First period

Connor Bedard scored his 25th goal of the season on the power play to give the Blackhawks the 1-0 lead at the 6:31 mark of the opening frame. The goal, assisted by forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, would be the only excitement for Chicago fans in Colorado.

Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks (25) pic.twitter.com/zX7mEFVWFb

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) March 1, 2026

Second period

Colorado would finally answer back to the Bedard goal at the 19:51 mark of the middle period. The back-breaking late goal, the first of the Makar goals, beat Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight, who had stood on his head for most of the first two periods as Chicago was outshot 24-9 in the first 40 minutes of action. The goal gave Nathan MacKinnon his 56th assist of the year and Martin Necas his 42nd assist.

MacKinnon’s feed to Makar for the goal shows their continued chemistry. Opponents will need to double team both to shut down that lethal combo. pic.twitter.com/KJmvq7SLFP

— Wire Report (@WireReportOrg) March 1, 2026

Third period

Gavin Brindley beat Knight at the 7:31 mark of the third period to give the home team the 2-1 lead at the 7:31 mark. The goal, Brindley’s sixth of the season, was assisted by defensemen Sam Malinski and Devon Toews.

The Avalanche finished off the Blackhawks with the aforementioned Makar empty-net goal.

Analysis

Chicago continues to be a one-man offense, as Bedard is clearly the only offense the slowly dying Blackhawks are getting on most nights. Bedard, left off Canada’s silver-winning Olympic team, is really the only hope fans have on most nights when it comes to any consistency. Frank Nazar has scored two goals in the last 33 games and is struggling mightily on most nights to even be noticed on the ice.

Knight was outstanding again, stopping 32 shots, but if you told fans it was 47 saves, it would have seemed correct. Knight was fighting through screens and busy covering up pucks his defensemen could not seem to clear in front of him.

The Blackhawks return to action today at 3 p.m. Central against the Utah Mammoth.

The post RECAP: Bedard scores 25th, Colorado wins 3-1 behind Makar two-goal effort appeared first on The Rink.

The lone goal of the game came off the stick of Cale Makar as the 27-year-old defenseman scored his ninth goal of the season in the second period after he found a rebound off Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight on his stick and fired a wrist shot off the post and in behind Knight. Colorado forward Tristen Nielsen was credited with his first NHL point with the assist.

Cale Makar makes no mistake on the rebound! pic.twitter.com/LeR2SoovfN

— NHL (@NHL) November 24, 2025

Knight was once again excellent in net as his only hiccup was a long rebound off the stick of Nielsen after a turnover in Chicago’s end. The former 13th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft is now supporting a .924 save percentage through 15 games of action this season. Knight was bombarded in the middle frame with 19 Colorado shots.

Chicago’s head coach, Jeff Blashill, was impressed with the Blackhawks’ performance last night knowing a 1-0 loss to a potential Stanley Cup contender is not something to be disappointed over in November.

“I think if we repeat that performance, we’re winning lots of games,” Blashill said in his postgame presser. “The other team is going to push back, that’s just the reality of life, but if you look at where we were to start the game, I thought we did an excellent job in our structure, excellent job of some of the things we talked about this morning that we didn’t do in Buffalo. We had real, real, real chances in the first, I think the better of the chances in the comparisons between the two periods, and didn’t score. But we stayed with it.”

Analysis

Chicago defenseman Alex Vlasic played his 200th NHL game last night and played an excellent game versus a Stanley Cup-winning level team. The 24-year-old Wilmette, Illinois, native did an excellent job using his long reach and did a nice job with his gaps against speedier forwards and defensemen. Fans need to remember it can take defensemen some time to learn the speed of the game and the “tricks” that make for a top-level defender at the NHL level, and Vlasic is starting to show those improvements.

Knight continues to be the backbone for the Blackhawks. It will be interesting to see how long before the organization brings up his former USHL teammate, Drew Commesso, from Rockford. Commesso has shown signs of brilliance up the road from Chicago and continues to develop a calmness with his movements that shows he’s starting to believe in his talents that made him the second goalie picked in the 2020 NHL Draft.

The post RECAP: Makar and Wedgewood too much in Colorado 1-0 win over Chicago appeared first on The Rink.

The Hawks rolled out these lines:

#Blackhawks lineup vs. Colorado:
Donato-Bedard-Mikheyev
Teravainen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Slaggert-Moore-Reichel
Maroon-Veleno-Foligno

Vlasic-Rinzel
Del Mastro-Murphy
Kaiser-Levshunov

Knight
Söderblom

Extras: Kurashev, Brodie, Crevier, Korchinski

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 3, 2025

Kevin Korchinski was the odd man out on the blue line, while Ethan Del Mastro was back in the lineup. Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel appeared in the second games of their careers.

First period

In the period, Colorado appeared to have taken an early lead. The “goal” was overturned on video review due to offside. Aside from the phantom goal, Spencer Knight shut out the Avalanche in the first period.

On the other side of the ice, the Avs’ goalie, Scott Wedgewood, seems to have his best games against the Blackhawks. Early in the first period, Wedgewood denied Wyatt Kaiser at the doorstep.

Chicago finally broke through with a shorthanded goal from Ilya Mikheyev. That was his third shorthanded goal of the season.

Ilya Mikheyev scores his 3rd shorthanded goal of the season and 18th total. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/9c7yD6gaHH

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 3, 2025

The Hawks led 1–0 after the first period.

Second period

The second period had Knight and Wedgewood stonewalling the opposing offenses. The Hawks once again broke through with a goal from Connor Murphy. An unlikely goal scorer, Murphy was set up by Connor Bedard at the end of a strong offensive-zone shift from the home team.

