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.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks allow late comeback, lose to Maple Leafs 3-2 appeared first on The Rink.

“That was pretty cool,” Dach said after the win. “That was a good comeback by the guys. I think, like I said, we’re having a lot of fun. We have great chemistry. We just got to keep riding with it and good things will happen.”

Chicago has now gone 4-0-1 in their last five games after goaltender Spencer Knight stopped 31 shots against the Maple Leafs.

First period

Ryan Greene started the scoring for Chicago with a snap shot after Artyom Levshunov made a great play, dragging tired defenders toward him and their eyes to him and slid a pass through the defenders, finding Greene at the bottom of the circle. Greene’s second goal of the season was assisted by Levshunov and defensman Wyat Kaiser.

Ryan Greene – Chicago Blackhawks (2) pic.twitter.com/PnGFk1sH8N

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 16, 2025

Toronto scored with 0:48 left in the first period when Nicholas Robertson scored his fifth goal of the season off a wrist shot that beat Knight. The goal was assisted by John Tavares.

Second period

Morgan Rielly scored his third of the season at the 9:37 mark of the middle period on a wrist shot that beat Knight. The goal, assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larssson and William Nylander, was the only action of the second period and the “comeback kids” once again found themselves down 2-1 going into the third period.

Third period

Teuvo Teravainen buried home a flip shot past Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll with an assist from Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore. Teravainen found himself down low and roofed a sweet shot over the helpless Woll.

Teuvo Teravainen – Chicago Blackhawks (4) pic.twitter.com/JJnDtyiy0o

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) November 16, 2025

Chicago would finish off the Maple Leafs for the 3-2 victory as Dach tipped home his aforementioned second of the season as defenseman Louis Crevier and forward Ilya Mikheyev assisted on the play.

Colton Dach gets a stick on it as the @NHLBlackhawks take the late lead! pic.twitter.com/woWCUQqeN1

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 16, 2025

Chicago is back on home ice versus the struggling Calgary Flames for a 7:30 p.m. CST puck drop on Tuesday.

Analysis

Connor Bedard was held without a point for the first time in 10 games but the young phenom still shows with his skill and speed that he can affect games in so many ways, even without denting the scoresheet.

Knight has shown flashes of brilliance with his .924 save percentage. Knight has looked cool and collected and not fighting the puck after giving up goals, something he was known to do in his first few seasons in the NHL. The 24-year-old Darien, Connecticut, product continually sees over 30 shots per night but has been a brick wall as the young defensemen continue to figure out their games.

The post RECAP: Chicago scores twice in third in 3-2 defeat of Toronto appeared first on The Rink.

Before the game, the Blackhawks honored organist Frank Pellico for his 30 years of service to the organization. Pellico was retiring after the contest. He will be missed by Blackhawks fans.

The soundtrack to countless memories, thank you Frank! pic.twitter.com/ngl3m35PbB

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 24, 2025

The only changes to the Hawks lineup were Arvid Soderblom in net and Nolan Allan in for Ethan Del Mastro.

First period

Chicago came out fired up after the two national anthems. The Hawks were all over Toronto early. Chris Tanev of the Leafs was called for a cross-check to the back of Landon Slaggert. On the ensuing power play, Teuvo Tervainen potted his 13th goal of the season.

With this goal, Teuvo Teräväinen’s point total stands at 5⃣0⃣0⃣! pic.twitter.com/rjtECthIF5

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) February 24, 2025

The goal was Teravainen’s 500th career point. Chicago finished the first period up 1–0.

Second period

In the second period, the Leafs found their legs. Toronto dominated the period, spending the majority of the period in the Hawks’ defensive zone. Nicholas Robertson scored his ninth goal of the season on a Leafs power play. Former Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe added a point-shot goal of his own. Robertson scored again very late in the second period to extend the Toronto lead to 3–1.

Philipp Kurashev answered the Robertson goal with less than 10 seconds remaining in the period. The Kurashev goal was set up by the filthy mitts of Frank Nazar. Nazar dangled his way past Max Domi to set up the goal.

Kurashev makes it a one goal game pic.twitter.com/u2pxQAmc8q

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) February 24, 2025

Third period

Tanev fired a shot from the point that ricocheted off TJ Brodie for the Leafs’ fourth goal. Pontus Holmberg netted an empty-netter to seal the victory for Toronto. The Hawks lost 5–2.

