt a little “playoff” like for the first time in a long time. The Blackhawks continued to put pressure on the Blues, something that has seemed to click under King. The Blackhawks of the early part of the season never had this kind of pressure and push, instead having the “how are we going to lose this game look.”

In overtime, the Blues controlled much of the early action as they were able to make several changes while controlling the puck but could not find the back of the net. As a result, Kane took a puck from his own blue line to the Blues zone and found himself on a two-on-one with Alex DeBrincat, sending a nice saucer pass and beat Binnington, giving Chicago the 3–2 win on Black Friday.

Lankinen stopped 23 shots in the victory.

“Kane. DeBrincat. Kane. DeBrincat. SCORE!!!”

Alex DeBrincat sent the Blackhawks home with an OT win pic.twitter.com/2JNqpMv8Ze

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 26, 2021

ANALYSIS

A cool, calm, collective Blackhawks team tied the game late and finished the rivals off in overtime. Having Kane and DeBrincat on an odd-man advantage in overtime is a blessing. Those two really are the engine of this team.

Hagel is a fan favorite and he continues to work in the tough areas. Dominik Kubalik had an opportunity in front but was denied. These two getting to the front of the net and making plays is a must, especially if Kubalik is going to get going this season offensively.

Lankinen settled after giving up a goal within the first minute of action, he was hung out to dry a little by Jones but that will happen with a forward playing defense and did an excellent job when his team in front of him turned in a great defensive performance over the final 43 minutes of action.

Jake McCabe fought Brayden Schenn right before the Blackhawks’ first goal of the game. Neither has anything to do with the other. Fans thinking that fired up the Blackhawks were not paying attention. It was good not to see DeBrincat or Kirby Dach dropping the gloves though for obvious reasons.

This team is playing hard and light-years better defensively under King, most noticeably the forwards are giving a much better effort in their own zone. This is such a relief to the defenseman.

The post Recap from section 319: Blackhawks beat the Blues 3–2 in overtime appeared first on The Rink.

With that being said, here is a quick look at how the top prospects are performing in their respective leagues.

Lukas Reichel

The Rockford IceHog netted a hat trick on Nov. 7 against the Manitoba Moose and continues to impress in the early season in the AHL. The German-born forward has produced six goals and nine points in 10 games. As a 19-year-old learning the professional game on this side of the pond, there should be no rush in his development. With Stan Bowman gone, he will likely play big minutes against men in the AHL and see a “cup of coffee” toward the end of the Blackhawks’ season.

Evan Barratt

The 22-year-old center has found his way into seven games for the IceHogs this season, netting one goal and two assists. The Bristol, Pennsylvania, native brings an energy to his game that a bottom line in the NHL would like to see. Barratt’s overall skills will not “wow” anyone, but he could be a call-up over Reese Johnson moving forward this season for the Blackhawks.

Colton Dach

The 18-year-old brother of Blackhawks’ forward Kirby Dach has produced since being moved to the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. Dach is pacing the Rockets at a point per game and has six goals in 11 games. At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, he should be able to find some space for himself and continue to use his shooting skills to impress in the WHL.

Josiah Slavin

Slavin continues to impress in Rockford this season and has been a wild-card favorite of this author since watching him skate in the USHL for the Chicago Steel. The Erie, Colorado, native and younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes standout blue liner Jaccob Slavin has three goals and four assists for the IceHogs and continues to show he can use his 6-foot-3 frame to his advantage all over the ice. Slavin should be a call-up this season or next if the 22-year-old continues to show he can be effective in all areas of the ice.

Nolan Allan

With no first-round pick last season because of the Seth Jones trade, Bowman reached for the 18-year-old stay-at-home defenseman has been a steady rock this season for the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. Allan is not expected to find himself on the scoresheet much, but needs to continue to hone is skills in the defensive end as a suffocating defenseman that is difficult to play against.

Nicolas Beaudin

The shine is starting to wear off on the defenseman, as Beaudin has struggled in six games in Rockford this season and looked over-matched in his time playing against NHL-caliber players. The former first-round pick in 2018 needs to show he can play defense against the best in the world and not just rely on his offensive talents he showed at a young age. Fans should not be surprised if he gets passed up on the next call-up to the NHL.

Ian Mitchell

Much like Beaudin, Mitchell needs to continue to show he can play against the top players in the world. In eight games in Rockford, Mitchell is a -5 and continues to look indecisive on his reads and plays defensively. In the NHL for 42 games already, one would hope that former bench boss Jeremy Colliton was not developing the the 174-pound defenseman, but the shine is wearing off on Mitchell, too.

Drew Commesso

The Norwell, Massachusetts, native is off to a 4–5–1 start for the Terriers of Boston University. The 6-foot-2 goaltender has taken the brunt off the struggles of the team early on with his 3.17 goals against average and .891 save percentage. The 19-year-old has time to turn the early season struggles around and help his team make a push in the Hockey East.

The post Chicago Blackhawks November prospect report appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell is joined by Rink staffers Ray Napientek, and Sean Fitzgerald to discuss the first games of the Derek King era.

• Is Derek King’s current style just what the Chicago Blackhawks need right now?
• Keys to success on the west coast road trip (Must win game one vs. Seattle?)
• An early review on Seth Jones: Is he a true number one defenseman?
• Players of concern: Jonathan Toews, Dominik Kubalik, and Philipp Kurashev.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the YouTube right here:

Watch the entire replay of the Twitter right here:

Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 7 – Can the Hawks keep it rolling https://t.co/dzt0MB5Vgn

— Chicago Blackhawks Rinkcast (@TheRinkcast) November 17, 2021

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 7 – King in his Castle appeared first on The Rink.

Derek King: "When I first got here, you could just see how fragile they were. But they’re enjoying it. It’s not pretty sometimes, but that’s the game. They’re battling for each other, playing hard…[and] we’re just finding ways to win."

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 13, 2021

First period

The first period was about as uneventful as you can find in the NHL: Two bottom-feeder teams looking to get on the scoresheet with poor chances on either end. The period did allow Blackhawks’ fans the ability to reminisce when former Blackhawks Stanley Cup champion forward Andrew Ladd interfered with Alex DeBrincat. Chicago did not score on the power play and did kill off the only penalty kill they faced after Jonathan Toews went to the sin bin for hooking.

When the paint finally dried after the first period horn sounded, the game was tied at 0–0 and Chicago had been outshot 7–5.

Second period

Patrick Kane had a breakaway opportunity stopped by Arizona netminder Scott Wedgewood early in the period that was an excellent opportunity. The Blackhawks looked like a different team in the early stages of the middle frame, as their speed kept the Coyotes on their heels.

During a delayed pentalty call, Kane created an excellent scoring opportunity, as he stickhandled through several Coyotes players and entered the offensive zone with speed. Kane found himself with a split second more of time (not many at this level have his capability of doing so) and found DeBrincat at the left circle for a one-timer that beat Wedgewood for a 1–0 Chicago lead.

Arizona would challenge the play after Wedgewood’s hissy fit, as he thought Arizona had touched the puck and would have stopped the play on the delayed penalty. However, the goal stood, much to the chagrin of the heated goaltender.

Third period

Dylan Strome took a double-minor high-sticking penalty with four seconds remaining in the second period in which the aforementioned Ladd would beat  Chicago goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at 1–1. A goal in the past would have sent the Blackhawks reeling, but the poise the team showed was the perfect example for King’s comments about the team being “fragile” in the past.

Dominik Kubalik would have two opportunities a few minutes after the Ladd goal when he found himself all alone with Wedgewood, but would strike the cross bar with his first attempt and could not squeeze a shot behind Wedgewood’s five hole on his second attempt. Kubalik is streaky and needs to find the back of the net to show he can play top-six minutes with a purpose.