Connor Bedard sets up Connor Murphy, who blasts home his 2nd goal of the season. What a rip. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/zKitrry4ju

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 3, 2025

Knight held the rest of the period with an impressive performance.

Third period

Knight had been impressive for two periods against Colorado. With the Hawks being the only team in the NHL without a shutout, all eyes were on Knight. Sadly, the Avalanche were too much, and Makar broke up the shutout with a goal in the third.

Colorado shot themselves in the foot with a late penalty, but the Hawks did not capitalize. The Hawks’ failure on the power play came back to bite them, as Martin Necas tied the game with 9.8 seconds left. The Hawks’ two-goal lead evaporated to force overtime.

Overtime

In overtime, the Hawks’ youth was on full display. Moore, Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov got time, in addition to a healthy dose of Bedard. Knight came up with another huge save to keep the game going. Levshunov had one last chance before OT ended, and Wedgewood bested him again.

Shootout

The late game in Chicago got even longer. In the shootout, Ryan Donato got stopped on the first attempt. Brock Nelson was stopped on his attempt. Bedard rang a shot off the post to miss on his attempt. MacKinnon deked out Knight and snuck it by his skate for the goal. Teuvo Teravainen scored to keep the shootout going, but Artturi Lehkonen beat Knight for the game-winner.

Colorado won 3–2.

Analysis

Knight had a great game against a very potent Colorado offense. The defense was fun to watch, with Levshunov and Rinzel garnering praise.

Rinzel has been impressive in his two games. He uses his reach and stick well. He made certain plays look easy. Fans should temper their expectations about the young defenseman, but it will be hard.

The third line of Moore, Lukas Reichel and Landon Slaggert was fun to watch, but they did experience some growing pains against the MacKinnon line.

With seven games remaining, the most important aspect is getting their young prospects NHL experience.

The Hawks’ next game is Friday against the Washington Capitals.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall to Colorado 3–2 in shootout appeared first on The Rink.

Since then, things have felt different. They just have. In some sense, it is “out with the old and in with the new.” Now, Jones at 30 years young is hardly old, and definitely has some good hockey ahead of him, and best of luck in Florida, but for the rebuilding Hawks, it was time for him to go, and perhaps it was just the lift they needed. He did not want to be in Chicago, was certainly not shy about that and his departure felt in many ways like the final wave goodbye to the old regime. Jones’ overpriced contract was the final, desperate attempt by Stan Bowman to keep the team in contention when Jones was traded for and extended in the summer of 2021.

Now with Jones out, and 10 players under the age of 23 in the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night — inclusive of 2024 second overall draft pick Artyom Levshunov making his NHL debut — it finally feels like the plan is happening. It is now Kyle Davidson’s team and the Hawks’ recent play is showcasing a blueprint of good things to come. 

The Hawks lost to the Avs 3–0, but ahead of Monday’s tilt against Colorado, Chicago was 3–0–2 in the five games since the Jones trade, Knight has been sensational and the Hawks are playing their best hockey of the season. It is no longer the Connor Bedard show; the second-year 19-year-old is of course the league’s focus with his hills and valleys of late, but mind you, that is all part of the growth of becoming a seasoned player. It is the excitement of Knight, Levshunov, Colton Dach, Ethan Del Mastro, Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Alex Vlasic and the many prospects to come — some as early as this spring when the NCAA season ends. 

Enter Levshunov, and what a test for the 19-year-old in his first taste of NHL hockey. Levshunov started solid; his gap control for someone his age at this level is phenomenal. His skating was smooth, he was intentional about regaining the blue line and his angling was sound. There was nothing about his game that looked out of place, and if you were a first-time hockey watcher tuning in last night, you would have thought you were watching a five-year NHL player. Sure, there is so much growth to be had for the youngster from Belarus, but if you have been following Chicago and you are questioning why they chose him second overall last June as opposed to a flashy, offensive-minded, easy-on-the-eye but perhaps higher-risk investment, last night should have quelled those doubts. This kid has it. It was that obvious by the end of the first period, and there is a real possibility that he could be a major force in the NHL for years to come. Too optimistic? Maybe, but when you think of the fact that two years ago this kid was in the USHL, last year was the Defenseman of the Year in the Big Ten while at Michigan State and then a 22-point rearguard with the Rockford IceHogs in 50 games this season, to his first NHL game — all shy of being on this earth for 19 and a half years — don’t tell me I am too excited right now. Levshunov is the bow wrapped on a bundle of promise for the future of the Blackhawks’ blue line. 

After Alec Martinez went down and did not return for the second period, Levshunov finished the game with 20:55 of ice time as the Hawks shifted and fought valiantly with a five-man rotation in the back. He also had three shots and two shot blocks and honestly may have been the Hawks’ best defenseman in the game.

The Hawks squandered a two-man advantage in the second period and despite hanging on to a 0–0 draw heading into the third period, the dam soon broke and Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas scored early in the third to make it 2–0 Colorado. Nathan MacKinnon registered his 1,000th career point with an assist on the Lehkonen goal. The Hawks pressed and Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood was terrific with 21 saves on the night. The game would end 3–0 with the Avs scoring an empty-net goal. 

For the first time in five games, Chicago lost a regulation game. Yet as aforementioned, this did not feel like the demoralizing losses of previous months. The whole feel is different, and not simply because the Hawks were in the game throughout. It is the feeling of a happening, a vision that is now a plan starting to take form. Rebuilds are long journeys to take, and roads that Chicago faithful truly did not have to bear through for long after Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews arrived in the fall of 2008. This will indeed take longer and it will be a while before the Hawks are back in Cup contention, but thus far in the month of March, for the first time in a long time, we may be finally seeing a team on the rise.