Analysis

The trio of Brodie, Seth Jones and Alec Martinez was really bad in this one. Jones, who wants out of Chicago, is continuing to lower his trade value with his poor play. Martinez turned in another stinker on the blue line. Plus/minus is not a great stat, but these three defensemen were a -5 on the game. The expectation should be that all three of these defenseman are not with the Blackhawks next season.

Lukas Reichel was benched after the first period and half of hockey. Head Coach Anders Sorensen said “he didn’t like his game.”

Soderblom played a good game despite his numbers. His play was not enough to overcome the poor play of his defense. Nazar put together another strong performance with an assist and drove the puck to the net.

Could the 4 Nations Face-off break have hurt Connor Bedard? Before the break, he had points in 20 of 21 games. There could be a change in linemates in the future. After the break, he has gone scoreless in two games. With 24 games remaining, the Hawks will be looking to trade Ryan Donato and sort out the roster for next season.

The Hawks will take on the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Leafs lit the lamp first when Auston Matthews scored his sixth of the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson started a rush up ice from behind his own net, fed William Nylander, who entered the zone and fed Matthews, who skated in alone and flipped one past Soderblom at 15:35 to give Toronto a 1–0 lead after one.

Second period

At the 11:59 mark, John Tavares scored his 11th of the season to give Toronto a 2–0 lead. Tavares fired a shot from the half boards that pinballed in off Alex Vlasic’s stick to extend the Leafs’ lead. Toronto would take the 2–0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.

Third period

The Blackhawks cut the deficit in half on a Lukas Reichel tally. Former Maple Leaf defenseman TJ Brodie shot the puck from the left circle, which Stolartz stopped, but Reichel was at the doorstep to poke in his third of the season at 3:26. The Hawks trailed 2–1.

Net battle pic.twitter.com/0G73znGPSb

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 3, 2024

Just 21 seconds later, the Leafs regained a two-goal lead when Fraser Minten scored his second of the season. A shot from the point by Conor Timmins missed the net and took a fortunate bounce off the boards past a bewildered Wyatt Kaiser right out in front to Minten, who beat Soderblom from in close to give a Toronto a 3–1 lead at 3:47.

The Leafs added an empty-net tally by Matthew Knies at 18:15 to give Toronto a 4–1 advantage and that would be the final. For Knies, it was his 10th of the season.

Analysis

For most of the game, the effort was there as the Hawks outplayed the Leafs. Stolarz stood tall and kept the Hawks off the scoresheet for the majority of the game. In fact, for the first time since Nov. 6, the Hawks outshot their opponent, as they finished with a 28–22 advantage in shots on goal. After the Hawks cut it to 2–1 only to give the goal right back 21 seconds later, the wind was taken out of their sails and the Leafs cruised to the win.

The Hawks look to end their current three-game losing streak on Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins at United Center. Puck drop is at 6:30 p.m. CST on TNT and on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

The post RECAP: Hawks drop third straight, 4–1, in Toronto despite strong effort appeared first on The Rink.

Chicago rolled out the following lineup:

#Blackhawks lineup vs. Maple Leafs:
Reichel-Bedard-Kurashev
T. Johnson-Guttman-Raddysh
Foligno-Dickinson-Anderson
Katchouk-Donato-R. Johnson

Vlasic-Jones
Korchinski-Murphy
Kaiser-Phillips

Söderblom
Mrazek

Extras: Entwistle, Perry, Zaitsev
IR: Athanasiou, Hall, Tinordi

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023

First period

In a fast-moving first period, Kevin Korchinski and Arvid Soderblom made two egregious mistakes in their own zone, but thankfully neither led to a Leafs goal. The Leafs did eventually break through with a goal from Nicholas Robertson. Maxi Domi fed a pass that went through five red sweater to Robertson, who buried the shot.

The Leafs’ lead did not last long, as Jason Dickinson scored the equalizer at 12 minutes remaining in the period.

Jason Dickinson snaps home his fourth goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/zybWSgXVem

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023

After allowing the early goal, Soderblom settled in to withstand the rest of the Toronto barrage in the period. The period ended with the score tied at 1–1 despite the Hawks being outshot 15–6.

Second period

The second period started with the Blackhawks and Leafs playing 4-on-4 hockey, The Leafs broke the tie with a goal from Calle Jarnkrok. Jarnkrok got a cross-ice pass from TJ Brodie that led to the tap-in.

Less than three minutes later, the Leafs padded their lead. Ryan Reaves tapped in a backdoor shot to give the Leafs a 3–1 lead. After weathering another storm from the Leafs, the Hawks got their second goal of the game from Dickinson.