Strome would make up for his bonehead penalty with his first goal of the season at the 9:26 mark of the period. Kane created the opportunity (yes, it is the only way they can score) and found Strome in the slot, who beat Wedgewood with a quick one-timer to put the Hawks back on top at 2–1.

When it was all said and done, Chicago could not add another late insurance goal and finished off the league-worst Coyotes 2–1 on home ice.

Fleury stopped 22 Coyote shots for his second win this season.

Analysis

Chicago has won three straight since firing Jeremy Colliton and look to like they are having fun for the first time all season. A win against the Coyotes still counts.

DeBrincat continues to shine and Kane is still the engine of the Blackhawks’ offense. These two are exciting to watch and really the best two players this team has to offer, by far.

Fleury showed that he is settling back into the top-notch goalie hockey fans are accustomed. When he keeps it simple in net, he is tough to beat with his positioning. When he loses his confidence, he can surely fight the puck and overcommit on shots.

Kirby Dach needs to start finding his way onto the scoresheet. His opportunities seem to come each game (which is a result of him knowing where to be and creating chances which is a good thing), but he needs to get going by finishing his chances.

The post Blackhawks finding ways to win, beat Arizona for third straight victory appeared first on The Rink.

Rinkcast host Andy Campbell and co-host Eric Andrews are joined by Rink staffers Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andrew Bard to discuss the termination of head coach Jeremy Colliton

• With Derek King appointed as interim head coach, will the Hawks turn their season around?
• Is King the long term solution or merely a bandaid until they hire a more seasoned replacement?

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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https://t.co/OH0rU9jc8k

— The Rink — Chicago Blackhawks (@TheRinkChi) November 6, 2021

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 5, Episode 6 – Jeremy Colliton fired appeared first on The Rink.

Marc-Andre Fleury started in net tonight looking to get on track this young season after starting -0–4–0 with an .839 save percentage.

First period

Chicago started the contest with a step slow but Fleury played excellent in net. Fleury would stop all 14 shots he faced in the opening frame to keep his team in the contest. Chicago would only muster four shots in the first period, not putting too much pressure on Blues’ goaltender Jordan Binnington.

Chicago would not find the back of the net in the two first period power plays and would kill off the Blues’ only man advantage after forward Adam Gaudette interfered with Blues forward Brayden Schenn.

Second period

The middle frame was about as even as a period as one would want from Chicago, especially in a 0–0 game and having not won a game yet this season. Chicago would pepper Binnington with 12 shots on net but could not find an answer to the goaltender’s puzzle.

Chicago managed a few sustained pressure play in the offensive zone, a much different scenario than the first period of play tonight.

Third period

At the 7:25 mark in the period, Blues defenseman Torey Krug beat Fleury for his first goal of the season. The goal, assisted by forwards Vladamir Tarasenko and David Perron, came on the power play after forward Alex DeBrincat was called tripping on Schenn.

The pressure Chicago put on the Blues after they fell behind 1–0 was almost non-existent. The lack of urgency the Blackhawks bring on a nightly basis is extremely alarming, especially after giving up a goal. Is this lineup taking the laid-back mantra of Head Coach Jeremy Colliton?

Chicago would outshoot the home team 9–8 in the period but the Blues would win the game total 37–25.

Binnington’s shutout was his first this season and first against the Blackhawks.

ANALYSIS

The good

 Fleury finally looked like the reigning Vezina Trophy winner of last season, stopping the first 30 shots he faced tonight.

Chicago looked better structurally in the defensive zone, even with Erik Gustaffson in the lineup. Overall, the Blackhawks were a much tighter team and did a nice job in the neutral ice.

The bad

Although it would not happen until the third period, Chicago fell behind again tonight and had to chase the lead.

After being shut out tonight, Chicago has no firepower outside of DeBrincat and Dach in the lineup when Kane is not on the ice. This lineup is not built to roll four lines and be competitive. Former General Manager Stan Bowman created a roster with no secondary scoring and it continues to be an issue.

Chicago will be back on home ice on Monday, November 1 when the Ottawa Senators come to town for a 7:00 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Chicago still winless after St. Louis 1-0 victory appeared first on The Rink.

“It’s always there,” Colliton said in the presser. “There was pressure from the first day I got here. It’s up to us and it’s up to me to find a new way to give these guys what they need to perform at their highest level.”

In Chicago’s 0–4–1 start, the team’s worst start in 20 years, the team has yet to have a lead in 300:57 minutes played. This would not be as alarming if the Blackhawks’ second-longest streak was last season (226:06 minutes), but something is not working, and it has been prevalent for more than five early games this season. There is something in Colliton’s “system” that has been failing for more than this early season start.

Chicago has been outscored 21–9 this season and has only mustered three even-strength goals. A team that was horrible at 5-on-5 play last season, the Blackhawks rarely generate any sustained pressure in the offensive zone, have zero puck possession (or any cycling for that matter) and have a poor net-front presence. On most occasions, Chicago has one shot one goal and is out of the offensive zone in the blink of an eye. The New York Islanders took advantage of Chicago’s lack of size and did an excellent job of boxing out the Blackhawks from any rebounds on Tuesday. Vancouver was just as successful Thursday.

The most frightening quality in Chicago’s play is the lack of desperation. Outside of a quick start in the home opener against the Islanders, Chicago has looked methodical, slow to react and out-classed for the majority of this young season. If the top-level players are not producing, this team does not have the secondary fire power to get things done on the scoresheet. The roster structure (a completely different problem) does not give Colliton a ton of options outside of a select few.

To summarize Thursday’s game: Colliton allowed Dylan Strome to play after watching four games in the press box. Alex DeBrincat scored his second goal of the season to tie the game 1–1 at the 8:26 mark in the first period. Patrick Kane and Seth Jones assisted on the goal. Vancouver would outscore Chicago 3–0 the rest of the way en route to a 4–1 victory for the visitors.

Chicago led 30–25 in shots.

The good

— Patrick Kane celebrated his 1,000th career game with his family by his side after hitting the milestone last season. Kane had wanted to wait for a formal celebration until fans were able to return to the United Center.

— Alex DeBrincat continues to show he can be a force with the puck on his stick.

The bad

— Coming back after missing last season, Jonathan Toews has zero points to start the season. He mentioned after the home opener at the post-game presser that his conditioning needs to get better. It is tough to watch the Captain struggle after all he has done for this organization. It would be great to see him get it going.

— Chicago’s 0–4–1 record is the worst start in 20 years.

— The lack of urgency. To say the first five games of the season have been poor would be a disservice to how poor the play has been for three seasons.

— General Manager Stan Bowman is the mastermind behind this organization.

The Blackhawks will look for their first win of the season when they return to the ice on Sunday, hosting the Detroit Red Wings for a 6 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post Hawks fall to Canucks 4–1, pressure turned up on Colliton appeared first on The Rink.

The United Center crowd enjoyed the introductions of their current team for the home opener. Captain Jonathan Toews’ video telling fans not to take things for granted (a great lesson for anyone) and how excited he was to be back playing in Chicago this season was met with the loudest eruption of the night from fans.

Head Coach Jeremy Colliton did not receive such a warm welcome.

Yikes. pic.twitter.com/Aj3vkgN7KF

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 20, 2021

Chicago started the contest with a noticeable speed on the forecheck that had not been prevalent in the first three games this season. At one point, the Blackhawks were outshooting the New York Islanders by double digits and finished the period with an 18–9 advantage in shots. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin was a wall behind the surprisingly leaky Islanders defense. The Blackhawks could have easily been ahead in the game, but could not figure out Sorokin.

