CHIvsMTL Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/chivsmtl/ Chicago Blackhawks and NHL Salary Cap Information Fri, 19 Dec 2025 15:15:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://i0.wp.com/www.the-rink.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cropped-FavIcon_v3.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 CHIvsMTL Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/chivsmtl/ 32 32 136660061 RECAP: Montreal defeats Chicago 4-1 with four unanswered goals https://www.the-rink.com/recap-montreal-defeats-chicago-4-1-with-four-unanswered-goals/ https://www.the-rink.com/recap-montreal-defeats-chicago-4-1-with-four-unanswered-goals/#respond Fri, 19 Dec 2025 15:15:38 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=35473 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... Read more »

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]]> 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.

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.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/recap-montreal-defeats-chicago-4-1-with-four-unanswered-goals/feed/ 0 35473 RECAP: Blackhawks lose home opener to Canadiens 3-2 https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-lose-home-opener-to-canadiens-3-2/ https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-lose-home-opener-to-canadiens-3-2/#respond Sun, 12 Oct 2025 13:51:38 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=34919 The Chicago Blackhawks squared off against the Montreal Canadiens in their home opener. Before the game began, the Hawks revved up the crowd the first celebration of the centennial season.... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks squared off against the Montreal Canadiens in their home opener. Before the game began, the Hawks revved up the crowd the first celebration of the centennial season. The Hawks had newest team ambassador Pat Foley give a speech and spoke about Troy Murray. Murray is still battling cancer at this time. Foley asked everyone to keep Murray in their thoughts.

Onto the game, the Hawks looked for their first win of the season at home. Meanwhile, the Canadiens came into the United Center with a 1-1 record and a convincing win over the Detroit Red Wings.

This was going to be the second-ever meeting between Ivan Demidov and Artyom Levshunov. While the Hawks ultimately took Leshunov at No. 2 in the 2024 NHL Draft, a lot of fans wanted Demidov. Levshunov was announced as healthy scratch instead.

In addition to Levshunov’s scratching, Lukas Reichel got his first action of the season on the fourth line.

First period

The first period was filled with four Blackhawks penalities and no goals by either team.

Second period

The second period began with more Blackhawks penalties.Wyatt Kaiser got the party started with a two-minute penalty for cross-checking Zachary Bolduc. The Habs cashed in the penalty with a goal from Cole Caufield.

Sam Rinzel answered the Caufield with a goal of his own shortly after, the first of his NHL career.

Less than a minute later, Bolduc sent Frank Nazar flying with a big hit, causing the first big scrum of the period. At the 4:58 mark, Kaiser and Alex Newhook got roughing penalties. Fellow Hawks defenseman Louis Crevier got an instigator penalty, a fighting penalty and a misconduct penalty. On the enusing Habs power play, Bolduc made the score 2-1 in favor of Montreal.

Later in the period, Arber Xhekaj was called for roughing Colton Dach. The Hawks tied the game on a Connor Bedard goal, though it was not the type of power-play goal we typically see from the 20-year-old.

After the Bedard goal, the Hawks recorded four more penalties in the period. That included a Bedard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Despite the parade of guys to the penalty box, the second ended tied at 2-2.

Third period

In the final period, the Hawks and Habs played evenly matched hockey until the last minute of the game. With less than 20 seconds left in regulation, Kaiden Guhle potted his first goal of the season. The Guhle goal propelled Montreal to the 3-2 win and the Hawks to a third straight loss.

Analysis

While the Blackhawks are more entertaining to watch this season, they are still finding ways to lose close games. Saturday’s loss was a heart-breaker with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

Despite the close loss, the Hawks played liked an undisciplined team. The Hawks recorded 10 penalties in the loss. This was the most penalties in a game since November of 2008.

On the positive side, the penalty killers were really good, only allowing two power-play goals. Spencer Knight recorded 25 saves in the loss.

Rinzel scored his first NHL goal and Bedard scored his second on the season. Rinzel and Bedard need to have big seasons for the Blackhawks, as they are the Hawks’ present and future.