The post ANALYSIS: Avalanche blank Blackhawks in Levshunov’s debut but the youth movement is on appeared first on The Rink.

“Long time no win,” Mrazek said after the game. “After I came back from injury, I haven’t got a win. Early on, I saw a lot of pucks, so that was the key for me tonight. I just was battling since I returned, every day on the ice, in the practice, in the game. I knew I can make some saves, and I knew there was going to be a game that I could prove I can still play the game.”

First period

Colorado scored its only goal of the night at the 6:14 mark of the period when 23-year-old Finnish center Juuso Parssinen scored on the backhand to give the Avalanche a 1–0 lead. Parssinen took a loose puck the length of the ice and beat Mrazek with an excellent back shot over the glove hand.

Chicago would tie the score behind forward Ilya Mikheyev’s eighth goal of the season, assisted by Bedard. Bedard did a nice job on the forecheck to tip a pass from an Avalanche defenseman and Mikheyev took the puck to the net and fired a wrist shot past goaltender Trent Miner, making his first career NHL start.

The goal is a prime example of making a good play in the offensive zone on the defensive side of things that creates a chance for your teammate; the simple reason “experts” cannot just look at a stat sheet and decide who played well and who did not.

Chicago goal!

Scored by Ilya Mikheyev with 03:12 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Connor Bedard.

Chicago: 1
Colorado: 1#COLvsCHI #Blackhawks #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/s249Q5pCPy

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 9, 2025

Second period

Frank Nazar scored his first goal of the season and forward Colton Dach registered the first point of his NHL career at the 10:17 mark of the middle frame when Nazar fired a wrist shot past Miner. The goal was also assisted by forward Tuevo Teravainen, his 19th assist on the season.

Postgame, this is what Bedard had to say about Nazar.

The post RECAP: Chicago beats Colorado 3–1 as Bedard extends streak to eight games appeared first on The Rink.

Luke Richardson’s starting lineup was as follows:

Blackhawks lineup in warmups
Kurashev-Bedard-Teräväinen
Hall-Foligno-Bertuzzi
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Donato
Maroon-Reichel-Smith

Kaiser-Jones
Vlasic-Murphy
Allan-Brodie

Mrázek
Söderblom

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) October 29, 2024

First period

Colorado looked a little sluggish early in the second game of a back-to-back after defeating Ottawa last night, and Kurashev scored his second goal of the season on the power play after Alex Vlasic made a nice play in his own zone to carry the puck into the Colorado zone, corral his own rebound and find the streaking forward for a quick slap shot that beat Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev for the 1–0 lead.

Philipp Kurashev – Chicago Blackhawks (2)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/ZEB3Lx8Mcz

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 29, 2024

Less than two minutes later, Casey Mittelstadt beat Mrazek with a wrist shot to tie the game at 1–1, but Chicago would answer right back when Reichel scored his first goal of the season when a shot from Craig Smith hit the backside of Reichel and fooled Georgiev for the 2–1 lead. If there were ever a way for the fan headache named Reichel to score his first goal, this was the way.

Wie kurios willst du treffen? Lukas Reichel: JA! #Blackhawks | @NHLBlackhawks | @lukas__44 | #Reichel pic.twitter.com/9pqKGuBgln

— NHL Deutsch (@NHLde) October 29, 2024

The Blackhawks would take a 3–1 lead after Donato’s first goal of the night, and fourth of the season, at the 16:56 mark of the period. Donato found a rebound from a Jason Dickinson shot and put a backhand behind Georgiev. Donato was in the tough area that is rewarded when a forward finds himself in front of the net.

Ryan Donato scores his team-leading fourth goal of the season and his second in as many games. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/6ZmHtFSUAi

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 29, 2024

After a high-sticking call on Wyatt Kaiser, Colorado took advantage of the man advantage after Nathan MacKinnon fired his fifth goal of the season behind Mrazek to shorten the Blackhawks’ lead to 3–2. After a wild first period of action, the next goal would not happen until after the Avalanche pulled Georgiev for the extra man late in the game.

Second period

The Blackhawks weathered the storm in the middle frame and were outshot by Colorado 10–5 in the period. Chicago had the look of a team that knew the lead was only one bounce away from disappearing, but the lineup stayed strong and Mrazek played very well to keep the score at 3–2 after 40 minutes of action.

As a fan, this is the type of period that good teams need in order to hunker down in their own end and get solid goaltending in order to weather a storm. A little luck helps, too.

Third period

In an evenly matched third period, Chicago would take a 4–2 lead after Colorado pulled their goaltender, but the home team would not take advantage, as Donato scored his second of the game and fifth of the season into the empty net after a nice play by Dickinson to waste some time along the boards, take a hit and find an open Donato.

Ryan Donato – Chicago Blackhawks (5)
Empty Net Goal pic.twitter.com/sxurZAXxYq

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) October 29, 2024

Chicago would finish off the home team 5–2 when Mikheyev scored into the empty net from beyond the blue line for the team’s third win of the season.

Analysis

Secondary scoring was great to see early in the season, as Donato, Kurashev, Reichel and Mikheyev all found the back of the net. Early in the season, the Blackhawks were reliant on Bedard and Teravainen to do the heavy lifting. Colorado may be banged up and playing the backend of a two games in two nights, but skating into Denver and winning 5–2 is a good win any time.

Mrazek was excellent in net, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced and really weathered the storm in the second period when the team in front of him looked like they were spinning their wheels in their own zone a few times.