Jason Dickinson scores his second of the game and fifth of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/9gvXyKmGCQ

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023

After the second Dickinson goal, the Hawks got some great shifts from the Connor Bedard line and a shift lead by Alex Vlasic. The Hawks controlled the end of the period, keeping the score at 3–2 Leafs after 40 minutes.

Third period

In the third period, the Dickinson line got the puck deep into the Toronto line. Nick Foligno forced a turnover, which squibbed out to Dickinson, who buried the puck for his first career hat trick.

Jason Dickinson strapping Chicago on his back with a hat trick. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/LzQxRk2NUI

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023

With 10 minutes left in the period, it was the Ryan Donato, Boris Katchouk and Reese Johnson line drawing penalties from Reaves and William Lagesson.

Chaos at the United Center between Chicago and Toronto. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Nd7zWnfpzx

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023 

After the skirmish, there were two Hawks and two Leafs in the box but no power play. It started getting really chippy afterwards. Regulation ended with the score tied at 3–3.

Overtime

This overtime period was chaos, with quality chances on both sides—the best being William Nylander hitting the post and cross bar on a breakaway. Soderblom made some great saves in overtime to keep the Hawks in this game. After the Soderblom save, the Hawks controlled the puck and got the game-winner from Korchinski after the puck bounced off the end glass and the top of the net following a Bedard slot shot.

Kevin Korchinski with the wild overtime winner. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/aFE05SMc9Y

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) November 24, 2023

The victory would give the Hawks a season sweep against Toronto after beating the Leafs in Toronto during Chicago’s season-opening road trip.

Analysis

The Hawks’ young defensemen were outmatched by the high-flying Leafs early in the game. In addition to the defense being outmatched, Soderblom did not trust the defense to cover up for him, leading him to overcompensate for their errors. His overcompensation led to easy tap-in goals for the Leafs early. He did settle in and make great save after great save to give the Hawks the victory.

The Hawks’ best line of the game was the third line with Anderson, Dickinson and Nick Foligno. They generated three goals and several good shifts. The line brought energy and scoring, which caused the rest of the team to work hard. The Hawks outworked the Leafs in this game to overcome the two-goal deficit and tie in the third period. Dickinson also became the first Ontario-born player to have a hat trick against the Leafs since Perry did it in 2015.

Vlasic and Isaak Phillips turned in solid games from the blue line and made some plays in the offensive zone. This game was the mark of a Luke Richardson-led team; the team worked hard and got the win.

The Blackhawks were also able to hold Nylander pointless in the contest, snapping Nylander’s 17-game point streak to open the season.

The Hawks’ next game is Sunday against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. CST.

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After a scoreless first period, the Blackhawks struck first when Andreas Athanasiou found MacKenzie Entwistle in the slot, who used the defenseman as a screen and snapped one past Woll to give the Hawks a 1–0 lead. For Entwistle, who was making his regular season debut, it was his first of the season at 2:59 of the second.

BIG MAC pic.twitter.com/OMFrkia0Mq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 17, 2023

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The Leafs tied it when William Nylander skated into the slot and dropped it off to John Tavares, who snapped one high glove side for his first of the season at the 5:14 mark, leveling the score at 1–1.

The Hawks broke the tie when Alex Vlasic from his own end made a beautiful tape-to-tape pass to Corey Perry past the center line, who went in alone and scored stick side for his first as a Blackhawk and 418th of his career. The Hawks took a 2–1 lead at 14:46.

COREY IN THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/5AzHjpjFUe

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 17, 2023

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Chicago extended its lead to 3–1 by scoring on the power play for the first time of the season. Kevin Korchinski skated through the neutral zone and dropped a pass to Athanasiou, who drove in and flipped a pass to Tyler Johnson, who went in alone and snapped in his third of the young season at 17:05. For Korchinski, it was his first career point. The Blackhawks took the two-goal lead into the second intermission.

What a play pic.twitter.com/OMa4LIYn34

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 17, 2023

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Trailing by two, Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe pulled the goaltender with just under four minutes in regulation. The Leafs generated multiple high-quality chances, but Soderblom stood strong. Taylor Hall appeared to have iced the game with an empty-net goal with 54.1 seconds remaining, however, the play was challenged, and after review, the call was overturned and ruled offside. With 6.2 seconds remaining, the Leafs appeared to have cut it to 3–2, however, after a coach’s challenge by Blackhawks bench boss Luke Richardson, the play was deemed to be offside and the goal was waved off, so the time was reset back to 51 seconds.

