The Chicago Blackhawks came into Tuesday night looking to get back to winning. They had dropped contests against St. Louis and Detroit in their previous two games, and had not looked good against the Red Wings. The only lineup changes of note were Ethan Del Mastro switching in for Artyom Levshunov on defense and Spencer Knight taking back over in the crease.
First period
The Blackhawks played one of the best first periods they have played all season. In what is normally a struggle for them to get through, they outplayed their opponents finally. Halfway through the period, Dominic Toninato won a faceoff back to Wyatt Kaiser. He moved in and wristed a shot into the upper right corner of the net, making it 1-0 Blackhawks.
admin stands corrected, this is a Wyatt Kaiser goal‼️ https://t.co/F9isOrGdnQ pic.twitter.com/XFu8qGI3BY
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 17, 2025
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Just a couple of minutes later, the Blackhawks had what looked like a good goal called back for goaltender interference, even though it looked like Joseph Woll moved all on his own. Jason Dickinson would get a goal, however, on a shorthanded opportunity with five minutes left in the period to make it 2-0 Blackhawks.
#⃣1⃣6⃣ with a beautiful shorthanded goal🤩 pic.twitter.com/NGOJ1Z49AK
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 17, 2025
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That would be how the first period would end, with the Blackhawks having the lead for the first time in a long while.
Second period
In what was a relatively uneventful second period, as both teams traded shots back and forth, with no one really getting anything close to past either goaltender. The second period would end the same as it started, with the Blackhawks still up 2-0.
Third period
It took until halfway through the third period for the Maple Leafs to put one in the net, but they finally managed to beat Knight. Oliver Ekman-Larsson got the puck off of the draw and put it over the glove of Knight, 2-1 Blackhawks. Six and a half minutes later, Toninato got called for holding the stick on Nick Robertson. On the ensuing power play, the Blackhawks had a bad turnover to Auston Matthews. He skated out front with the puck and wristed it past Knight, knotting it up at 2-2. Then, on the ensuing face-off, the Blackhawks forgot how to play defense and Knight forgot how to goaltend. The Maple Leafs dumped the puck in, and instead of clearing it to the side of the net, Knight just let the rebound go right in front. Louis Crevier got beat by Dakota Joshua, who scored to put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2.
Nick Lardis got a big opportunity in the dying seconds of the game, but the Blackhawks would drop this heartbreaker 3-2.
Analysis
The Blackhawks really look like a different team without Connor Bedard in the lineup. They do not have the energy to finish games, and do not show the same intensity that they ordinarily have shown with him. This team needs to play better regardless, as this game was a defensive disaster in the third period. Letting up two goals in nine seconds cannot happen, especially when you get out-hustled to make the first goal and the second goal happen. These games can be long for young guys, but you have to put your best effort every shift, and this team needs to be able to do that night in and night out to get points in the standings and climb out of the funk that they find themselves in.
The Blackhawks’ next game is on Thursday night in Quebec to take on the Montreal Canadiens. That game will be at 6 p.m. CST on CHSN.