Vlasic and Connor Murphy were excellent. Both finished the night with 25 and 27 shifts, respectively, and both did an excellent job positionally and took away time and space negating some of the Colorado speed that can be overwhelming. The development of Vlasic over the last few seasons has been impressive to watch and he is only scratching the surface on his talents.

Chicago takes on the 1–7–2 San Jose Sharks on Thursday in San Jose for a 9:30 p.m. CDT puck drop that can be seen on CHSN. The Halloween night matchup is the type of game the Blackhawks need to win versus the worst team in the league as they find their identity early on in the season.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks bury Avalanche 5–2 behind pair of Donato goals appeared first on The Rink.

After winning 5-0 against the Blackhawks on Thursday night, the Avalanche aimed to achieve the same result. The Avalanche recorded a repeat score against the Blackhawks Monday night at Ball Arena.

First period

The first period started slowly, the Avalanche maintained control with only four shots on goal after ten minutes of play.

Nathan MacKinnon lit the lamp to extend his home point streak to 30 games. MacKinnon now has a point in every home game this season. Devon Toews and Cale Makar assisted him.

Nathan Mackinnon extended his home point streak to 30 games…

You read that right #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/grvCcratli

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 5, 2024

To round out the frame, Jonathan Drouin made it 2–0 from the right circle with a wrist shot. In their last matchup, Drouin had an assist in the second period. Tonight, he walked away with his 11th of the season.

Top cheddar #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/B1i6r6NzfG

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 5, 2024

Second period

Statistically, the two teams played an evenly matched game. Colorado entered the second with 22 shots on goal and Annunen saw 20 shots from Chicago.

12 minutes into the period, Cale Makar made it 3–0 with a shot to the far post. MacKinnon picked up his first assist of the night on this play and Mikko Rantanen with his 48th.

Makar is now the franchise leader in points (312), goals (79), and assists (233) as a defenseman.

Look at the flick of the wrist.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/wDBKqLB5o5

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 5, 2024

Zach Parise scored his fourth goal of the season with three minutes remaining in the second. Caleb Jones and MacKinnon assisted him. In only 14 games with the Avalanche, Parise has scored four goals, and three assists and has proven to be an essential asset.

Are you ready 4⃣-0 it?#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Rxo1VwM79n

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 5, 2024

Third period

A power-play goal late in the third from MacKinnon finished the game 5–0. MacKinnon now holds the sixth-longest streak in the NHL for points with 65 (25 goals, 40 assists).

Annunen secured the win with 37 shots saved and now holds a record of 3–2–0–1.

Takeaways

Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard played 22:31 minutes, and the Avalanche held him to minus 3. The Blackhawks increase their losing streak and sit at eighth in the Central Division. They will make their way to Arizona and faceoff against the Coyotes tomorrow at 7 p.m.

As for the Avalanche, they continue to sit at third in the Central Division, just two points behind the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche will be back at home Wednesday night, hosting the Red Wings.

The post Annunen records back-to-back shutouts against Blackhawks appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Both sides traded shots early on, with both goalies proving up to the task early. With five an a half minutes to go, the Avalanche won a face-off in the offensive zone. Mikko Rantanen ripped a shot that beat Petr Mrazek, but not the post, keeping things at a draw. Just a few minutes later, at the 17:58 mark of the period, Jack Johnson led a 2-on-1 break into the Blackhawks’ zone. He got the puck over to Zach Parise, who put the puck past Mrazek to put the Avalanche up 1–0.

Zach Parise is already scoring important goals for the Colorado Avalanche.pic.twitter.com/8nFPKvrDLI

— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) March 1, 2024

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Second period

The second period was all Avs. Connor Bedard took a penalty on an interference call, putting the Avalanche on the power play. They would use all of the man advantage, finally putting one home with two seconds left on the power play. Ross Colton stuck with the puck, and managed to put it past a sprawling Mrazek, 2–0 Avalanche. The Avs just kept rolling. Just 42 seconds later, Ryan Johansen faked a shot, and got Mrazek to bite hard. He went down, and Johansen got the puck around him to Parise, who deflected it home, 3–0 Colorado.

Good mitts from Johansen. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/TYNctI0qRo

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 1, 2024

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They would just sneak in another before the period ended. Often, just getting pucks on net can lead to great things. Devon Toews ripped a shot from between the circles and beat Mrazek glove side, putting the Avs up 4–0 just before the end of the period.

Pucks! On! Net!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/cgTHVByhRi

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 1, 2024

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Third period 

The Avalanche continued to dominate in the third period. They outshot the Blackhawks 13–6 and definitely got the better of the scoring opportunities as a whole. Nathan MacKinnon felt that he needed to get in on all the scoring that was going on this game. On what seemed like a harmless clear from the defensive zone by Cale Makar, the puck found its way up the side boards to MacKinnon. He turned on the jets and ripped the puck short side on Mrazek, putting the Avalanche up 5–0, which is how the game would end.

Analysis

The Blackhawks look like they still have a lot of work to do in fielding a competitive team. They needed improvements in every area to compete against a powerhouse offensive team like the Avalanche. The Avalanche look like they are ready to roll the rest of the season. Parise seems like a great pickup, as he might not be the same player he used to be, but he is proving that he can still contribute even on a team as deep as the Avalanche.

The Blackhawks play next at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night. That game will be at 7 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago. The Avalanche are next up on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. MST against the Nashville Predators in Tennessee. That game will be available on Altitude.

The post RECAP: Avalanche blank Blackhawks in 5–0 beatdown appeared first on The Rink.