Forward Alex DeBrincat had a few nice chances early and just missed a redirect that would have been a highlight-reel goal. DeBrincat has been known to pick pucks out of mid-air and find the back of the net, but the Farmington Hills, Michigan, native would have no luck this time. The saucer pass from Henrik Borgstrom was one of the only few positives you could take away from Borgstrom’s night.

The Islanders buckled down midway through the second period and found themselves on the scoresheet first. Anthony Beauvillier took advantage of a loose puck at the side of the net and beat Marc-Andre Fleury five hole on a freaky-type goal in the front of the net after a poor decision by Erik Gustafsson to leave the front of the net unattended. A well-coached team like the Islanders did not make many mistakes the rest of the game.

Back to Borgstrom, his terrible pass in the first minute of the third period looked like a youth-level teaching point that coaches all over North America could show to their respective teams on what not to do at your own blue line. Oliver Wahlstrom beat Fleury five hole again on another change up-type goal. Down by two, Chicago looked lost for the next 10 minutes and never recovered from the early third period goal.

Before you knew it, Chicago was down 4–0 and the seats began to empty. MacKenzie Entwistle scored at the 19:34 mark, but only about 5,000 fans were there to see it. Chicago received an alarming send off as they entered the locker room after a 4–1 loss.

The remaining fans boo the team off the ice. Rough times for the Blackhawks. pic.twitter.com/mwFSnDe3Rb

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 20, 2021

Analysis

The good

The Blackhawks did a wonderful job of celebrating the life of Tony Esposito, who passed away this summer. Chris Chelios gave the “eulogy” and explained Mr. Esposito would not want a moment of silence, but rather a chant of “Tony, Tony” from the crowd, and the Blackhawks faithful did not disappoint.

The UC crowd honoring Tony O the only way we know how pic.twitter.com/n9IlPYPlW1

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 20, 2021

The home team did make a noticeable effort to play better early in the game. Being prepared to play a hockey game at the professional level should not be something to get excited about, but when Chicago has been so bad so early, let’s turn this into a positive.

DeBrincat played an exciting game and had prime opportunities to score. The shifty winger is the type that can score in bunches. His shorthanded breakaway attempt was less than stellar, but watch out if he gets his confidence going.

Kirby Dach played well and continues to show he can be effective all over the ice.

Entwistle scored late, and it was great to see him rewarded for his efforts.

Sorokin was lights out for the Islanders. He kept Chicago off the scoresheet early in the first, and when the Islanders started boxing out the front of the net, the home team never really had a chance. A nice 39-save effort fell short of his fourth career shutout by a handful of seconds due to Entwistle’s last-minute tally.

The bad

The Chicago crowd let their true feelings be known for Colliton and after the game. It has been a long time since the Blackhawks have been booed off their home ice. There is a mounting pressure on Colliton to get this ship turned around.

Borgstrom’s turnover and his overall defensive liability on the ice is evident. He could not corral a loose puck behind the net on the first goal (maybe nitpicking here, but when you are winless, these things mount), and the aforementioned bonehead cross-ice pass at his own blue line to give the Islanders their second goal, one could only wonder how bad Dylan Strome has been in practice.

Mike Hardman took a hit along the boards from Matt Martin that clearly wobbled Hardman, as he went to the bench and into the locker room. You hate to see this happen to anyone. All the best to Hardman and a healthy, quick return.

The post Booed off the ice, Blackhawks lose 4–1 to Islanders in home opener appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago Blackhawks lineup

Alex DeBrincat — Tyler Johnson — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — Jonathan Toews — Philipp Kurashev
Henrik Borgstrom — Kirby Dach — Dylan Strome
Jujhar Khaira — MacKenzie Entwistle — Ryan Carpenter

Jake McCabe — Connor Murphy
Calvin de Haan — Seth Jones
Riley Stillman — Ian Mitchell

First period

Less than three minutes into the matchup, former Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman beat Fleury top-shelf glove side for a quick 1–0 Minnesota advantage. Hartman corralled an excellent stretch pass along the boards from Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon as Chicago was caught making a slow change.

Chicago looked like they were skating in sand as they tried to get their momentum going when forward Henrik Borgstrom beat Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen five hole after a nice feed from Dylan Strome from behind the Wild net. Borgstrom’s first goal of the preseason tied the game 1–1.

With 4:40 left in the first period, forward Alex DeBrincat buried his own rebound after Patrick Kane did an excellent job buying himself time and drawing two Wild defensemen toward him, leaving DeBrincat all alone in front of Kahkonen, who made no mistake on a rebound opportunity. DeBrincat’s tally gave Chicago a 2–1 lead in spite being outshot by the visitors 15–7 in the frame.

What a beautiful play all-around: The stretch pass by Seth Jones. The no-look pass by Patrick Kane. And Alex DeBrincat cleans up the rebound. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/vik6HriA2c

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 10, 2021

Second period

Chicago extended its lead to 3–1 after forward Ryan Carpenter scored a shorthanded goal following defenseman Seth Jones taking a penalty for slashing. Carpenter’s goal came after Riley Stillman found Philipp Kurashev, who in turn made a nice cross-ice pass to a streaking Carpenter along the left dot.

As Pat Foley gleefully stated on the broadcast, at 3:33 left in the period, Jonathan Toews scored on the power play after DeBrincat appeared to hit the crossbar and the puck found its way to Toews’ midsection and ricocheted behind Kahkonen. Toews was awarded for going to the net and was the recipient of the lucky bounce.

Jonathan Toews: Whatever it takes pic.twitter.com/mwTPr90qA4

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 10, 2021

Third period

Chicago extended the lead to 5–1 when Toews redirected a nice feed from DeBrincat on another man advantage. Toews did an excellent job of positioning himself in front of the net and had an easy conversion by keeping his stick on the ice. The goal was Chicago’s second power play tally in the game.

Halfway through the final frame, Chicago had outshot Minnesota 26–6 since the end of the first period. Early in the contest, the Blackhawks spent too much time looking for the extra pass of trying to make the “pretty” pass. For the past period and a half, Chicago did an excellent job moving toward the net and finding the “easy” pass and played a simple game of possession in the offensive zone.

TOEWSSSSSSSS pic.twitter.com/zgmeDmBBDQ

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) October 10, 2021

Analysis

Chicago sleep walked through most of the first period, but found themselves up 2–1 after being outshot 17–9 early in the game.

The power play struck twice tonight. If Chicago looks to be dangerous early in the season, the power play will need to be firing on all cylinders. Both goals were set up by excellent puck movement and not Kane holding the puck along the boards and four teammates standing still watching, as has been the case in recent years.

In the last meaningless game this season, no one appeared to be injured in the victory. The lineup could be the same in Colorado when Chicago takes on the Avalanche come Wednesday night.

Fleury stopped 25 shots in the victory. The reigning Vezina Trophy recipient looked excellent and in midseason form.

The Blackhawks open the regular season on Wednesday, facing the Colorado Avalanche for a 9 p.m. CDT puck drop.

The post RECAP: Toews scores twice, Chicago cruises to 5–1 victory over Minnesota appeared first on The Rink.

Fans will remember at the time, former executive John McDonough and still current General Manager Stan Bowman mentioned that the failure in the playoffs were “unacceptable” and changes were on the way. Bowman made changes a short time later, but fans have yet to taste success since.

Fast forward to last season, and Bowman, the son of legendary hockey icon Scotty Bowman, declared the Blackhawks were going to rebuild (many would argue that was a year or two too late). Not so fast. Early this offseason, Bowman seemingly diverted from that plan and traded for center Tyler Johnson, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury and top-pairing defenseman Seth Jones, along with other signings that showed his idea of “rebuilding” were short lived.

Let us take a look at the competition in the division to see how the Blackhawks may fare this season.