Reichel could soon become part of the Blackhawks’ past. The engimatic forward was invisible in his first action of the season. Reichel played 6:41 and had zero shots, one hit and two giveaways.

The Hawks need to find way to start closing out some of these close games and earning some victories.

The Blackhawks welcome in the Utah Mammoth on Monday, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. CST.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-lose-home-opener-to-canadiens-3-2/feed/ 0 34919 RECAP: Blackhawks spoil Demidov’s debut, beat Montreal 4–3 in shootout https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-spoil-demidovs-debut-beat-montreal-4-3-in-shootout/ https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-spoil-demidovs-debut-beat-montreal-4-3-in-shootout/#respond Tue, 15 Apr 2025 14:26:58 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=33348 The Chicago Blackhawks looked to keep adding to their point total in the last few games of the season. Coming off a shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday,... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks looked to keep adding to their point total in the last few games of the season. Coming off a shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, the team looked to put a couple of wins together while giving the young guys — including the NHL debut for Ryan Greene — a chance to play in the bigs, squaring off with the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.

The Blackhawks’ lineup versus Montreal was as follows:

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First period

The scoring started off fairly quickly in this one. With a save on one end, the Canadiens took the puck to the offensive zone. Ivan Demidov, also in his NHL debut, took the puck around the defense and fed it out front. Alex Newhook buried the shot to put Montreal up 1–0 at the six-minute mark of the first. Five and a half minute later, Demidov would again bring the Bell Centre crowd to its feet. The Canadiens dumped in the puck and it popped out in front. Demidov was there to backhand it past Arvid Soderblom, putting the Habs up 2–0 early in this one.

With just a couple minutes left in the frame, the Blackhawks went on the power play. With some beautiful passes from Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, the puck found its way to Tyler Bertuzzi. He put the puck over the shoulder of Sam Montembeault, pulling the Blackhawks back within one.

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The first would end with the Canadiens holding onto their 2–1 lead.

Second period

The most action in the second period was due to penalties. Between both clubs, there were five power-play opportunities in one period. The Blackhawks made the most of their second power play of the period, with Nazar taking a quick pass from Teuvo Teravainen and one-timing it past Montembeault, knotting things up at 2–2.

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The Blackhawks took a late penalty, sending the Canadiens to the power play to start the third.

Third period

The Blackhawks killed off that penalty, and traded chances early on in the period. Then, with Joe Veleno blocking a shot, Landon Slaggert took the puck up ice. He fed the puck across to Lukas Reichel, who went in on a partial breakaway. He buried his shot, putting the Blackhawks up 3–2. Blackhawks fans would be pleased to know Demidov and uber-hyped rookie defenseman Lane Hutson both badly blew coverage on the play to lead to Reichel’s break.

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Unfortunately, the Hawks would not be able to hold onto that lead. Giving the Canadiens another power play, the Habs managed to knot things up. Hutson skated in with the puck, which then went off of the stick of Cole Caufield and then Juraj Slafkovsky before bouncing off the post and Soderblom’s leg to cross the goal line, tying things up at 3–3, and sending the game to overtime.

Overtime and shootout

After neither team generated much in the overtime, with three shots total between them, the game went to the shootout. After a save on Montreal’s first attempt, Nazar was up next for the Blackhawks. He backhanded the puck over the Canadiens’ goaltender, wedging it between the net and the water bottle, which the referees somehow completely missed but later deemed it a good goal. That was the only goal in the shootout, as the Blackhawks took home the win 4–3.

Analysis

It is a lot of fun to see the young guys play for the Blackhawks. With a much more youthful roster, including Greene’s debut, the team has some energy and desire to play hard every shift. There are still some shifts where players will look out of place, or may get beaten, but overall it has been an impressive youth movement coming together the last few games of the season. These games should make fans excited for the future of Blackhawks hockey, as it looks bright with a lot of their recent draft picks debuting and looking the part.