Takeaways

— Discipline was a problem for the Avalanche tonight. As they occurred 32 minutes in penalties, they gave the Blackhawks power play six chances. Chicago’s power play has been struggling with a 11.6 percent conversion rate, but they did it when it counted. Two time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson was down by the crease ready for the pass and tapped the puck in with 11:41 left in the game.

Val Nichushkin gets open at the top of the crease and tallies on the power play, tying it up quickly for the Avs!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oPsmLu8pOU

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023

Val Nichushkin again! Second goal of the period for Nichushkin, putting Colorado up 2-1!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/9wWBxkYlqt

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023

— Bedard is as good as everyone says he is. The kid has speed and a dangerous wrister that he can snap off in a tiny space. He uses his speed to skate quickly from one end to the other, meeting the play in the offensive zone. There is only one drawback to his play. They can easily knock him off of the puck. At 185 lbs., he is not a tiny guy, he just has not adjusted to NHL sized players hitting him yet.

DONATO ON THE DOORSTEP pic.twitter.com/goUEoRsC4s

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 20, 2023

Lukas Reichel finds twine off Bedard's pass on the rush, quickly tying it back up at 2!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TobMhOBOfO

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023

— Nathan MacKinnon provided an assist to extend his 16 game point streak, but other than that he was silent through the night. The Blackhawks did a pretty good job of shutting him down through the entire game. Colin Blackwell let MacKinnon know he was back from his hernia injury with a massive hit in the third period. MacKinnon would not stop yapping to the referees about it for the next few minutes.

Another look at Blackwell's hit on MacKinnon#Blackhawks | #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/xipDZeLCnr

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023

— Chicago can build on this win. The Blackhawks have lost the last four games. And to hold the Avalanche to a tie through second and most of the third periods, this could be a massive confidence booster. Ryan Donato and Nikita Zaitsev both showed their value with two assists each.

Tyler Johnson finishes off the beautiful passing setup for a power play goal, 3-2 Chicago!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/CPj8CA6lgV

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023

Conclusion

The Avalanche once again showed that they need to learn to play without Makar. The young defenseman runs the backend like a conductor of a symphony. Colorado seems like they are lost when Makar is not there. Chicago played a great game, considering they have lost a lot of their top talent themselves. They failed to manage the game in the first half of the game, but took control as it moved along. Chicago will continue their home stand as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. The Avalanche will fly back to Denver tonight to take on the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The post Bedard hits scoresheet twice in Hawks’ victory appeared first on The Rink.

First period

After trading chances on both sides, the Blackhawks went on the power play with about 10 minutes to go in the period. Bowen Byram went to the sin bin for putting the puck directly over the glass. Halfway through the power play, Ryan Donato would turn the puck over along the boards, and with a quick pass up ice, Logan O’Connor was off to the races, in on a breakaway. He went high glove over Petr Mrazek, putting the Avalanche up 1–0.

This is how OC does it #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/SPqIqmAXN4

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 20, 2023

Before the period was out, the Blackhawks put the Avalanche on the power play, with Tyler Johnson getting caught with his stick up on Samuel Girard. On the ensuing power play, the Avalanche would get a flurry or opportunities against Mrazek. After Mikko Rantanen put one off the post, and Mrazek made a great save, Artturi Lehkonen got a redirect right in on goal. The rebound bounced out, off of Connor Murphy and over to Ryan Johansen, who stuck with it to put the puck in the back of the net, and send it to the intermission 2–0 Colorado.

Ryan Johansen simply does not give up. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/PjfR4SJ1EL

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 20, 2023

Second period

The Avalanche dominated possession from the middle of the first period on. About halfway through the second period, it appeared as though Colorado would go up 3–0, as Miles Wood seemed to put his second of the season past Mrazek, but it got called back for an offside on the pass to get into the zone. The Avalanche would get that goal back, however, as Devon Toews would score at the 13:18 mark of the period on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play from Toews to Valeri Nichushkin, right back to Toews, who put the puck into a wide open net to officially grab the 3–0 edge.

Toews did everything right #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/vsB7FUKiY4

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 20, 2023

Third period

The third period continued the Avalanche’s domination of the puck, as they only allowed one Chicago shot on goal in the last 11:45 of the game. Nathan MacKinnon had been sniffing around the net all game long, and finally got his chance to put one in the back of the net. A long wrist shot came in from the point and the puck bounced out in front to Tomas Tatar, who made a pass to a streaking MacKinnon, who put it over Mrazek’s shoulder, 4–0 Colorado. That is how the game would end.

MacKinnon making it look easy #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/dv82PXKC0t

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 20, 2023

Analysis

The Blackhawks seemed to have run out of steam by the end of their road trip. Five games is a long time to be away, and with them facing a lot of teams who had home openers, they were constantly facing a fired up crowd who were excited to see their teams in person for the first time this season. Mrazek absolutely stood on his head, as he seems to be rejuvenated in the early going this season.

The Avalanche continued to roll, as they have won all four of the games they have played this season, with different lines and different players contributing each night.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, with the Blackhawks finally playing on home ice, taking on the Vegas Golden Knights on NBC Sports Chicago at 7 p.m. CDT. The Avalanche play host to the Carolina Hurricanes at home at 7 p.m. MDT on Altitude Sports.