Teams Chicago cannot compete against
Colorado Avalanche — The loaded Avalanche just cannot seem to figure out the second round of the playoffs, having lost three straight against San Jose, Dallas and Vegas, but come into this season as a favorite to win the Western Conference and finally etch their names into the Stanley Cup for the first time since the 2000–01 season. With the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, Chicago just cannot compare to these elite-level stars. Add in the depth that helps win games and the Blackhawks would be a long shot in catching the Avalanche in the division. If Colorado were to be caught (and most likely not by Chicago), their goaltending situation would be the reason should Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz struggle in net.

Team Chicago should not catch
Winnipeg Jets — The team “up north” in the division this season is screaming “we can finally compete with the best” on any given night. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck keep the Jets a possible contender to win the division and possibly make some noise in the playoffs. Throw in the likes of Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler and Winnipeg has the horses on offense to compete. The Jets saw that the “tough parts” of the game were a need on defense and added veteran defenseman Nate Schmidt and Brendan Dillon to help keep pucks out of the net. This is a team that could be on the verge of a solid season.

Teams Chicago should compete with for final playoff spots
Minnesota Wild — As a team loaded with “solid” veteran talent throughout the lineup, the Wild will be competitive on most nights as long as Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen can keep the puck from bouncing off the twine. An offense with Kirill Kaprizov should scare anyone, but the rest of the offense screams “possible 20-goal scorer” with Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala not really scaring you as an opponent. With Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Alex Goligoski and Jared Spurgeon, the Wild’s chances rely on a steady defense to keep them in games.

St. Louis Blues — The fans’ team to hate just across the Mississippi River, the Blues are going to rely on Ryan O’Reilly, former Blackhawk Brandon Saad and disgruntled Vladimir Tarasenko to lead the charge. Add in the likes of Torey Krug and Brayden Schenn and the Blues have some veterans that play a smart game between the ears. If goaltender Jordan Binnington were to falter, the Blues could be on the outside looking in for the playoffs. The overall depth and talent level should keep St. Louis in the playoff hunt and most likely make them a tough out when the ice shrinks and the referees’ whistles are put into their back pockets come April.

Dallas Stars — When a team has the likes of Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz, John Klingberg and Tyler Seguin, one would think the team would be a lock to be better than Chicago, but, all things considered, the Stars are definitely a wild card when it comes to predictions. After having made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final two seasons ago, the Stars are relying on two veteran goaltenders in Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin to keep them in the playoff hunt every night (though I, for one, really like Jake Oettinger as the future in net in Dallas). If Miro Heiskanen takes another step forward, that may be a huge difference-maker for a team fighting for a playoff spot. If aging veterans like Alexander Radulov and Joe Pavelski slide, this could be a team in a tail spin.

Nashville Predators — Not so long ago, it seemed like the Predators were in for a long run as a possible Cup contender each season. That does not seem to be the case anymore. With that being said, the Predators are still a team to be reckoned with in the division. Defenseman Roman Josi is a top-five defenseman type of player, and the rest of the defense is littered with size and speed. The offense does not quite scare you, though, as Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen lead the way. If goaltender Juuse Saros continues to excel taking over for the legendary Pekka Rinne in net, the Predators’ system and defense will keep them in the playoff mix.

Team Chicago is better than
Arizona Coyotes — When your top-line center is former Blackhawks draft pick Nick Schmaltz, you are in for a long season. Throw in Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller and Phil Kessel and the Coyotes have some nice players, but do not have the high-level skill that should scare Blackhawks fans this season. The most exciting part about watching the Coyotes in the Central Division will be the next city that could purchase them and move them, since the state of Arizona seems to have had enough watching them struggle on the ice and only thing worth watching is whether the state will come through and build an arena.

Chicago prediction
With the additions of Fleury and Jones, the Blackhawks became a better team in net and on defense almost overnight. Last year’s goaltender, Kevin Lankinen, will not be shouldered with keeping the team in the playoff hunt for most of the season while an unqualified backup sits on the bench. The Fleury-Lankinen tandem should really work for Head Coach Jeremy Colliton. The unproven coach can run with the 36-year-old multiple Cup winner and let Fleury tell him when to be benched. Seems like a match made in heaven for Chicago.

Outside of Jones, Bowman also added defensive defenseman Jake McCabe to the mix of the top four on the back end. McCabe plays a simple game and can compete against top-level talent without looking lost (like so many young defensemen on the Blackhawks last season). He could be a sneaky-good signing playing 20 minutes per night. Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy help round out the other two defensemen that should hold down around 18–22 minutes each night. That is a solid group of four veterans that should compete at a high level in the defensive zone each night. Add in the fact that Jones could approach 15 goals and 50 points in a good season, and this is a defense that is primed to make huge strides compared to last season. However, Jones has had some subpar seasons of late and needs to show he can truly be a No. 1 defenseman with how much Bowman gave up to acquire him and then sign him to a huge contract extension.

The bottom pairings will consist of a combination of Nicolas Beaudin, Caleb Jones, Wyatt Kalynuk, Ian Mitchell and Riley Stillman, and none strike fear into anyone, but if that collection of five are playing third-pairing minutes, then the fans should not notice them much, or, at least hope they are not noticed on most nights. In the mix for time will be Chad Krys and Alec Regula, as well.

The Blackhawks’ playoff chances rely on offense with a healthy Patrick Kane. When on the ice, Kane has proven he can score in bunches and can make everyone one the ice around him a threat. Fans have seen it for over a decade, and the 32-year-old is not slowing down. Kane is Kane on the ice.

The other “obvious” forward to be successful, push for 40 goals and give you a chance to win is Alex DeBrincat. “The Cat” has shown strides in maturity and looks to be the face of the franchise moving forward on the offensive side of the puck. If he shoots anywhere near his career average, he is a lock for 30 goals. His defensive game will never confuse you with a Selke Trophy finalist, but he has proven he is more than just an offensive guy.

Captain Jonathan Toews is the wild card. After missing all of last season, the health of the captain is a major concern, even over the importance of him taking 66% of draws on any given night. If Toews can show he is capable of playing at a high level in all three zones as we became accustomed to in his prime, then Chicago will no doubt be better in the center of the ice. If Toews cannot regain his form, the offense is still below average down the middle.

That “down the middle” consists of youngster Kirby Dach (probably better suited to play wing in the NHL, at least for now), Dylan Strome (probably better suited playing wing somewhere else) and Tyler Johnson (better playing wing). All three are considered options, but have not shown the center of the ice is a comfortable spot for them. Young newcomer Henrik Borgstrom would be a wild card coming over from Florida. With that being said, I would not expect much from him in regard to being a significant, consistent threat at center in the NHL this season.

Chicago will also see a lot of minutes from Dominik Kubalik and Alexander Nylander. Kubalik has the skill and two-way maturity to be a successful middle-of-the-order winger. Nylander may be running on fumes in his NHL career.

The “try hard” players of Ryan Carpenter, Brett Connolly, Adam Gaudette, Brandon Hagel, Jujhar Khaira and Philipp Kurashev will give you some fun minutes and play a bottom-six role to a tee. With any luck, one of these five will push for more minutes as he continues to grow his game at the NHL level (namely Hagel).

When the dust settles in April, Chicago will be on the outside looking into a playoff spot by four to six points at around 90 points. With any luck and some unfortunate injuries to the four teams Chicago is competing against for most likely two playoff spots, the Blackhawks could sneak into the first round.

The night-in and night-out talent will be better than last season, and Chicago fans should not have to endure too many nights of the “I cannot believe I stayed up to watch that” episode on the ice they have been accustomed to viewing these past two seasons. However, to look at all the question marks in the lineup, the health of the captain and the need for everything to go right for Chicago to compete with the best in the division may well be too much to ask.

Enjoy the season and keep an eye on those last playoff spots!