The Blackhawks’ final game of the season is on Tuesday night in Canada’s capital against the Ottawa Senators. That game will be at 6 p.m. CDT on everyone’s favorite CHSN.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-spoil-demidovs-debut-beat-montreal-4-3-in-shootout/feed/ 0 33348 RECAP: Blackhawks cool off Canadiens with 4–2 win in Dach’s debut https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-cool-off-canadiens-with-4-2-win-in-dachs-debut/ https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-cool-off-canadiens-with-4-2-win-in-dachs-debut/#respond Sat, 04 Jan 2025 04:06:17 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=32662 The Chicago Blackhawks looked to rid themselves of the sour taste in their mouths following a dismal performance in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Blues... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks looked to rid themselves of the sour taste in their mouths following a dismal performance in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. The Hawks dropped a 6–2 decision on New Year’s Eve against their Central Division rivals in a game where they were down 2–0 early and the Blues rolled from there. On Friday night, the Blackhawks welcomed the red-hot Montreal Canadiens to the United Center. The Canadiens entered the game having won three straight and six of seven heading into their first game of 2025. The Hawks, who entered the game on a five-game losing streak, started Arvid Soderblom in net against the Habs’ Sam Montembeault. The game also marked the NHL debut for Blackhawks prospect Colton Dach, who ironically would face his older brother and former Hawk, Kirby Dach.

First period

The Blackhawks took advantage of an early two-man advantage when Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 13th of the season to give Chicago a 1–0 lead. The Hawks controlled the puck and Teuvo Teravainen found Bertuzzi on the door step for the easy tap-in at 3:21. Connor Bedard picked up the second assist to extend his point streak to six games.

With 1:36 left, Cole Caufield tied it at 1–1 with his 20th of the season. After getting denied by Soderblom, Nick Suzuki retrieved the puck in the slot and found Caufield alone behind the net. Caufield skated alone in front and snapped on top shelf to tie the game after 20 minutes.

Second period

The Blackhawks took a 2–1 lead on a Nick Foligno tip-in for his ninth of the season. Wyatt Kaiser saved the puck at the blue line from exiting the zone and he fired a shot that Foligno deflected in at 7:05.

The Hawks took the one-goal lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Third period

The Hawks took a 3–1 lead when the “Big Rig,” Pat Maroon, scored his second of the season at 3:01. Craig Smith forced a turnover and Ryan Donato rushed down the ice and made a tape-to-tape backhand pass to Maroon, who finished to give Chicago a two-goal lead.

Emil Heineman cut the Canadiens’ deficit to 3–2 with his 10th of the season at the 9:45 mark. With the Habs on the power play, Heineman showed impressive hand-eye coordination when he swatted a puck out of mid-air into the net on a shot that missed the net but caromed off the boards and back out in front.

The Hawks regained the two-goal lead with 4:09 left when Alex Vlasic skated into the slot and his shot hit the post. After initially thinking it was in, Foligno was on the doorstep and poked in the rebound for his second of the game and 10th of the season to give Chicago a late 4–2 lead and that would be the final.

Analysis

The Blackhawks ended their five-game skid with a strong effort led by many of the veterans, however, Vlasic was without question the best player on the ice. He was strong at both ends of the ice, including getting an assist on the Hawks’ final goal and also saving the potential tying goal earlier in the third period. Colton Dach certainly looked like he belonged in his debut. He was given some power play time, where he parked himself in front of the net and showed some crafty hands as he nearly finished a few scoring chances.

The Blackhawks return to the ice on Sunday afternoon with a matinee against the New York Rangers. Puck drop is at 2 p.m. CST on ABC and ESPN+ with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-cool-off-canadiens-with-4-2-win-in-dachs-debut/feed/ 0 32662 RECAP: Blackhawks bounced into loss column, drop to Montreal https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-bounced-into-loss-column-drop-to-montreal/ https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-bounced-into-loss-column-drop-to-montreal/#respond Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:33:36 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=28014 The Blackhawks have been such a yo-yo team this season. They haven’t been able to string any win streaks together, and have been waffling back and forth between wins and... Read more »

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]]> The Blackhawks have been such a yo-yo team this season. They haven’t been able to string any win streaks together, and have been waffling back and forth between wins and mostly losses for the whole season at this point. They just defeated the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night in Chicago, getting beat in every offensive department, but playing stellar defense en route to that victory. The lineup stayed mostly the same, save for Jarred Tinordi and Kevin Korchinski checking back in after spending some time on injured reserve.