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• Ian Mitchell continues to show he was overhyped by the former general manager three seasons ago. The AHL power play expert can jump into a play or fire a shot that makes its way through to the net, but when it comes to defending in his own zone, the neutral zone or anything from keeping the puck out of the net, he is clearly below average at the NHL level. Chicago can make things easy for fans and move on and watch him score eight goals one season for a non-playoff team and people can show they gave up on him too early.
• Mikko Rantanen scored his 47th goal of the season when he beat Alex Stalock for the third goal of the game. Rantanen is the type of player management would build statues for if he played for the Montreal Canadiens. If you are looking for something to do in April as a Blackhawks fan, keep an eye on the highly skilled winger from Nousiainen, Finland.
• If a fan is looking for a plus from the whitewashing in Denver, Jarred Tinordi logged 21:43 of ice time and looked real good doing so in his own end. The burly defenseman was also credited with four hits and used his size to keep the pesky Avalanche forwards at bay. There are nights when Tinordi looks like he could be a serviceable hulk of a defenseman and then there are some nights when speed looks like it will always give the 31-year-old troubles. With that being said, that was a positive against Colorado and not a glowing evaluation of needing him in the future.
• As Chicago continues to lose games and fans feel like they are getting slighted, having the worst record at the end of the year gives the team the best chances of receiving the No. 1 overall pick. If a fan was told they had a 99.9% chance of living and a 97.9% chance of living, we all know we would take the 99.9% and run with it since we do not want to take on the extra 2% and lose sleep at night. It is called odds. You want to have the best ones.

Chicago heads to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Capitals on Thursday for a 7 p.m. CDT puck drop.

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Sam Lafferty opened up the scoring in the first period at the 3:34 mark with an accurate wrist shot, low to the glove side of Avalanche goalie, Pavel Francouz. The Avs tied it with just over eight minutes to play in the period when Evan Rodrigues put away a rebound from the front of the net. The two teams traded goals in the second period. Andreas Athanasiou tallied for Chicago early in the frame, and the reigning Norris Trophy winner, Cale Makar leveled the score just past the halfway point of the period.

Taylor Raddysh provided the game-winning goal early in the third off a nifty set-up from Tyler Johnson. From that point on Petr Mrazek shut the door, cementing 31 saves on the evening.

The Hawks are hosting the red-hot Seattle Kraken on Saturday night. The Kraken are winners of their last seven contests. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. (CST).

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After a scoreless first period where the Hawks outshot the Avs 11–6, Colorado took an early lead in the second period on the power play when Gabriel Landeskog clapped a one-timer off a feed from Cale Makar to make it 1–0.

The Avalanche doubled their money before the end of the period when an in-zone breakdown by the Hawks led to a J.T. Compher goal. The Chicago native gave the Avs a 2–0 cushion heading into the third period.

The third period would open with an explosion of four goals inside three minutes. Colorado took a three-goal lead with a power play goal from Landeskog, his second of the night. Moments later, Brandon Hagel got the Hawks on the board, deflecting home a wrist shot from Connor Murphy.

Dylan StromeConnor MurphyBrandon Hagel#Blackhawks cut Colorado’s lead to 3-1 as Hagel gets a piece of Murphy’s shot from the point for his 12th goal of the season! Strome also picks up his 10th point in the last 9 games with an assist.pic.twitter.com/3rQToMXddY

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 29, 2022

Chicago would strike again 40 seconds later. Eric Gustafsson took a give-and-go pass from the streaking Patrick Kane, and Kane went to the net and tipped in a return feed to make it 3–2.

Erik GustafssonPatrick Kane

Kane knocks home Gustafsson’s pass for his 10th goal of the season to (momentarily) cut the #Blackhawks deficit to just one! Gustafsson now has 6 assists in his last 8 games. PERFECT give and go.pic.twitter.com/RaMHEowPLU

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 29, 2022

The gap was short lived, as Alex Newhook took a pass from Alex Burakovsky on a 2-on-1 rush less than a minute later to regain the two-goal lead for the Avalanche at 4–2.

With six minutes to go and the line of Hagel, Kane and Dylan Strome buzzing, Kane tallied his second of the game from the front of the net off a feed from Strome to make it 4–3.

Dylan StromePatrick Kane

Great work by Strome to win a couple of puck battles & eventually find Kane in front for his 2nd goal of the game and 11th of the season! #Blackhawks down 4-3 late in the 3rd! Two-point night for both Kane and Strome.pic.twitter.com/lva6jD3aKk

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 29, 2022

With the Hawks pressing and just over two minutes to go Nazim Kadri scored an empty-net goal to make it 5–3, but the Hawks were not done. With just over a minute left and the goalie still pulled, Hagel was the last Blackhawk to touch the puck in a mad scramble and was credited with the goal to narrow it to 5–4.

With seconds remaining, Makar scored another late empty-net goal to seal the win, 6–4. Though the Hawks had a season-high 43 shots on goal, their best was not enough. The Blackhawks host the Canucks on Monday night.

Analysis

Heading into Friday night’s game, Kirby Dach held a 34% face-off percentage when playing in the dot this season. He has averaged roughly 19 minutes per game this season for Chicago and now with one game to go in January, he has one point (a goal against the Coyotes in a 6–4 loss) this month. Dach is 21 years old, his story is not yet written and he still has the chance to go on to a nice career in the NHL. That said, it is easy to argue that the Hawks have muffed his young career and development to date. His confidence appears minimal and following the Hawks’ slump in recent years, former General Manager Stan Bowman and his brass were too concerned with trying to strike gold with him, as opposed to give him necessary time to develop. Yes, the wrist injury in the World Junior Championships, where he could have been Captain Canada in January of 2021, did not help. What also did not help was rushing him back into NHL action before season’s end in 2020–21. Hindsight is indeed 20-20, but giving him the rest of last season off or allowing him to compete in a number of games in the Rockford IceHogs’ shortened AHL season, would have been the better move. Yet, we are here, and it will be interesting to see if Dach will become the player that he was once advertised to be.