The post Breaking down the Blackhawks’ chances in the Central Division appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago announced its roster of 63 players, containing 38 forwards, 18 defenseman and seven goaltenders. This season’s training camp roster includes 12 players that were invited to camp on tryout agreements.

Let’s get to work pic.twitter.com/RRRoMNTrZZ

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 22, 2021

Forwards

84 – Andrei Altybarmakian

26 – Evan Barratt

13 – Henrik Borgstrom

79 – D.J. Busdeker

22 – Ryan Carpenter

67 – Matej Chalupa

20 – Brett Connolly

28 – Colton Dach

77 – Kirby Dach

12 – Alex DeBrincat

58 – MacKenzie Entwistle

78 – Liam Folkes

11 – Adam Gaudette

15 – Carson Gicewicz

38 – Brandon Hagel

86 – Mike Hardman

34 – Kale Horwarth

52 – Reese Johnson

90 – Tyler Johnson

88 – Patrick Kane

16 – Jujhar Khaira

8 – Dominik Kubalik

23 – Philipp Kurashev

25 – Jalen Luypen

68 – Riley McKay

39 – Dylan McLaughlin

14 – Garrett Mitchell

45 – Cameron Morrison

92 – Alexander Nylander

56 – Dmitri Osipov

59 – Jakub Pour

27 – Lukas Reichel

36 – Josiah Slavin

17 – Dylan Strome

53 – Michael Teply

19 – Jonathan Toews

53 – Chris Wilkie

54 – Chad Yetman

Defensemen

42 – Nolan Allan

74 – Nicolas Beaudin

46 – Louis Crevier

44 – Calvin de Haan

62 – Ethan del Mastro

76 – Jakub Galvas

82 – Caleb Jones

4 – Seth Jones

48 – Wyatt Kalynuk

63 – Michael Krutil

43 – Chad Krys

6 – Jake McCabe

51 – Ian Mitchell

5 – Connor Murphy

41 – Isaak Phillips

75 – Alec Regula

55 – Ryan Stanton

61 – Riley Stillman

Goaltenders

80 – Tom Aubrun

60 – Collin Delia

29 – Marc-Andre Fleury

32 – Kevin Lankinen

31 – Cale Morris

40 – Arvid Soderblom

30 – Malcolm Subban

The Blackhawks’ practice schedule will run through Oct. 12 and can be found here.

The first chance to catch the Blackhawks in game action will be Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. when Chicago takes on the Detroit Red Wings in preseason action at the United Center.

The post Chicago Blackhawks release training camp roster appeared first on The Rink.

Here are the selections and analysis for each of Chicago’s eight selections:

Round 1, Pick 32: Nolan Allan, Defenseman, Prince Albert Raiders (FC Hockey Rank: 101)
Allan was an interesting draft choice at the end of the first round. The 6-foot-2 defender came as a surprise to most this early in the draft. He has a good combination of size and speed and plays a simple “stay-at-home” style. Allan’s ability to think the game is a plus, and he makes many simple plays out of his own zone. However, he brings almost zero production in the offensive zone and does not project much more offense at the NHL level. Allan probably could have been had in the late second round with better overall players on the board. As a first-round pick, he will get every opportunity to play his shutdown role in years to come.

Round 2, Pick 62: Colton Dach, Center, Saskatoon Blades (FC Hockey Rank: 95)
Dach should be a familiar name, as Colton is the younger brother to Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach. The younger Dach does bring much of the same size as his brother at 6-foot-4 and 196 pounds, but does not show the same top-end skills Kirby did in his draft year. Colton shows a straight-line threat on the ice, but needs to develop his playmaking skills in order to be effective at the pro level. With improved skating, he can be play a possession game and be difficult in the “tough” areas on the ice. In the year of the siblings for the Blackhawks, the Dachs might be a line we will be forced to see in the future. Let’s begin to figure out what we will call the Dach line in a few seasons.

Round 3, Pick 91: Taige Harding, Defense, Ft. McMurray Oil Barons (FC Hockey Rank: Not ranked)
Keeping with the size theme, Harding brings a 6-foot-7 frame to the Blackhawks’ selections. What is even more impressive is him tipping the scales at 236 pounds as a 19-year-old. Harding will be attending Providence College in the fall and will be one to keep an eye on for his development. At a part of the draft where draft boards can have players ranked all over the place, Harding was an intriguing pick for an overage prospect. Anything Chicago gets from Harding that turns into NHL games will be a plus. Personally, this seemed like an obvious pick that Chicago is choosing size over talent this early in the draft.

Round 4, Pick 105: Ethan Del Mastro, Defenseman, Mississauga Steelheads (FC Rank: 79)
Del Mastro was a great pick in the fourth round for Chicago. Another big defenseman at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, the Steelhead is a physical defenseman that shows enough skill in all three zones. Having missed this past season in the OHL due to the pandemic, the season before, Del Mastro showed he has the skating ability and range to be a disruptive force for opposing forwards. If there is a part of his game that needs improvement, it would be his skating ability. It is hard to say a fourth round selection is a sure-fire NHL player, but Del Mastro does show the ability to use his frame well and is a tough defender to play against. This might be the first pick where we see some true value, which is disappointing.

Round 4, Pick 108: Victor Stjernborg, Center, Vaxjo HC (FC Rank: 62)
To say Stjernborg is short at 5-foot-11 would be a disservice to him, but compared to the picks above, he does come up short. With that being said, this was another nice pick in the fourth round. The Swedish forward is a reliable forward that plays a highly responsible game. He makes great decisions and never seems to be out of position. As he continues to develop, his priorities will be on gaining strength and physicality. Stjernborg is the type of player that makes a NHL roster because he gets it between the ears. He does not have a ton of offensive upside, but does show a nice blend of smarts and skill. This could have been the best pick of the fourth round.

Round 6, Pick 172: Ilya Safonov, Center, Kazan Ak-Bars (FC Rank: 173)
Going back to his size theme, Bowman selected the 6-foot-4 Safonov out of the KHL. Safonov was passed over the last two drafts, but brings a combination of fight and size that you would look for later in the draft. The left-handed forward is a force to deal with in front of the net and in the corners and is a willing participant on every puck battle. Chicago cannot go wrong picking a center that is willing to do the dirty things you want from a pick in the sixth round.

Round 7, Pick 204: Connor Kelley, Defenseman, University of Minnesota-Duluth (FC Rank: Not ranked)
Kelley is a former U.S. National Team Development Program prospect that shows a very good skating ability; just do not expect much offense from the Maple Grove, Minnesota, native. Kelley is a defensive defenseman that did chip in three goals at UMD this past season. A seventh-round pick is always tough to predict. Anything Chicago can get out of him would be a plus, especially as an overage prospect in the draft.

Round 7, Pick 216: Jalen Luypen, Center, Edmonton Oil Kings (FC Rank: 189)
As far as last picks of your draft can go, Chicago did a great job with this pick. Again, it is hard to predict Luypen making the roster this late in the draft, but all things point to the Oil King alum making changes to his game that helped him improve. He is a hard-working character-type forward that comes with some grit. Luypen did chip in 16 goals in 23 games for Edmonton in the WHL this past season. If the organization can find a hard-working, sandpaper-type of player this late, one would be ecstatic.

The post Sizing up the Chicago Blackhawks’ draft appeared first on The Rink.

The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Jeff Osborn, Sean Fitzgerald, Andy Campbell, Ray Napientek, Andy Campbell, Eric Andrews, Aaron Goldschmidt from the Rink Colorado, and special guest, Gate’s ol buddy (and marginal goalie) from Puckin’ Hostile, Patrick Stankus talk about the upcoming entry draft.

• • Mock picks of the entry draft from 1-11 (or 12, whichever you prefer) and Colorado (with help of FC Hockey)
  • The Seth Jones Saga
  • Jonathan Toews might be back
  • The Blackhawks legal problems
  • A few more jokes than usual with Gate and Stankus.