First Period:

The Blackhawks and Canadiens traded chances for much of the first period. The Canadiens had some good shots on Petr Mrazek, but he managed to stop them all. A bad misplay by Nikita Zaitsev almost cost them a goal, but Mrazek managed to stop the Canadiens’ Jake Evans with the pad right in front of the net. The Blackhawks would get the next great chance to score. MacKenzie Entwisle got a good shot on Cayden Primeau in close. The rebound was lying right in front of him, and Anthony Beauvillier put a backhander right past him. Unfortunately, Jayden Struble was right there to have the puck go off of him, as he took up the goal crease.

But, with just over three minutes left in the period, the Blackhawks would find twine. Connor Bedard skated into the offensive zone and stopped along the boards. He got the puck over to Ryan Donato, who wristed the puck past Primeau, 1–0 Blackhawks. The Blackhawks would go into the intermission with that slimmest of leads.

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Second Period:

The second period took a few minutes to get started, but Colin Blackwell made sure it got going. He got the puck at center ice, deked a defender, and got the puck back to Jason Dickinson, who wristed the puck right past Primeau for a beautiful goal, 2–0 Blackhawks. This was Dickinson’s tenth goal, giving him a new career high.

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Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, that is all the good that would come out of this game. Thirty-seven seconds later, the Canadiens won an offensive zone faceoff. The puck came back to Mike Matheson, who put the shot on net from the point. Mitchell Stephens was right in line with the shot to get the redirection, 2–1 Blackhawks. Then, with just under five minutes left in the period, things would get knotted up at two apiece. Sean Monahan got the puck from along the end boards out in front of the net. Josh Anderson was right there to put that puck past Mrazek and into the back of the net.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks weren’t done taking shots in the chin in this period. Nick Suzuki put a shot on net that got slowed down by bodies in front. The puck settled in front, where Juraj Slafkovsky put a backhander on net, making it 3–2 Montreal. Then, Tyler Johnson managed to get a redirection right on net on a beautiful chance out in front. Primeau stopped that opportunity, sending the game to the intermission with that same 3–2 Canadiens lead.

Third Period:

In the third, both teams would trade chances early on, without anything to show for it. Then, with seven minutes remaining in the frame, the Canadiens would strike again. Cole Caulfield got a shot on net, with Nick Suzuki cleaning up the rebound to make it 4–2 Montreal. The Canadiens looked like they had added to that lead, but somehow got that goal from Jake Evans called back due to offsides. The play appeared to be completely onsides based on an overhead angle that, but still wasn’t allowed. Montreal would pick up that fifth goal on an empty netter from David Savard, giving them the 5–2 victory.

Analysis:

The Blackhawks really seem to struggle in games giving away the puck way too many times. Even against the Avalanche, where they won the game, they still had more giveaways. In this game, some of those even came in dangerous areas that could have resulted in a much worse outcome. They also have not done a good job recently of taking care of the fundamentals, like winning faceoffs. Winning less than fifty percent of your draws is not a good recipe for success in the same manner as giveaways.

The Blackhawks are back in action against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. That game will be at 7:00 pm Central on NBC Sports Chicago.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/recap-blackhawks-bounced-into-loss-column-drop-to-montreal/feed/ 0 28014 Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Oct. 14 at Montreal Canadiens https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-oct-14-at-montreal-canadiens/ https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-oct-14-at-montreal-canadiens/#respond Sun, 15 Oct 2023 02:31:36 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=26919 In the third game of the season with a 1–1 record,  the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Montreal Canadiens for Hockey Night in Canada. #Blackhawks lineup vs. Canadiens: Donato-Bedard-Raddysh T.... Read more »

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]]> In the third game of the season with a 1–1 record,  the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Montreal Canadiens for Hockey Night in Canada.