Those that are suggesting that he could or should be dealt at the deadline are not considering the fact that as of right now, Dach would be a healthy scratch or an AHL regular on a Cup-contending team. There is not a team that would pursue him for a Cup run. Much of this perhaps is not his fault, and instead another tale of a former GM who has failed to look out for and consider the long-term development of a talented hockey player. Time will tell as to if and when he will get his confidence back, but it is challenging as a fan to continue to watch him struggle.

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First period

After some chances on either end, the Blackhawks got their first great opportunity when Sam Lafferty passed the puck up quickly to Jonathan Toews, who got it in front to a streaking Calvin de Haan, who could not beat the Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz. This would be the best chance for either team in the frame, as there was a lot of back and forth for the rest of the frame.

The Avalanche would get a chance just a couple minutes later, when a broken stick from Philipp Kurashev led to a 2-on-1 chance. Fleury was able to make the stop, however, keeping the game knotted up at 0–0.

Just a minute later, the Avs would get another good chance, with Samuel Girard getting wide open in between the circles and getting ahold of a slap shot that Fleury was quick to get a piece of.

The Blackhawks had their first powerplay of the game, but could not do anything with it. The period would end the same way that it started, 0–0.

Second period

The Avalanche started off the period on the power play, but could not convert on it despite a few decent chances. Throughout most of the period, the Avs just kept increasing the amount of chances they were getting, and keeping a lot of pressure on the Blackhawks.

The Avalanche finally got a great chance at the 6:35 mark of the frame, when Fleury got knocked down by his own teammate, Henrik Borgstrom, but managed to get back into position as the Avs got the puck back out to the point to try to get a shot into the back of the net. Fleury somehow kept that out, and did not allow any rebound.

Then, at the 8:36 mark of the frame, Nazem Kadri put a wrister on net from just above the left circle, and Fleury could not quite hold the puck out, and neither could de Haan, who tried to get the puck before it crossed the line. With that power play tally, the Avalanche took a 1–0 lead. The second period would end with that 1–0 lead for the Avalanche.

Third period

After more back and forth to start the period, the Avalanche would pick up another goal. At the 6:41 mark of the frame, the puck got passed to Mikko Rantanen in front of the net. He out-waited Fleury with a tremendous amount of patience, and then put a backhand shot over top of him to make it 2–0 Avalanche.

The Avalanche got a few more shots on Fleury, but the Blackhawks were not able to get anything past the Avalanche. The game would end with a score of 2–0 Avalanche over the Blackhawks.

Analysis

The Blackhawks did not play poorly against one of the league’s best. Sure, they could have gotten more chances on net, but overall, they played well on defense and got opportunities on the offensive end, but could not put anything past the goaltender.

This game at least showed that the Blackhawks have not completely dropped into not caring about how they play. The Blackhawks need to figure out how to get more shots on net, as well as tightening down defensively. While they may have played decent defense in this game, their last couple of games are ones that they allowed an opponent to overrun them.

Their last game being very winnable, and the same being said for this one, it all comes down to the fundamentals for this team. They need to figure out who fits best where, which seems to be something that Derek King is still playing around with at the moment.

This team is perhaps better than they are playing as of late, but a playoff team? Far from it. Too many young players on defense mixed with declining veterans is not normally a recipe for success.

We will see if the Blackhawks can get back on track against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. Gametime is a 6:30 p.m. CST on TNT.

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First period

At 7:43, Erik Johnson scored his fourth of the season on a wrist shot over Fleury’s right shoulder to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. The play began thanks to a Nazem Kadri rush into the Hawks’ zone, and he wristed a shot that Fleury stopped, but Kadri picked up his own rebound on the left half boards and fed Johnson, who was alone on the left point.

The Avs took a 2–0 lead on Alex Newhook’s seventh goal of the season at the 13:54 mark. An uncovered Newhook weaved his way in front of the net, where the Avs had a 3-on-2 down low, and he backhanded one over Fleury’s left shoulder while Riley Stillman inadvertently screened the Hawks goaltender.

The Avs dominated the opening frame and led it 2–0 after 20 minutes. Colorado outshot the Hawks 13–5 with nearly the entire period spent in the home team’s zone.

Second period

The Hawks opened the period with a much stronger effort than the first, and it paid off. At the 4:47 mark, Jonathan Toews scored his fourth of the season as the Hawks took advantage of some sustained time in the offensive zone. A Seth Jones shot was stopped by Kuemper and MacKenzie Entwistle jumped on the rebound that squirted to Toews, who got inside position on Avs defenseman Samuel Girard and poked it home to cut the Colorado lead to 2–1.

In the second, the Hawks controlled play most of the way and they outshot the Avalanche 17–7. After two, the Blackhawks had a 22–20 lead in shots on goal.

Third period

Trailing by one, the Hawks took advantage of an early two-man advantage, as Jones fed Patrick Kane, who went diagonal to Alex DeBrincat at the side of the net for his 19th of the season at the 2:18 mark. Just 40 seconds later, DeBrincat scored his 20th from the slot on a 5-on-4 advantage on a feed from Kane near the right half boards to give the Blackhawks a 3–2 lead.

After about four minutes of back-and-forth action without a whistle, Colorado tied it at the 11:44 mark on Johnson’s second of the game and fifth of the season when a floating shot from the left half boards deflected in off Hawks defenseman Jake McCabe.

In the third period, the Avs held a slim advantage in shots on goal, however, the teams were even at 30 apiece through regulation time.