With 13.3 seconds remaining, the Leafs went on the power play after Jason Dickinson was penalized for cross checking. The Hawks quickly retrieved the puck and Taylor Raddysh fired it into the empty net with six seconds left for his first of the season to increase the lead to 4–1 and seal it for the visitors.

Analysis

After a grueling stretch to open the season with three games in five nights, all on the road, the Blackhawks did not hold a morning skate on Monday and it paid off. The Hawks looked much more energized than in their loss on Saturday in Montreal. Soderblom was clearly the best player on the ice for Chicago, as he made several big time saves. Vlasic stood out as having had a strong outing and has established himself as a legitimate NHLer at this point. On the flip side, Wyatt Kaiser again struggled in the game, further raising questions about if he is really ready to handle NHL action.

The Blackhawks return to action on Thursday night in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche. Puck drop is at 9:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN with the radio call on WGN 720.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Oct. 16 at Toronto Maple Leafs appeared first on The Rink.

— The Blackhawks and Leafs traded chances in the first half of the opening frame, including over four minutes without a whistle. The home team broke through first, as a Blackhawks rush up the ice saw Max Domi drop a pass to Patrick Kane in the right circle and he snapped his 12th of the season over the glove of Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov at the 10:44 mark to give Chicago a 1–0 lead.

— The Leafs tied it at 12:52 of the first when their red-hot power play came through again. Morgan Rielly‘s point shot was deflected by John Tavares in front of the net for his 25th of the season. An intense first period would finish with the teams tied at 1–1.

— Despite coming up empty on their 18th straight power play, the Blackhawks broke the tie at even strength. Kane took a feed from Domi in the slot, showed some patience and froze Samsonov before sniping his second of the game and 13th of the season at 7:57 of the second to give Chicago a 2–1 lead.

— At 10:48, Kane completed the hat trick when he banked one in off Samsonov from behind the net. Initially, the call on the ice was no goal, however, after a brief review by the war room in Toronto, the call was overturned and Kane had his 14th of the season to give the Hawks a 3–1 lead.

— The Leafs cut the Hawks lead to 3–2 when Acciari swatted in a rebound from the goal mouth for his 11th of the season and first as a Maple Leaf at the 17:46 mark of the second.

— In the third, the Leafs tied it at 3–3 when Rielly intentionally shot the puck from his own blue line to the left corner, where Mitch Marner, who had a step on Hawks defensemen Jack Johnson, gathered the puck on the carom, skated alone in front of the net, deked Stauber and backhanded the puck in at the 7:38 mark. For Marner, it was his 20th of the season.

— At 11:42, the Hawks regained the lead at 4–3 when Cole Guttman scored his first NHL goal. The University of Denver alum raced in from his own zone on a 2-on-1 and snapped a wrist shot top shelf past the blocker of Samsonov.

— With 1:16 left, Kane capped a four-point night by finding Domi streaking through the neutral zone and into the Toronto end and he fired the puck into the empty net for his 15th to make it 5–3, which was the final tally.

The Hawks return to home ice on Tuesday night when they host the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Feb. 19 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs appeared first on The Rink.

— It took the Leafs just nine seconds to open the scoring. Defenseman Morgan Rielly found William Nylander, who skated in alone after Jake McCabe fell at the blue line, and the 26-year-old deked Mrazek and scored his 30th of the season.

— The Blackhawks answered 53 seconds later when Sam Lafferty intercepted a pass in the slot, skated in alone and lifted a backhand shot that trickled past Samsonov for his ninth of the season to tie the game.

— Toronto regained the lead when a face-off win led to Rasmus Sandin sniping one from the right half boards that deflected in off Connor Murphy. For Sandin, it was his fourth of the season at the 8:14 mark to give the Leafs a 2–1 advantage.

— The Leafs took a 3–1 lead when Auston Matthews, who returned from a five-game absence with a knee injury, snapped a wrist shot from the right circle past Mrazek at 11:21 of the first.

— The Hawks opened the second period by cutting the Leafs’ lead to 3–2 just 46 seconds into the frame. Max Domi forced a neutral zone turnover, skated in to the Toronto zone and fed Philipp Kurashev, who one-timed a shot past Samsonov for his eighth of the season.