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According to Hockey Reference, the team coming away victorious in the fifth game when the series is tied 2–2 wins the best-of-seven series 78.8% of the time. These kind of odds should make a team wake up and smell the coffee, especially after a lackluster appearance. The Avalanche are looking for some kind of momentum since defenseman Cale Makar scored to take a 2–1 lead in Game 3 with only 15 minutes left in the game. Colorado seemed to be in charge and on the brink of going up 3–0 and looking to have a stranglehold on the series. Boy, how things have changed.

In the wake of a great four-year run by center Nathan Mackinnon, big-time players need to step up in big-time situations. Ask any team that has won in the past decade (Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles): Your best players need to show up in the biggest moments. There is no better time for MacKinnon to show he can lead his Presidents’ Trophy-winning team to the third round of the playoffs.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native has registered 13 points in only eight playoff games this season, but none will be as big as the ones he can put up in Game 5 back in Denver. Forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are important in helping MacKinnon, but do not drive the team’s heartbeat like MacKinnon can and does. Multiple-Stanley-Cup-winning forward Brandon Saad has done his best to show the scoring depth that helps win a series or two in a playoff run; now it is time for MacKinnon to show why he is in the argument as the top player in the league. On the defensive end, Makar has shown he can play with the best in this league and can chip in all over the ice. However, none are as important as MacKinnon.

The good news for Avalanche fans is head coach Jared Bednar will have last choice when sending a line over the boards. This should allow Colorado the opportunity to get the matchups they look for in the offensive and defensive zones. Bednar has done an excellent job this season getting his top players matched up and showing the secondary scoring options can make noise against other team’s top players. This will also allow Colorado the opportunity to try and keep some sustained pressure in the Vegas zone, something that was non-existent in the last three games, even the 3–2 overtime win by Colorado in Game 2. Much of the Avalanche pressure has come off the rush and resulted in a “one-and-done” attack in the offensive zone.

It is not easy to point a finger at the top player on the top team. However, MacKinnon can and should shoulder the load in the remaining games of the series. If Colorado wins at home in Game 5, MacKinnon will look like the possession-driving monster he showed in the regular season and Game 1 of this series. If he can do that, Colorado should be tough to beat at home and take a stranglehold on the series. If not, Vegas’ stingy style of defense may be the end of Colorado’s hopes when they fly back to Nevada on the brink of elimination. With all the momentum all but gone, Colorado would have a hard time winning the last two games of the series.

So, who needs to get out of the second round more? No doubt it is Colorado. The Avalanche have worked their plan from the ground up a few years ago and are starting to see their hard work come to fruition. If Colorado hung onto the 2–1 lead in Game 3, we may already be talking about the Avalanche moving onto the next round, but we are not. On the other side of the ice, Vegas was gifted a sweet expansion draft and were allowed to build an organization much faster than expansion teams in the past. Even with the Golden Knights losing the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, the fanbase has had a great ride through the infancy of their existence.

With that being said, the Avs have not been to the third round of the playoffs since dropping the Western Conference Final to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2001–02 playoffs. Colorado fans have seen the rebuild through and want nothing more than to head to Vegas with a 3–2 series lead. The time is now, and the time is now for MacKinnon to lead his team beyond the second round. The Avalanche are a legit Stanley Cup favorite, but may be on the outside looking in if they cannot stop the two-game skid and win Tuesday night in Colorado.

The post Heading into pivotal Game 5, Avalanche desperate to advance appeared first on The Rink.

The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell reconvene to talk about the Blackhawks and some more broad NHL topics.

• Blackhawks have some success vs Florida after getting beat up by Tampa
• Thoughts on Kirby Dach’s return to the lineup.
• Referee Tim Peel getting caught on the hot mic and forced out of service.
• Thoughts on “big boy hockey”.
• Some listener questions.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 4, Episode 9 – Big Boy Hockey appeared first on The Rink.

Tuesday, March 23 — Patrick Kane celebrates his 1,000th game with a victory

Chicago ended its four-game losing streak with a 3–2 victory on Tuesday night against the Panthers, a perfect ending to the 1,000th NHL game for Patrick Kane. The Hawks would jump out to a three-goal lead and hang on late with a sigh of relief that could have been heard through the television set. 

Chicago forward Dominik Kubalik extended his six-game point streak early in the contest after beating Florida goaltender Chris Driedger. Kubalik now has 11 goals this season and continues to show an offensive flair in his second season on this side of the pond. The goal was assisted by forward Brandon Hagel and defenseman Connor Murphy.

Great setup by Brandon Hagel, who connects with Dominik Kubalik for his 11th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/9fACltcClu

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 24, 2021

Goals from forwards Pius Suter and Carl Soderberg, both assisted by Kane, gave Chicago a 3–0 lead early in the second period. Forward Alex DeBrincat and defenseman Nikita Zadorov assisted on the goals, as well. Chicago needed to hang on late, as Florida pulled Driedger for the extra attacker, and the Blackhawks did just that to claim the victory.

Chicago received excellent goaltending from Kevin Lankinen again, stopping 33 of the 35 shots faced and 28 of 29 at even strength.

Thursday, March 25 — Lankinen stands on his head

Rinse. Repeat. Lankinen continues to show he deserves all the time in net, pitching a 41-save shutout on Thursday in Chicago. The Finnish netminder had arguably his best game, even stopping a 3-on-0 midway through the game. The 25-year-old was also outstanding on the penalty kill, helping Chicago kill off all six Florida power play opportunities. The victory gave Lankinen 12 this season.

As Blackhawk fans have grown accustomed to, Kane scored a highlight-reel goal after he dug the puck out of a mad scramble in front of the Florida goal, showed patience to drag the puck into an open area of the ice and netted his 13th goal of the campaign.

Patrick Kane scores on the power play for his 13th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/5avoDak5A1

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 26, 2021

Suter scored in his second consecutive game, beating Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, for the Switzerland native’s 10th goal this season. Hagel scored his fourth goal this season into an empty net, giving Chicago the 3–0 victory.

Kevin Lankinen makes the stop on a 3-on-0 chance for Panthers. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/w1rnjZTZ13

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 26, 2021

Saturday, March 27 — Nashville too much for stale Blackhawks

On Saturday night, Nashville scored on their first shot of the game and controlled all three periods of play in a 3–1 victory against Chicago. The victory was Nashville’s fifth straight victory. Chicago could not capitalize on either of its power play chances, and although once down by only a goal midway through the second period of action, never really seemed to be in the game.

Suter scored for Chicago, tapping home a rebound off a Kane shot, and was the only bright spot for the Hawks on the evening. The goal was Suter’s third straight game with a tally and his 11th goal of the season, which ties him with Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov for the league lead among rookies. With only five assists, Suter is sixth overall among first-year players with 16 points.

Rookie Pius Suter has a goal in three straight games @NBCSChicago | #CHIvsNSH pic.twitter.com/LsNo6oRtAI

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 28, 2021

Saturday’s game also saw the return of second-year forward Kirby Dach after his wrist surgery only three short months ago. The early return was definitely a surprise to Blackhawks fans, as he was expected to miss another couple months. Head Coach Jeremy Colliton wasted no time trusting Dach with 20:08 of ice time. The 20-year-old center finished with one shot and won 40% of his draws.