Due to injuries, the Blackhawks had to adjust their line combinations, as Taylor Hall was not able to play tonight. Taylor Raddysh replaced Hall on the top line with Connor Bedard. Reese Johnson made his season debut to backfill for Raddysh.

In the first period, the Hawks went with the fourth line as the first line over the boards against the Kirby Dach-led Canadiens. Petr Mrazek had to be outstanding early on in this contest for the Blackhawks, weathering several Canadien barrages.

On the first Blackhawks power play of the game, Ryan Donato took a stick to the face to give the Blackhawks a 5-on-3 advantage. Despite having great chances, the Hawks squandered the opportunity to go scoreless.

After the power play, a Montreal shot from the point broke Alex Vlasic’s stick. Without a stick, Vlasic shoved over Cole Caufield, drawing a penalty and causing a scrum. Connor Murphy joined Vlasic in the box. The Hawks escaped unscathed.

At the end of very physical period, both teams remained scoreless.

In the second period, Montreal drew first blood. Caufield got a nifty pass and deked out Kevin Korchinski and beat Mrazek on a short-sided chance, batting in the rebound out of mid-air. Midway through the period, three Blackhawks forward got caught below the goal line, which lead to an odd-man break. Tanner Pearson snapped off a shot that beat Mrazek for the second goal of the game.

Late in the period, the Blackhawks were on the power play when the puck got to Sean Monahan, who raced down the ice and beat Mrazek for the third Montreal goal of the period.

After two periods, the Blackhawks trailed Montreal 3–0.

In the third period, the Hawks got on the board early with a goal from Tyler Johnson 35 seconds in.

After the Johnson goal, the Hawks had some life to their game in the third period.  With two minutes left in the frame, the Blackhawks pulled Mrazek for the extra attacker. The move worked for the Hawks, as Johnson netted this second goal of the game. Corey Perry had the primary assist, making a nifty play to slide the puck over to Johnson with his skate. Bedard netted his third point of the season with an assist on the goal.

With less than a minute left in the game, Bedard blew a tire but recovered to save a potential empty-net goal. Monahan was charged with a penalty with 21 seconds left in the game.

The Hawks game within a post of tying the game in the dying seconds, but ultimately fell to Montreal 3–2.

Analysis

This game was an example of the Blackhawks’ youth. The youth on this team had issues with zone entries, lazy plays and not getting shots on net for the first two periods. Despite the poor showing for two periods, the Hawks made it interesting with two goals from Johnson in the third.

In addition to the youth issues, the Blackhawks’ special teams were a huge issue. In addition to going 0 for 8 on the power play, the Blackhawks surrendered a shorthanded goal and multiple shorthanded opportunities.

While everyone has been focused on Bedard, Lukas Reichel has invisible through the first three games of the season. In tonight’s game, Reichel made a lazy pass on the power play that led to an easy Montreal clearance.

On the positive note, Mrazek was impressive again, stopping 33 of 36 and keeping the Hawks in this game. With the growing pains happening in the defensive zone, good goaltending is going to be key this season.

The Blackhawks’ next game is Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is 6 p.m. CDT in Toronto.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-oct-14-at-montreal-canadiens/feed/ 0 26919 Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Feb. 14 vs. Montreal Canadiens https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-feb-14-vs-montreal-canadiens/ https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-feb-14-vs-montreal-canadiens/#respond Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:49:35 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=24641 The Chicago Blackhawks skated into their contest against the Montreal Canadiens with the trade deadline looming and questions around the futures of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with the organization.... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks skated into their contest against the Montreal Canadiens with the trade deadline looming and questions around the futures of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews with the organization. Blackhawks fans should be champing at the bit to get a return on any player on the roster, whether that player led the team to three Stanley Cups just less than a decade ago.