— John Tavares gave the Leafs a two-goal edge again off a no-look pass from Alexander Kerfoot, who was behind the Hawks’ net. For Tavares, it was his 24th of the season and gave Toronto a 4–2 lead at 7:37 of the second.

— The Leafs extended their lead to 5–2 when Conor Timmins scored his second of the season with a one-timer from the blue line at 16:07 of the second.

— The scoring barrage would finally end as the Maple Leafs skated away with a 5–2 win over Chicago. Samsonov made 27 saves for the win.

The Hawks continue their road trip through Canada on Friday night when they visit Alex DeBrincat and the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST.

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1st Period

In the first period, the Blackhawks jumped out to the early lead. Jonathan Toews fired a shot past Peter Mrazek for his second goal of the season. Following the Toews goal, Riley Stillman committed his first of two consecutive penalties in the first period. The Blackhawks lead evaporated as Jonathan Tavares scored the equalizer less than a minute later.

After the Tavares goal, the Leafs’ offense got going with another power-play goal from William Nylander. The Nylander gave the Leafs their first lead of the game. Later in the period, Austin Matthews put another puck past Kevin Lankiken for three to one first-period lead.

Tavares, Nylander and Matthews all have goals in the first 15 minutes of this one. That’s NOT what you want to happen

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) December 12, 2021

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2nd Period

In the second period, The Blackhawks outshot the Leafs 14–3 in one of their best periods of the season. Despite outshooting Toronto by a significant margin, Leafs added to their lead with a goal from Pierre Engvall. The Blackhawks answered with a goal from Connor Murphy late in the period to cut the lead back to two goals. The difference thus far has to be the play of Mrazerk who has stopped a bunch of A plus chances.

You’ve got to be joking!! #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/NgMSzMrkPt

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 12, 2021

Despite the fact that the Blackhawks still trailed by two goals, the momentum was clearly in their favor.

3rd Period:

In the third period, the Blackhawks continued to build off their momentum from the second period. The Blackhawks cut the lead to one goal with a goal from Dominik Kubalik. It was Kubalik’s first goal since December 2nd and his fifth goal the season.

The comeback continued with Jake McCabe getting the equalizer to knot the game at four. After tying the game, former Blackhawks forward and newly minted Maple Leafs’ hero, David Kampf ripped the Hawks heart out with a late third-period goal. The Blackhawks fall to the Leafs’ 5–4.

Analysis

Despite getting down early, the Blackhawks showed a lot of resilience coming back from a two-goal lead to eventually tie the game at four. The resiliency of the Blackhawks has to be credited to head coach Derek King. If the Blackhawks had played his game under Jeremy Colliton, this team would have folded like a lawn chair in the summer.

Johnathan Toews:

Toews scored his second goal of the season and his second in two games. Toews needs to get going with his goal-scoring to help this team continue to improve this season.

Dominik Kubalik:

Kubalik has been missing in action on the scoring front this season after scoring 17 goals last season. The Blackhawks need Kubalik and Toews to continue to score helps to elevate some of the pressure off of Alex Debrincat and Patrick Kane.

There are no moral victories in sports but the Blackhawks should not hold their heads down after their effort tonight.

The post Blackhawks fall in a heart breaker to the Maple Leafs appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Nearly six minutes into the game, the Blackhawks took a 1–0 lead on a beautiful tally from Kirby Dach, who danced through Toronto’s defense and finished the play with top shelf shot for his third of the season. The goal marked the first time this season the Blackhawks held a lead, ending its drought at nearly 367 minutes of game action, the longest stretch without a lead to start a season in NHL history.

At the 11:48 mark, Alex DeBrincat scored his third of the season on a breakaway to give the Hawks a 2–0 advantage. Seth Jones assisted on both goals, as he led the team to arguably its best period of hockey this season. The Hawks also held an 11–10 shots on goal edge through one.

Second period

The Leafs opened the period playing much more crisp, as their passes were much cleaner, and it eventually paid off. At 6:14 of the second, the Leafs got on the board on a nice rush up the ice that ended with a filthy backhand shot from the slot by John Tavares that went top shelf to cut the Hawks’ lead to 2–1. The Hawks would hang on to the lead through two. In the second, the Leafs had a 10–9 edge in shots on goal and the teams stood even at 20 apiece for the game.

