The Blackhawks found a winning combination on Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After scoring six goals and getting the win, head coach Jeremy Colliton trotted out the same lines on Friday night against the Jets:

Saad – Toews – Kahun

DeBrincat – Strome – Kane

Sikura – Kampf – Perlini

Hayden – Kruger – Martinsen

Keith – Jokiharju

Gustafsson – Seabrook

Dahlstrom – Murphy

Crawford

The only change to the lineup vs the Jets was the insertion of Erik Gustafsson to replace Brandon Manning.

First Period:

Early in the period, the Blackhawks allowed a quality chance, giving fans the impression it might be another long night, similar to Tuesday in Winnipeg. The potential agony continued when Brandon Saad missed a wide open tip-in on an errant pass.

In spite of the chaotic early minutes, the Blackhawks looked good. The team brought a lot of energy early, pacing play against the loaded Jets. However, numerous missed chances and bad plays almost cost them. One such play included a Connor Murphy turnover right in front of Corey Crawford that led to a grade A chance for the visitors. Crawford made the big save to cover up for Murphy’s error.

https://twitter.com/johndietzdh/status/1073757918749700096

Late in the period, Jonathan Toews took a hooking penalty, sending the potent power play unit out onto the ice for the Jets. Roughly forty seconds into the man advantage, Blake Wheeler set up on the right half wall looking for an open teammate, and sent a screaming pass through the middle of the ice, finding teammate Mark Scheifele, who gave the Jets the 1-0 lead.

The goal marked the 12th time in 13 games where Blackhawks’ opponents scored first.

Despite some quality chances from Winnipeg in the waning minutes of the period, it looked like the contest would enter the first intermission with the Jets leading 1-0. But as the Jets tried to make a pass to their point in the offensive zone, Brandon Saad intercepted and began up ice on the left wing. After crossing the Winnipeg blue line, Saad dropped a pass to Duncan Keith who quickly found Jonathan Toews in the high slot. Toews made a quick move to create an open shot and fired a high wrister to tie the game with ten seconds remaining in the period. The period would in fact enter intermission tied 1-1 against the Jets.

Second Period:

The opening half of the second period was marked by some near misses and good defense. Dylan Sikura had an opportunity for his first goal after a Keith wrister took a funny bounce off of Jets goaltender Laurent Brossoit. The puck bounced just out of Sikura’s reach, otherwise the young forward would have had a wide open net for his first career goal.

The two most notable players for Chicago were Brandon Saad and John Hayden. Hayden was strong on the puck and playing his role consistently all night. Saad was making plays on both ends of the ice, saving what could have been a goal in the latter half of the middle frame by not quitting on a play and getting a stick on a wide open shot from the Jets.

Another defensive play led to the Blackhawks’ next tally. Murphy made a huge block on a quality chance from the Jets that sent the Blackhawks down the ice the other way. Carl Dahlstrom found Saad, after a bad pinch by a Jets’ defenseman, before Saad found Toews once again on a beautiful saucer pass, setting up a one-timer to give the home team the lead.

Jonathan Toews has his second goal of the game … and it was a beauty. 2-1 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/3dd2bIZifr

— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 15, 2018

The lead didn’t last for long. A little over two minutes later, Jets winger Patrick Laine ripped a deadly top shelf snapshot from the mid slot to beat Crawford high blocker side. The tally was Laine’s 23rd of the season and tied the game at two goals a piece.

.@PatrikLaine29 ties the game. pic.twitter.com/N1lH0eGyHz

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) December 15, 2018

Things began looking up for the Blackhawks as Brandon Saad drew a late penalty on Mathieu Perreault. The Hawks would ultimately waste the power play and give the Jets a late opportunity after a defensive breakdown. Perreault was able to sneak behind a Chicago defensemen on a breakaway. The Jets forward capitalized on the chance and gave the away team the lead, 3-2, with seventeen seconds remaining in the period. 

Third Period:

The third period featured a steady pace of play. Neither team could crack the opposing goaltender and the scored remained at 3-2. Chicago did find some momentum early, after killing two consecutive Jets power plays in the first five minutes of the third period. The Jets could have put the game out of reach, but the Blackhawks hunkered down and killed two big penalties.

With under four minutes remaining, the Blackhawks went to the man advantage looking to capitalize on a late Jets penalty and send the game to overtime. However, John Hayden high sticked Tyler Myers in front of the Jets net around forty seconds into the power play, negating the advantage for Chicago. The Blackhawks had to kill the penalty and make something happen with under a minute remaining.

… And it happened…

The Blackhawks were able to pull Corey Crawford for the extra attacker with about twenty-five seconds remaining in the contest. The home team set up in Winnipeg’s zone and tried to find the open shot. Duncan Keith put a perfect pass on a platter for Erik Gustafsson, who walked into a one-timer and tie the game with seven and a half seconds left. Redemption for Gustafsson, who made a poor decision leading directly to Perreault’s earlier goal.

The game went to overtime with the teams tied 3-3.

OT ahead thanks to this blast! pic.twitter.com/ut6ogd4aIy

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 15, 2018

Overtime:

Extra time started well in favor of the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane, Toews and Duncan Keith were able to occupy the offensive zone for a solid shift before the Jets re-gained possession.

After a puck got in deep behind Crawford, a two-on-two scrum ensued along the boards. The Jets won the board battle and Mark Scheifele was able to walk out in front of Crawford and fire a laser to win the game for the Jets.

Final score, 4-3 Winnipeg.

Quick Hits:

• John Hayden and Brandon Saad both looked very good in this game. Although taking a penalty late, Hayden was effective along the boards, handled the puck well and sparked some energy for Chicago. Saad was everywhere, making plays all over the ice on both offense and defense while picking up two assists along the way. Seeing these two be that noticeable was an encouraging sign for Blackhawks fans everywhere.
• The defense looked better than usual, but the Perreault mistake really cost them. The defense allowed him to slip behind them after the Jets killed the penalty on Perreault. If that doesn’t happen, who knows how this game goes. The Carl Dahlstrom insertion seems to be paying some dividends.
• This team finally is starting to look like a team with purpose. Despite the loss tonight, they had more fight in them than they did the last time they played in Winnipeg on Tuesday night. The Penguins game on Wednesday could be a glimpse of how this team will play under Colliton in the future. Their largest problem was coming out of the gate slow and playing from behind. This game, they came out firing and competing hard without falling behind by a huge margin early, which is quite the improvement over past games as mentioned before. If they can add more talent this offseason, there’s a chance this team can begin to compete again sooner rather than later.

The Blackhawks will remain at home as the San Jose Sharks come to town on Sunday, December 16th. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 6:00pm CST.

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