  • 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.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-feb-14-vs-montreal-canadiens/feed/ 0 24641 Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Nov. 25 vs. Montreal Canadiens https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-nov-25-vs-montreal-canadiens/ https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-nov-25-vs-montreal-canadiens/#respond Fri, 25 Nov 2022 21:51:26 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=23961 The Chicago Blackhawks entered the Kirby Dach revenge game looking like the team Kyle Davidson wanted after surrendering a four-goal lead late against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Chicago had... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks entered the Kirby Dach revenge game looking like the team Kyle Davidson wanted after surrendering a four-goal lead late against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Chicago had now lost five in a row, quieting early season fans that thought this could be a playoff team, before surrendering a 3–2 shootout loss today to make it six straight losses.

  • 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.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-post-game-one-timers-nov-25-vs-montreal-canadiens/feed/ 0 23961 Blackhawks keep rolling, slide past Canadiens 3–2 https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-keep-rolling-slide-past-canadiens-3-2/ https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-keep-rolling-slide-past-canadiens-3-2/#respond Fri, 14 Jan 2022 15:17:42 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=21761 The Chicago Blackhawks were back in action on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, coming back home after a road trip that saw them win two out of three and... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks were back in action on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens, coming back home after a road trip that saw them win two out of three and were looking to bring that momentum into the night’s action. They were coming off of a victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, with the Blackhawks winning 4–2 in that affair. Kirby Dach and Dylan Strome were placed in COVID-19 protocol before the game, with Lukas Reichel and Sam Lafferty drawing in for their first time with the Blackhawks, and Brandon Hagel coming back off of the COVID-19 list as well.

It was a great night for hockey, as the Blackhawks honored Andrew Shaw with a legacy night, and Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk were on the call for the broadcast for the first time in a while.

First period

The Blackhawks started off strong in this game, controlling the pace and not allowing many chances at all by their opponent. With just over 12 minutes to go in the period, Riley Stillman made a good defensive play, getting the puck to Jonathan Toews, who sprung Dominik Kubalik. Kubalik skated right through the Montreal defense and tucked the puck past Sam Montembeault, giving the Blackhawks the lead 1–0.

Toews got called for a hold against Cole Caufield, which gave the Canadiens their first power play of the evening. The Blackhawks were able to kill it with relatively few problems, and as the first period came to an end, the Blackhawks retained their 1–0 lead with a one-sided shot total.

Second period

The ending of the second period was a rough one, to say the least. The Blackhawks allowed a goal on a bounce off the boards on an Alexander Romanov shot that went right to Jeff Petry, allowing him to tie up the game at 1–1.

Then, a little later in the period, Romanov dished out a hard hit on Lafferty, which sparked Ryan Carpenter to take a run at Romanov, starting a fight with him and earning a 10-minute misconduct and an instigator call in addition to the five for fighting. On that power play, the Canadiens connected, with Mike Hoffman being in the right place in front to put the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury and give Montreal a 2–1 edge.

With 42 seconds left in the frame, Stillman took a delay of game penalty, giving the Canadiens yet another opportunity on the man advantage. The period ended without them scoring on that power play, but that would carry on into the third period. The Blackhawks would have their work cut out for them to begin the final frame after being outshot 17–6 in the second.

Third period

The Blackhawks came out of the gate looking like they had some fight left in them, getting the remainder of the penalty kill taken care of, and then drawing a penalty almost immediately after, with Brandon Hagel drawing a tripping call. Just a few seconds into the power play, Patrick Kane got the puck, faked out Montembeault and shot it past him to tie the game up 2–2.

The Blackhawks would get another power play opportunity with just under 13 minutes remaining in the frame when Caleb Jones took a stick up high. The Blackhawks were not able to convert on that opportunity, but Alex DeBrincat got a couple of good shots on goal, with one of them getting all of the post despite beating the goaltender. With just over four minutes remaining in the frame, both teams had opportunities to break the tie, but could not do so. Kane took a high stick with just over three minutes to go, putting the Blackhawks back on the power play once more. They could not do anything on that opportunity, sending the game to the overtime period.

