On the eve of Thanksgiving in the United States, the Chicago Blackhawks looked to serve up a win in Ohio against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Wednesday night tilt marked the first of what should be many highly anticipated matchups throughout their careers between rookie phenoms Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, the 19-year-old center who was selected third overall by Columbus in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The Hawks started Petr Mrazek in net against the Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins.
Columbus opened the scoring at the 2:57 mark of the first when Boone Jenner scored his team-leading ninth of the season. Jenner retrieved the puck behind the net and banked it in off Mrazek to give the Jackets a 1–0 lead.
Erik Gudbranson gave the Jackets a 2–0 lead on a 95.2 mph slap shot from the left circle, as the Hawks were caught running around their own zone. For Gudbranson, it was his second of the season at 6:45 of the first.
The Hawks fell into a 3–0 hole when Jenner scored his second of the game and 10th of the season on the power play at the 13:55 mark. Jenner accepted a pass while standing with his back toward Mrazek then whipped a backhand shot that went in.
Bedard got the Hawks on the board and back in the game with his 10th of the season. Bedard skated in on the rush and used a pinching Isaak Phillips as a decoy and snapped a twisted wrister over Merzlikins’ glove and just under the crossbar. The goal cut the deficit to 3–1 at 15:40 and it would stay that way through 20 minutes.
CONNOR BEDARD WHAT A SHOT pic.twitter.com/L2rNApEelt
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In the second frame, Columbus regained their three-goal lead when Cole Sillinger tipped a Zach Werenski shot from the left circle at 7:32 for his first goal of the season. The assist for Werenski was his third of the game to give Columbus a 4–1 advantage.
Columbus continued its offensive barrage at 12:15 of the second when Dimitri Voronkov scored his third of the season to extend the Jackets’ lead to 5–1. The Jackets won a face-off then Werenski shot the puck from the left circle and Mrazek made the save, but the puck went right to Voronkov on the doorstep, who tapped it in to a wide-open net. Chalk up assist No. 4 in the game for Werenski. The goal would end Mrazek’s night, as he was replaced by Arvid Soderblom.
The Columbus offensive onslaught continued following a Hawks power play that came up empty. Former Blackhawk Adam Boqvist made a sharp cross-ice pass to Kirill Marchenko, who scored his fifth of the season off his skate to give Columbus a 6–1 lead at the 16:28 mark of the second period.
Columbus converted the proverbial extra point with yet another cross-ice pass off the rush. This time, Fantilli found Patrik Laine, who swiped a backhand shot past Soderblom for his third of the season at 18:40 to give Columbus a 7–1 lead, which was the score after two periods.
At 6:06 of the third, Jason Dickinson stole a pass in the slot and a shot on net was stopped by Merzlikins, who left a juicy rebound that Dickinson pounced on for this third of the season. The Hawks now trailed 7–2.
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With 1:19 left in the third, Ryan Donato poked in a rebound off a face-off and a goal-mouth scramble. For Donato, it was his fourth of the season to make the score 7–3, which would be the final.
Analysis
It was not a good night for the visitors, who have now lost five straight games to fall to 5–11–0 on the young season while Columbus ended a nine-game slide. Mrazek was not his reliable self, as he gave up a few soft goals and was eventually pulled after giving up five goals on 18 shots in just over 32 minutes. The defense was equally sloppy, as they allowed the Jackets easy entry into the Hawks’ zone and gave up several cross-ice passes, some of which would end up in the back of the net. And then there is the offense, which continues to struggle unless your name is Connor Bedard. It did not help that Taylor Hall missed yet another game with an injury, but even when he has played, goals have been few and far between. On the bright side, the combination of Bedard and Philipp Kurashev continues to work well. Kurashev finished with a team-high seven shots on goal; however, the Hawks clearly needs more offense from others throughout the lineup on a nightly basis.
The Blackhawks return to action on Friday with a matinee at the United Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. CST on NBCSCH and WGN Radio 720.