The Chicago Blackhawks came into Saturday night’s game riding a four-game winning streak amidst the trade rumors of several players prior to March 3, the most notable being Patrick Kane. Kane, Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe were all absent for this late game. The Blackhawks jumped out to a 1–0 lead two minutes into the game and were never down. San Jose scored a late third period goal from Erik Karlsson to tie the game and send it to overtime, but the Blackhawks held on to grab the extra point in a shootout thanks to Philipp Kurashev.
🏒 Petr Mrazek made the start in net for the Blackhawks and had one of his best games in a Hawks uniform. He started off shaky, giving up two goals in the first 11 minutes of play, but settled in to save 45 of 48 shots faced, including all three shooters in the shootout. It is nice to see guys that were basically just brought in specifically to lose, do well. They deserve a little happiness this season, too. The Hawks really had no business winning this game. When you give up 48 shots, there should be no way you win.
🏒 The big story of the night (other than Kane) was local boy David Gust. Gust grew up in Orland Park, Illinois, played youth hockey for the Orland Fury, went to Ohio State University, won a Calder Cup as a veteran leader with the Chicago Wolves last season and signed an AHL deal with the Rockford IceHogs in a last-ditch effort to play for the team he grew up cheering for. After signing a two-year NHL deal just days prior, Gust scored the first goal of the game, on his first NHL shot, playing his first NHL shift, in his first NHL game. Storybook, folks. Congrats, Dave!
Ha. I worked for Dave Gust’s family in 95ish. I remember him running around the place as a toddler on weekends occasionally. Jesus I’m old. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/wTYG3M7GCv
— Puckin Hostile (@PuckinHostile) February 26, 2023
🏒 Poor Brett Seney got completely overshadowed, scoring his first NHL goal since Feb. 9, 2019, with the New Jersey Devils. Again, good on him. In a season of almost all negatives, Gust and Seney gave fans something to smile about.
🦈 Whoever decided to schedule a jersey retirement at 9 p.m. CST that ran for an hour needs to have their head examined. Especially for a game between two teams that are circling the drain with 20+ games still remaining. If you stayed up to watch this, there should be a class action lawsuit you can sign up for.
🦈 Karlsson continued to enter his name in the trade deadline conversation with a team-leading six shots on net and a game-tying goal late in the third period.
🏒 Max Domi has become a fan favorite in Chicago, following trips through several organizations in the league, earning a not-so savory-reputation, he has come in and won many Chicago hearts, including mine. He took a stick to the mouth, which broke some chompers late in the second period. He came out in the third period and scored his 18th goal of the season in his first shift back, temporarily putting the Blackhawks up 3–2.
For those watching the “tank index,” Chicago is currently ranked 30th overall with a .405 points percentage ahead of the Anaheim Ducks (.375) and Columbus Blue Jackets (.364). The Blackhawks are off today but travel to down the coast to face another bottom-dwelling team, the Anaheim Ducks, on Monday. Puck drop is at 9 p.m. CST.