Analysis

According to HockeyReference, the Blackhawks currently rank 26th in 5-on-5 actual goal differential with a -12, but do generate 52.4% scoring changes for, which ranks 14th in the league. Chicago also scores at a 11.7% clip on their high-danger chances, ranking them 22nd overall. The team as a whole needs to do a better job scoring goals 5-on-5 and taking advantage of their opportunities. If the young team expects to hang onto the last spot in the Central Division playoff race, they cannot continue to rely on their 28.3% rate on the man advantage, which ranks third among all teams in the league. Let’s hope the Blackhawks can sustain some more pressure against Nashville on Sunday and in their following two games against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The post RECAP: Chicago wins a pair from Florida, falls to Nashville appeared first on The Rink.

What team would shown up in Dallas and Florida after such an up-and-down showing? It ended up we got to see both.

Tuesday, March 9 — Chicago left seeing stars in Dallas

Blackhawks forward Mattias Janmark scored against his former team, which ended up being the only bright spot in a 6–1 beating at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Janmark’s goal gave the crafty winger nine markers this season but would cap off an otherwise difficult evening for the Stockholm, Sweden, native as he finished the contest with a -3 on the scoresheet.

Chicago starting goaltender Malcolm Subban displayed his regular lack of rebound control, his inability to find the puck in traffic on a regular basis and stopped only 31 of the 37 shots he faced. His defense in front of him was nothing to write home about either, but Subban spotted Dallas two goals before the Chicago tally shrunk the Dallas lead to 2–1. However, four unanswered goals later and Dallas finished off the Blackhawks 6–1.

With the lackluster showing this evening, this looked like the Blackhawks team many thought fans would watch on a more consistent basis at the beginning of the season, not the potential playoff team we have seen. A bounce-back game was a must, as the Stars chase the Blackhawks for that fourth place spot or the Central Division. 

Thursday, March 11 — Blackhawks do a lot with a little

“It’s not how, it’s how many,” said Chicago television analyst Eddie Olczyk on Thursday night about Chicago’s surprising four goals in eight shots at the time. The Blackhawks showed they could take advantage of poor goaltending by Stars’ netminder Anton Khudobin when scoring scoring on half their shots. As impressive of a stat as that can look, those eight shots came in the first 34 minutes of the game. Sometimes the game of hockey is unexplainable, but the Blackhawks were ecstatic to take two points from Dallas in this evening when they were able to hang on for a 4–2 victory.

Chicago jumped on the board when forward Dominik Kubalik scored his 10th goal on the season. First-year Blackhawk Carl Soderberg, a forward with excellent hockey IQ and has shown to be more than just a late signing to fill the void when Kirby Dach was injured, tipped home a shot by defenseman Adam Boqvist from the point, screening Khudobin and adding another power play goal to the impressive Blackhawk special teams this season.

Duncan Keith fired his first goal of the season, while the highly offensively skilled Alex DeBrincat buried his 15th of the season late in the second period to give Chicago a lopsided 4–0 lead. The Blackhawks looked to be in control of the game despite being outshot by more than three times by the Stars.

Boqvist gets it on net and Soderberg tips it past Khudobin!

2-0 Chicago! #CHIvsDAL pic.twitter.com/hVQ8RVcR1e

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 12, 2021

The feel of the game changed dramatically when Dallas scored two goals midway through the third period to cut the Chicago lead in half at 4–2. Dallas registered a late push that a young Chicago team looked like it may crack, but goaltender Kevin Lankinen turned aside all the Dallas chances. At the end of the day, after a loud sigh of relief could be heard all the way back in Chicago, the road team won a game that was nothing if not underwhelming for the visitors. 

Lankinen stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced on the evening. A victory like Thursday night’s is proof that Chicago will continue to lean on their Finnish goaltender to stay in playoff contention. It was expected to see Lankinen back in net against Florida, and that is exactly what happened when Colliton faced off against former Chicago bench boss Joel Quenneville in south Florida.

Saturday, March 13 — Florida figures out Lankinen

Chicago jumped out to an early lead when winger Brandon Hagel finished off a nifty give-and-go with Kubalik finishing with Hagel’s second goal this season. The early lead would not last long, as Florida scored four straight goals—three coming in the second period of play—to give the visiting Blackhawks the 4–2 loss.

Imagine not loving hockey. #CHIvsFLA pic.twitter.com/wOAeOHpPSy

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 14, 2021

Boqvist scored Chicago’s late third period goal when the game seemed out of reach, giving the second-year Swedish native his second goal this season. Chicago’s late push would come up empty and Chicago did not have an answer for Panther goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Analysis

The middling Blackhawks stand as middle-of-the-pack as they could at 14–9–5—some would say 14–14 overall—and continue to struggle at 5-on-5 to generate much offense. Without solid goaltending from Lankinen, a dynamic duo of DeBrincat and Patrick Kane scoring nightly and an inconsistent defensive group, Chicago may not cling onto fourth place in the Central Division.

Chicago’s next five games consist of one more game against the Florida Panthers before traveling across Florida for another two-game series with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Chicago then travels home for two more games in Chicago against the Panthers to close out a difficult stretch of games. If the “Jekyll” Chicago team shows up each night, Chicago should have some success against teams that are more talented against them. The “Hyde” Blackhawks would probably be an indication that the last playoff spot in the division could slowly be slipping away.

The post RECAP: Chicago sneaks out lone victory in three underwhelming efforts appeared first on The Rink.

• Can the Blackhawks make the playoffs?
• If they did, surprisingly, could they do any damage?
• Who has surprised us?
• What’s wrong with Collin Delia?
• What do we think of Nikita Zadorov?
• Lauren’s merch site Snark Buehrle

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

Watch the entire replay of the Youtube right here:

Subscribe, rate this episode, share with your friends, and even write us a review. The best reviews will be read on the air.

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 4, Episode 7 – MISTAH SVECHNIKOV!!! appeared first on The Rink.

On Feb. 19, Reichel’s Eisbaren Berlin team beat the Kolner Haie 6–1 with the Chicago prospect chipping in with a goal and an assist. Reichel played 14:01 this evening, with 1:38 on the power play. The forward was a factor in all three zones in the game and showed skills that made him the 17th overall pick.

Reichel lost the opening face off of the night, something that has been a struggle for him this season. He would win two of nine at the circle throughout the contest, a poor 22%, which is extremely low compared to his 44% face off percentage for the season. As an 18-year-old playing against older competition, and expected to be a winger in the NHL, this is not an alarming issue. Reichel shows he is willing to dig in and lean into his opponent to tie him up and allow his teammates the ability to make plays for the puck.

Each shift in the offensive zone, Reichel shows a nose for the net, almost as if he has a magnetic force with the blue paint. He works his way around defenders with shiftiness, a quality reminiscent of Patrick Sharp, and lets himself be a nuisance to the defenders and goaltender. He only generated one shot in the game, but was a threat with the puck for his team on most shifts.

The 6-foot, 172-pound Germany native carried the puck with confidence. Reichel played a simple game through the center of the ice, kept his head up for the puck and had his stick on the ice looking for the puck from his linemates. A glaring positive attribute was his ability to not slow down to make plays. With a wider ice surface in Germany, Reichel is able to use his slick stickhandling and ability to make plays with the puck away from his body, protecting the puck from the defender.

A few times playing on the wing in the game, Reichel carried the puck into his defender and was willing to take the body in order to make a play. His lack of size was evident on a few occasions, but this is not a concern for someone his age playing against older competition. On almost every defensive zone breakout, he is an option for his defenseman along the boards. He shows his defensive responsibility can turn into an easy exit pass quickly.

His skating is very good. He has an easy stride with good edge work. Reichel can turn in transition quickly, without losing speed, and backcheck with tenacity. His shiftiness in his hips allows him to make moves around defenders and even avoid contact. His forward burst into the offensive zone is tough to defend, showcasing a strong lower half that allows him to battle for dump-ins and pucks along the boards. He does not have blazing speed, but should be sneaky quick as he continues to mature.