Overtime

Both teams began to trade chances to start off the period, with both teams getting chances to end the game early on in the overtime. Philipp Kurashev got a break into the Montreal zone, getting taken down by Hoffman and drawing what would have been a penalty on his drive to the net. But, in a very strange twist of fate, the puck was determined to have legally crossed the line, and Kurashev was determined to have been onside by the slimmest of margins. Nevertheless, the Blackhawks kept the good times rolling and got the victory, winning this one by a score of 3–2.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center. Game time is 7:30 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/blackhawks-keep-rolling-slide-past-canadiens-3-2/feed/ 0 21761 Fleury earns 500th career win in Hawks’ 2–0 shutout in Montreal https://www.the-rink.com/fleury-earns-500th-career-win-in-hawks-2-0-shutout-in-montreal/ https://www.the-rink.com/fleury-earns-500th-career-win-in-hawks-2-0-shutout-in-montreal/#respond Fri, 10 Dec 2021 17:45:17 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=21490 The Chicago Blackhawks traveled north of the border to face the slumping Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday night. Losers of four straight and six of their last... Read more »

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]]> The Chicago Blackhawks traveled north of the border to face the slumping Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday night. Losers of four straight and six of their last seven, the 2021 Stanley Cup finalist Canadiens currently sit in last place in the Atlantic Division, tied with the Ottawa Senators for the second-fewest points in the NHL.

The Blackhawks started Marc-Andre Fleury in net, as he looked to get his 500th career win in his home province. The Canadiens started a familiar face in former St. Louis Blues netminder Jake Allen.

First period

The Blackhawks played a strong first on the road against a Canadiens team searching for a win. The Hawks controlled the play 5-on-5 and generated multiple quality scoring chances, including Alex DeBrincat getting stopped by Allen on a delayed penalty. After one, the Hawks outshot the Habs 13–12.

Second period

At 13:48 of the frame, Jonathan Toews finally ended his 25-game goal drought to start the season by scoring his first on the power play off a shot-pass from the point from Seth Jones to give Chicago a 1–0 lead. The Hawks continued to own a substantial advantage in the flow of play through 40 minutes against a Canadiens team which showed little pushback. The Hawks outshot Montreal 8–6 in the period and had a 21–18 edge after 40 minutes. While the shots on goal total was close, the quality of scoring chances heavily favored the Blackhawks.

Third period

The Canadiens showed some life in the third, but Fleury was there each time. At the 12:00 mark, Thursday’s first-line center, Henrik Borgstrom, who centered DeBrincat and Patrick Kane, intercepted a pass by Canadiens defenseman Alexander Romanov in the slot and spun around and wristed one past Allen for the unassisted tally to double the Chicago lead to 2–0.

In the closing seconds, Canadiens fans chanted “Fleu-ry” as he clinched shutout and became the third goalie in NHL history to reach the 500-win milestone. Additionally, “The Flower” became the fastest to reach that elusive mark, accomplishing it in just 901 career games, besting the previous low mark of 908 held by Martin Brodeur. The only other netminder to reach 500 victories is Patrick Roy, who needed 933 games to hit the milestone. Montreal outshot the Hawks 12–4 in the third and finished with a 30–25 edge in shots on goal over Chicago, but the Hawks won it 2–0.

The Good, the bad, the ugly

The good

Fleury: “The Flower” is showing no signs of slowing down, as he continues to play well, especially following the Blackhawks’ coaching change. If this continues, and the Hawks are out of the postseason race, it will be interesting to see what kind of trade interest Fleury generates from contenders.

Toews: Finally, he got the gorilla off his back by potting his first of the season. We will see if this sparks the team’s offensive output, which has been terrible this season.

The bad

Consistency: Or lack thereof. The Hawks have alternated wins and losses over their last 11 games. On Saturday, they will look to end that “streak” in Toronto.

The ugly

The Canadiens: Despite the front office shakeup, the team continues to slump as their losing streak is now at five. The team looked lifeless for the first 40 minutes of the game, then played a little more inspired in the third, but Fleury shut the door.

