The Chicago Blackhawks continued their road swing through Canada with a Thursday night matchup against their Original Six brethren, the Montreal Canadiens, at Bell Centre. The Hawks were coming off a disappointing 3-2 loss in Toronto where they held a 2-0 lead through two periods then gave up three in the third and took the loss. The Hawks started Spencer Knight in net against Montreal’s Jakub Dobes. This was the third straight game the Hawks played without Connor Bedard.
First period
Alex Vlasic thought he gave the Hawks an early 1-0 lead, however, Montreal challenged the play successfully for goaltender interference so the game stayed scoreless.
Frank Nazar finally broke out of his scoring slump with his sixth of the season to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Matt Grzelcyk’s shot from the point was deflected in front by Nazar at 7:27.
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Montreal tied it at 1-1 on Zachary Bolduc’s eighth goal of the season at 14:23. Cole Caufield found Bolduc in the slot and he one-timed a shot past Knight for the goal. The game would remain tied after one.
Second period
Montreal took a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by Brendan Gallagher, however, the Blackhawks challenged the play for offside. The challenge was successful and the goal was disallowed so the game stayed tied at 1-1 heading into the second intermission.
Third period
Bolduc needed just 20 seconds to give the Habs an early third-period lead at 2-1. Lane Hutson’s shot from the point was redirected by Bolduc for his second of the game and ninth of the season.
Just 53 seconds later, Josh Anderson appeared to have given the Canadiens a 3-1 lead, however, the Hawks challenged it again for offside and were successful. The game remained 2-1 Montreal.
Noah Dobson gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead with his fifth of the season. Ivan Demidov shot the puck from the right circle and Dobson grabbed the rebound and backhanded it on goal from behind the net. The puck went under Knight and he knocked it in with his glove at the 10:00 mark.
The Hawks pulled the goaltender with just under four minutes left in regulation. The Hawks turned it over in their own zone and Nick Suzuki fired one into the empty net for his 10th of the season at 16:29. The Canadiens picked up the 4-1 win at home.
Analysis
For the second straight game, the Hawks played a respectable first 40 minutes only to collapse in the third period. This time, the Hawks entered the third tied at 1-1 and gave up three goals. With Bedard out of the lineup, the Hawks have a very slim margin for error because their offense is not good enough to play from behind. It also does not help when the team generates a total of 15 shots on goal. On a positive note, despite giving up a bad goal to Dobson in the third, Knight played very well and did all he could to keep the Hawks in the game.
The Blackhawks conclude this three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.