Overtime

At 2:38 of overtime, the 2019 Hobey Baker Award winner Cale Makar skated behind the Chicago net to the half boards with Kirby Dach in his hip pocket. Makar then stopped on a dime and skated toward the right post and lifted a backhand past Fleury for the highlight-reel game-winner, his 14th of the season, which leads the NHL among defensemen. Colorado outshot the Hawks 3–1 in overtime and had a 33–31 edge for the game.

The good, the bad, the ugly

The good

Jonathan Toews — The Captain was tremendous, especially in the second period when he was all over the ice and scored the goal that seemed to have jumpstarted the rest of his teammates. He also nearly won the game midway through overtime by himself by outmuscling two Colorado defenders and fooling Kuemper, but the bad-angle shot hit the outside of the post.

The bad

The first period — Following last Sunday’s 5–1 home loss to the Calgary Flames where Blackhawks Interim Head Coach Derek King questioned the effort of several players, the Hawks came out sluggish to start this game. Perhaps that may have been the difference, because if they had played the way they did during the final 40 minutes, they may have won the game in regulation.

The ugly

Derek King — As the home head coach, King gets the final line change. The Avs opened the extra session with Makar, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon. King countered with Dach, Jones and Philipp Kurashev. This mismatch both started and ended overtime, as the Hawks’ trio was on the ice for Makar’s game-winner.

Analysis

Overall, this was a much better effort for the Hawks than the previous two games when they were outscored 11–2 by Nashville and Calgary. The good news is the team showed some fight after a terrible first period when they found themselves in a 2–0 hole.

The Hawks hit the road for a three-game trip beginning Thursday night in Arizona. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. CST on NBCSCH with the radio call on WGN 720.

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All the good feelings of the offseason were erased very early in this contest.

First period

In the first period, the Blackhawks came out flatter than pop left outside for a week, while the Avs entered the contest ready to play. After being outplayed for the first several minutes of the period, Connor Murphy pinched up into the offensive zone when he clearly should not have. This left old, wily vet Jack Johnson on a breakaway from the blue line in against Marc-Andre Fleury.

Jack Johnson with quite the goal to open the scoring for the Avalanche.. pic.twitter.com/1SW558WNSG

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) October 14, 2021

After the Johnson goal, Colorado continued to press the attack against the Hawks. Erik Johnson fed Gabriel Landeskog for the second goal of the period.

LANDESKOG! Two goals in 1:22 for the Avalanche, with Gabriel Landeskog tallying in tight! 2-0 Colorado!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/G5Es6ynQuO

— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) October 14, 2021

The Blackhawks were then feeling the effects of the Johnson and Johnson scoring plays, as Jeremy Colliton decided to make his first coaching blunder of the season. With an opportunity to make a change for his gassed fourth line, Colliton decided to leave the line on the ice. The Blackhawks then committed a costly turnover that sprang Colorado’s Bowen Bryam into the open ice. Bryam buried his chance past a helpless Fluery, putting the Avalanche up three goals before the midway point of the opening frame.

Jonathan Toews playing his first regular season game in over a year and tried to rally the troops on the bench with some inspiring words, but sadly, it was more of the same for the Blackhawks. That was until J.T. Compher took a hooking penalty for the Avalanche. Dominik Kubalik got the Hawks on the board with his first power play goal of the season.

Despite cutting the lead to only two goals, the Blackhawks were outclassed in the first period of the season opener.

Second period

In the second period, the Blackhawks played a more competitive style of hockey, but every chance they did yield to Colorado was a scoring chance.

The Blackhawks have been more competitive this period, but the problem is everything the Avalanche are getting are scoring chances. They lead 9-1 in 5v5 scoring chances this period and 23-3 for the game, according to NaturalStatTrick.

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) October 14, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The best chances of the second period came from Kirby Dach. Dach, who was noticeable all night, stole the puck on the penalty kill, which gave him a breakaway against Darcy Kuemper. Dach shot low on Kuemper, who was able to fend off the chance.

Later in the period, Dach had another golden opportunity with a 1-on-1 versus Kuemper. This time, Dach decided to shoot high on Kuemper, who was once again up to the task. This opportunity proved to be more costly, as on the continuation of the shift, Colorado’s Nazem Kadri tapped in the fourth goal of the game for the Avalanche. The second period ended with the Blackhawks trailing by three goals.

Third period

In the third period, the Blackhawks got a goal from Connor Murphy to cut the lead in half. Despite cutting the lead to two goals, the game was not actually that close. Colorado dominated the third period even when the Blackhawks pulled their goalie to have a two-skater advantage, still not able to yield much offensive production. The Blackhawks fell to Colorado 4–2.

Analysis

The Jeremy Colliton defensive system got off to another rocky start. Despite playing newly acquired defenseman Seth Jones for much of the game, the new Blackhawks defense was no match for the Avalanche. The Blackhawks continue to yield too many shots on the net.

It is only one game, and nobody wants to jump to conclusions, but the coaching decisions of Colliton are going to be scrutinized much more this season. General Manager Stan Bowman revamped this team to make the playoffs, and after one night, this team looks nowhere close to a playoff team.

Kirby Dach

The lone player that showed a lot of promise was Kirby Dach. He was great in his own zone, he generated scoring chances and played great on the penalty kill. The only knock on Dach for the night was his inability to finish. Dach also took a questionable hit from Landeskog in the game, but was able to return.

Marc-Andre Fleury

Fleury played hard after giving up three early goals. It will be a different experience for Fleury after playing behind a defensively responsible team in Vegas.

The Blackhawks have to shore up a lot of issues before their next contest, which comes Friday at New Jersey. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT.

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