Analysis

It was a solid road win for the Hawks following an emotional loss against the New York Rangers at the United Center. The new and odd-looking lines, which also saw Reese Johnson moved up to the second line alongside Toews and Brandon Hagel, worked to a degree, so we will see if they stay together for the Hawks’ next game on Saturday night in Toronto. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST and will be broadcast nationally on NHL Network in the U.S. and on CBC in Canada along with the local broadcast on NBCSCH and on WGN 720.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/fleury-earns-500th-career-win-in-hawks-2-0-shutout-in-montreal/feed/ 0 21490 Along the Boards: Blackhawks win three straight, defeat Canadiens 4-1 https://www.the-rink.com/along-the-boards-blackhawks-win-three-straight-defeat-canadiens-4-1/ https://www.the-rink.com/along-the-boards-blackhawks-win-three-straight-defeat-canadiens-4-1/#respond Thu, 16 Jan 2020 03:42:56 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=15934 After a deserving overtime win in Ottawa last night, the Blackhawks looked to continue their hot streak against the sinking Montréal Canadiens. Of course, Corey Crawford got the start at... Read more »

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]]> After a deserving overtime win in Ottawa last night, the Blackhawks looked to continue their hot streak against the sinking Montréal Canadiens.

Of course, Corey Crawford got the start at the Bell Centre against his hometown team. This stat shows you all you need to know about how good Crow is against the Habs.

The first period was weird, but also good for the visitors. Both goalies had misplays, but Charlie Lindgren‘s was the one that cost his team. Miscommunication behind the net on the Habs power play led to the puck finding Drake Caggiula, who passed it to a wide-open Zack Smith, and you know he’s not going to miss an open-net chance like that. As he said in the first intermission interview with Steve Konroyd, “Sometimes when you’re struggling, if the goalie’s not in the net, that helps for scoring goals.”

But that wasn’t the only goal Smith would score in the opening 20 minutes. He had a great deflection off Slater Koekkoek‘s shot and tipped it right by Lindgren to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The weirdness trend continued into the second period. After a competitive first period by the Blackhawks, the Toews line completely fell apart within the first minute of the middle frame and former Blackhawk Phillip Danault got the Habs on the board off a ridiculous pass by Ilya Kovalchuk.

Just over halfway through the period, Max Domi took a bad penalty after he and Matthew Highmore collided. The power play went to work, and Charlie Lindgren made a flurry of stops before Adam Boqvist kept the puck in at the blue line. Jonathan Toews sent a pass over to Patrick Kane, who found a Alex DeBrincat in the slot. He didn’t miss his opportunity to bury the one-timer on the man advantage.

As the game went on, the Blackhawks continued to let the Canadiens basically skate in circles around them. The start of the third period was just as bad as the beginning of the second. But as each period continued, the Habs took their foot off the gas and let the Blackhawks back into the game.

The Canadiens were then called for too many men, and the Blackhawks went to the power play. We thought they scored, but it was clear that Toews kicked the puck into the net, even if he didn’t do it intentionally.

Even though the power-play goal was erased, the Blackhawks kept pushing and Drake Caggiula forced Jordan Weal to turn the puck over. With space and time, Caggiula buried one past Lindgren to extend Chicago’s lead to 4-3.

Despite the depth scoring and Crawford stopping 31 of 32 shots, this wasn’t the best overall game from the Blackhawks. But they pulled out a win against a struggling team, and that’s really all you can ask for.

Along the Boards

Considering that Zack Smith isn’t an offensive-minded player, this stat is wild. He’s good defensively and that’s why he’s on the penalty kill, but it’s awesome to see that he’s able to get in on the offense shorthanded, too.

Patrick Kane’s assist on Alex DeBrincat’s goal puts him two points away from 1,000 in his NHL career. It was also his 36th assist and 60th point of the season, putting him seventh and ninth in the league in each category. He’s on pace for another 100-plus point season.

How does this make sense? It doesn’t. Hockey is weird.

The Blackhawks will continue their eastern Canadian road trip this Saturday when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST. 

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