Reichel’s goal in the contest came on the power play. Working as a winger, Eisbaren Berlin won the draw, which allowed Reichel to set up shop in front of the net. A nice tic-tac-toe pass ended up with puck on Reichel’s stick for an easy goal into a wide-open net. Reichel did an excellent job of positioning himself in the view of goaltender Justin Pogge’s vision, kept his stick on the ice and found a gift because of his positioning and attention to detail to find open ice. Many young forwards will not make the transition Reichel did to the far post, instead becoming stationary in front of the net, and allow the defender to tie up a stick.

His assist in the outing was almost the same exact power play setup that found Reichel in front of the net, rotated himself toward the right circle to give his linemate an option for a pass and found his teammate coming backdoor for an easy goal. Reichel showed good vision and anticipation on the play, knowing exactly where his teammate was going to be for another tic-tac-toe passing play goal.

In the defensive zone, Reichel keeps his head on a swivel and knows his responsibilities, a quality he was touted for on draft day. He shows active feet on the forecheck. The wider ice makes the forecheck a little more difficult since defenders can backpedal a bit and give themselves room, but Reichel does a nice job with an active stick, attempting to take away passing lanes. His willingness to forecheck and skate hard on the backcheck is a pleasant skill to have in the NHL. The IQ in his defensive zone was not needed much in the game, but it is evident he wants to defend.

His ability to read plays was evident when he stole a stretch pass in the neutral zone. Reichel retreated to center ice, read the pass and intercepted an opportunity that would have lead to an odd-man breakout the other way. The play was ruled offside as Reichel rushed into the offensive zone, but Reichel positioned himself in an excellent spot to make a play, another example of his ability to read the play and force a turnover.

One thing from the game that would need improvement was his tendency to try and get the puck off his stick after battles along the boards, which turned into a few giveaways in the contest. Reichel’s overall care for the puck is very good, so this could be a need for more comfort along the boards, which can come with size. He shows he can make plays in close, with the puck at his feet, through center ice, so this transition to along the boards should be quite an easy one.

Chicago fans should be excited about this game’s showing. Reichel played an overall game that is reminiscent of how to win games in the NHL: Win battles along the boards (as he matures, this will be a very good quality he shows), play in front of the net in the “tough areas” and show you can be defensively responsible in your own end. He does not have one “wow” skill that jumps off the charts, but has the overall game to succeed.

Please make sure to comment below or quote tweet on Twitter.

The post Blackhawks prospect game review: Lukas Reichel appeared first on The Rink.

Mackie makes his return to the ice

Forwrad Mackie Samoskevich rejoined the lineup on Sunday for the first time since Jan. 8. The 2021 NHL Entry Draft prospect scored the game-winner in overtime in Plymouth, Michigan, against Team USA. The University of Michigan commit now has 22 points in 17 games this season. Check out Samoskevich’s scouting reports on FC Hockey for more analysis about his game here.

The Sean Farrell show has plenty of sidekicks

With his two assists on Sunday, Sean Farrell continues to lead the USHL in points. The pair of helpers gave the Montreal Canadiens prospect 41 assists on the season, 14 more than teammate Matt Coronato for the USHL lead in assists. Farrell’s 18 goals give him his league-leading 59 points.

Speaking of Coronato, the Harvard University commit is second in the league in points with 55. His 28 goals lead the USHL over teammate Erik Middendorf, who has netted 23 goals himself. Middendorf is currently third in the points standings with 48 points. Chicago rounds out the top four slots in scoring, as forward Josh Doan currently has 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points.

For more on Coronato’s draft talents in the upcoming draft, click here.

Rookies continue to contribute

Forward Adam Fantilli, a potential top draft pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, continues to show he has the skills to play in the USHL at an early age. The Nobleton, Ontario, native has registered eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 28 games this season. Fantilli has registered 11 points in his last nine games as he continues to show and all-around game that will continue to impress NHL scouts.

Not to be outdone, fellow rookie forward Jackson Blake continues to impress in his first season in the USHL. The University of North Dakota commit currently ranks second on the team in rookie scoring with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 21 games. The 2021 NHL Entry Draft hopeful continues add to his 5-foot-10, 148-pound frame with the excellent development from the Chicago Steel staff.

Off to Iowa to finish February

The Steel play a pair of round games to finish of the month of February. On Friday, Chicago will travel to Buccaneer Arena for a 7 p.m. CST matchup with the Des Moines Buccaneers. The following night, Chicago faces off against the Waterloo Black Hawks at 6:05 p.m. at Young Arena.

The post The Steel Deal: Chicago beats Youngstown, splits with USA appeared first on The Rink.

On Friday, Chicago fell behind early 1–0 before scoring three straight goals to take a 3–1 lead into the first intermission. Forwards Sean Farrell, Quinn Finley and defenseman Ian Moore each beat Gambler goaltender Matt Davis.

The bank is open on Friday night! Farrell scores his 17th of the year! https://t.co/NkLRrXKsYO pic.twitter.com/9BlcQC4p6X

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) February 6, 2021

The Gamblers would level the score in the second period at 3–3 with two power play goals. With the score tied, Chicago goaltender Simon Latkoczy would not allow another shot behind him in stopping 33 shots total in the victory.

In the third period, Chicago took back the lead when forward Josh Doan netted his 16th goal of the season. Scottsdale, Arizona, native Erik Middendorf would score on the power play for his team-leading 20th goal this season, extending the Chicago lead to two goals. Chicago rounded out the evening with goals from forwards Jack Babbage and Andon Cerbone to cap off the 7–3 thrashing in Green Bay. The goal gave Cerbone his first of his USHL career.

BREAKING NEWS: Sean Farrell defies physics with this assist as Doan gets his 16th of the year https://t.co/ciwIjvv9BJ pic.twitter.com/uzychVvIZ8

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) February 6, 2021

On Saturday, Chicago used a six-goal first period to jump out to a 6–2 lead after one period of play. Coronato, Middendorf and forward Jack Bar all scored on Davis, who would be pulled after making one save on four shots.

Green Bay beat Chicago goaltender Nick Haas to shorten the Chicago lead to 3–1 before Moore, Sean Farrell and Coronato would all find the back of the net to give Chicago a five-goal cushion at 6–1 going into the first intermission.

Coronato matches his teammate, Erik Middendorf, for the USHL lead with his 20th goal of the year https://t.co/7V9o1MPqXS pic.twitter.com/pj2MO1ZDb6

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) February 7, 2021

Coronato would score his 22nd goal of the season, the lone goal in the second period, when he beat Green Bay goaltender Aaron Randazzo early in the second period. The goal capped off a hat trick for Coronato on the night.

Hat trick for Matt Coronato on a power play!

CHI – 7
GB – 2

16:13 – 2nd Period@RiverFrontCJD | #WeAreSteel pic.twitter.com/msfUFTeQUH

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) February 7, 2021

With the 7–2 lead moving into the third period, Chicago scored twice to extend their lead to 9–2 when Anthony Fantilli scored two goals within two minutes. With the pair of goals, Fantilli now has seven goals on the season.

Haas stopped 18 shots in the victory.

Chicago will be back in action at Fox Valley Ice Arena when the Des Moines Buccaneers come to town on Thursday for a 3:05 p.m. CST puck drop. Over the weekend, the Steel will host the Dubuque Fighting Saints for a back-to-back affair starting on Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. CST start, followed by a 3:05 p.m. puck drop on Sunday.

The post Sixteen goals too much for Green Bay as Chicago sweeps in Wisconsin appeared first on The Rink.

The Rink staff members John Jaeckel, Ray Napientek, Sean Fitzgerald, and Andy Campbell take a look at the Blackhawks after the 1/4 mile mark of a strange season.

Watch the entire replay of the Facebook live right here:

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 4, Episode 4 – Buncha Jerks? appeared first on The Rink.