Third period

The Hawks had multiple chances to regain a two-goal lead. Philipp Kurashev had a step on a defender and plowed into Campbell, dislodging the net as Dominik Kubalik tapped in a loose puck. The referee pointed as if it were a goal and the horn sounded, but instead, the ref assessed Kurashev with a goalie interference minor infraction. Later in the period, MacKenzie Entwistle was stopped by Campbell on a shorthanded breakaway to keep the Leafs alive. 

At 12:31 of the period, former Blackhawk David Kampf tallied his first as a Leaf to tie the game at 2–2 on a backhander from the slot that deflected off Erik Gustafsson’s skate and past Lankinen. Neither team would score in the rest of the period, sending the contest to extra time. In the third, the Leafs had a 17–7 edge in shots on goal and a 37–27 advantage in regulation.

Overtime

Nearly two minutes into the extra session, William Nylander skated in on a breakaway and slipped a backhander past Lankinen for his third of the season to complete the comeback and earn the Leafs the win and end their four-game slide.

Analysis: The good, the bad, the ugly

The good

Seth Jones: He played arguably his best game in a Blackhawks sweater. He was a strong presence in all three zones, playing over 28 minutes. Jones registered two assists, five shots on goal and three blocked shots. 

Kevin Lankinen: Once again, the Hawks’ sophomore netminder received the start over the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Marc Andre-Fleury. Lankinen kept the Blackhawks in the game, especially in the third period when Toronto applied a ton of pressure. Lankinen has been positionally strong this season, which demonstrates the significant confidence he is playing with. All he needs is a win to show for his strong efforts thus far.

The bad

Finishing games: Once again, the Hawks appear allergic to holding leads (dating back to last season when they actually held more than one in a season). The Blackhawks need to find a way to finish games, whether it is getting that clutch insurance goal, staying strong defensively or getting that big save (I will take all three!).

The ugly

The Hawks’ record: While they picked up a point in this game for their strong effort, you cannot help but notice the big fat zero in the win column. 

Things will not get easier this weekend with back-to-back road games beginning Friday night at RBC Center against the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CDT on NBCSCH and WGN 720.

News and notes

Following the game, Kane, who appeared remotely while in COVID-19 protocol, and Toews met with the media for the first time since the results of the investigation into how the Blackhawks handled sexual assault allegations against former video coach Brad Aldrich back in 2010. The virtual media scrum also came hours after former Blackhawks first-round draft pick Kyle Beach came forward as “John Doe” in the investigation. Below are select quotes from Kane and Toews’ media availability.

Patrick Kane

“(It) definitely could’ve been handled differently, most importantly for Kyle’s sake. It seemed like the organization did what they had to do as far as making necessary moves as far as guys who were with the team that were still with the team now and aren’t with us anymore. I knew Stan very well. I knew him as a great man. He did a lot for me personally, coming into the league and over the course of my career. I’m sure he would’ve handled things differently nowadays. But what happened, happened in the past. The organization made the right moves to get the Blackhawks going forward in the right steps and making sure we’re trending forward.”

“Very courageous for (Beach) to come out and let his name be known to the world after everything he went through. I wish back then we could have done some different things, knew about some different things, maybe we could have helped him.”

“I don’t know if he wants to hear from us or not, but I’d like to reach out to him and say that I wish I knew more at that time in that situation, if I could’ve done anything to help him out. Obviously, he’s been living with this a long time, and it takes a lot of courage by him to put his name behind the story.”

Jonathan Toews

“Winning the Stanley Cup that year is beside the point. Whether we win or lose…we wish we could take it back and it never happened and young players didn’t have to deal with a situation like that.”

“Not that it was a joke, but it was something that wasn’t taken super seriously at the time. I thought Brad being let go or resigning from the organization was the way it was dealt with. … Had I been more connected to the situation and known some of the more gory details of it, I’d like to say, yeah, I would’ve acted differently in my role as captain.”

“I feel a ton for what Kyle went through and what he’s dealing with at this point, too. I don’t know what else to say. I think the guys that were part of that group all wish they could have done something different.”

“Stan (Bowman) and Al (MacIsaac)…they’re not directly complicit in the activities that happened. It’s not up to me to comment on whether they would like to deal with it differently or not. … I have a lot of respect for them as people. They’re good people.”

“To me, Stan and Al, make any argument you want, they’re not directly complicit in the activities that happened. Regardless of mistakes that may have been made, for someone like Stan, who has done so much for the Blackhawks—and Al, as well—to lose everything they care about and their livelihoods as well…I don’t understand how that makes it go away, to just delete them from existence and (say), ‘That’s it, we’ll never hear from them again.’”

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