First period

On a delayed penalty call, Colton Dach scored his first of the season to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. Louis Crevier shot the puck from the left point, which Ullmark stopped but left a big rebound to his right that Dach gathered and brought to the forehand and snapped in at the 6:47 mark. Nick Foligno picked up the secondary assist for his 600th career point.

#kindanasty pic.twitter.com/1Vg8xvJ9hY

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

Crevier made it 2-0 with a shot from the left half boards that went off an Ottawa defenseman and into the net. For Crevier, it was his second of the season at 12:06.

right on target pic.twitter.com/ypmupBbr26

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

With the Hawks on the power play, Connor Bedard scored his fourth of the season to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead. Frank Nazar fed Andre Burakovsky, who skated to the right of Ullmark then made a diagonal pass to Bedard in the left circle, who sniped it under the crossbar at 17:53.

what a snipe pic.twitter.com/lMj068bJ4R

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

The Hawks would take a three-goal lead into the first intermission.

Second period

Following a successful penalty kill, Bedard scored his second of the game and fifth of the season with a highlight-reel coast-to-coast rush. Bedard skated with the puck from in front of his own net then entered the Ottawa zone 1-on-3, toe-dragged and fired a wrist shot from the slot at 2:58 to give Chicago a 4-0 lead.

what, like it’s hard? pic.twitter.com/GyEBuTvKt8

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

Ottawa got on the board with a goal by Jake Sanderson at 4:56 to cut the deficit to 4-1. Sanderson fired a shot from the point that missed the net but ricocheted in front and went in off the back of Knight’s catching glove and into the net. For Sanderson, it was his second of the season.

The Sens inched closer when Michael Amadio scored his second of the season at the 7:07 mark. Amadio battled Wyatt Kaiser behind the net and broke free and skated alone in front, turned around and fired a shot top shelf to make it 4-2. Amadio took advantage of a miscommunication between Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov to cut the Chicago lead in half.

Ottawa made it 4-3 when Tim Stutzle made a nice move around Kaiser in the neutral zone and skated in and fired a wrist shot past Knight for his fifth of the season at 8:31. The Hawks challenged for offside but the goal was upheld. The Hawks would take a one-goal lead into the second intermission.

Third period

Bedard scored his first career hat trick and his sixth of the season to give the Hawks a 5-3 lead. Ryan Greene won an offensive zone faceoff cleanly back to Bedard, who fired a wrist shot over Ullmark’s glove and under the crossbar at the 3:46 mark.

HATS OFF TO CONNOR BEDARD pic.twitter.com/FDaDh048Nq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

Ryan Donato made it 6-3 with his sixth goal of the season at 8:24. Bedard skated in on the right wing side and his shot attempt was deflected right to Donato in the slot and he buried it into an open net.

Donato’s 100th point as a Blackhawk pic.twitter.com/zfKMLD9sJG

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 29, 2025

With Ottawa on a power play and their net empty, Nazar skated out of the zone on a breakaway and got tripped, but was still able to score his fifth of the season at 12:44 to give Chicago a 7-3 lead, which would hold at the final horn.

Analysis

The Blackhawks finally took advantage of a team on its second of back-to-back games, but the outcome was certainly in doubt in the second period. With Ottawa scoring three quick goals to cut the Hawks’ lead to 4-3 and heading to the power play following a failed coach’s challenge, the Hawks killed off the Ottawa man advantage and regained momentum heading into the second intermission. That led to the third period, which the Hawks dominated and added three goals to pad their lead.

The Hawks begin a six-game road trip on Thursday night in Winnipeg where they’ll face their former captain and three-time Stanley Cup champion, Jonathan Toews, for the first time since his return to the NHL. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CDT on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.

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After the Hawks killed off an early Bruins power play, Connor Bedard scored the first goal of his career. Bedard skated in the offensive zone with the puck and made a behind-the-back pass to Ryan Donato, who fed it back to Bedard in the right circle. Bedard shot it from a near horizontal angle and Ullmark made the stop but left a rebound that Bedard retrieved and wrapped it around the open right side of the net for the goal. The Hawks had a 1–0 lead at the 5:37 mark of the first.

CONNOR BEDARD WITH HIS FIRST NHL GOAL pic.twitter.com/pQeHIDx7WO

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 11, 2023

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Trent Frederic tied it for the Bruins at 1–1 at 11:22 when he deflected a Brandon Carlo shot from the point. Rookie center Matthew Poitras set up the play and picked up his first career point on the goal. An entertaining first would end with the teams tied 1–1.

At 13:09 of the second, Milan Lucic skated in 2-on-1 and fed David Pastrnak in the right circle, who snapped one past Soderblom. The Bruins took a 2–1 lead and it would remain that way after 40 minutes.

The Bruins hung on to a 2–1 advantage for most of the third period. Pastrnak iced it with his second of the game into the Hawks’ vacated net with 58 seconds left to give the Bruins a 3–1 lead, which stood as final.

Analysis

For the second straight game, the Hawks received spectacular goaltending, which kept them in the game. Otherwise, this was a fairly one-sided affair. While Bedard flashed his high-end skill, the rest of the offense could not generate many chances. At one point, the Hawks were down to 10 forwards in the third with Taylor Hall exiting early in the second with an injury after a collision with Carlo, and Jason Dickinson missed half of the third while serving a 10-minute misconduct penalty after instigating a fight with John Beecher, who had just driven Cole Guttman into the boards from behind. With the Hawks playing the second game in as many nights, they began to wear down late as the Bruins dominated possession in the closing minutes. Rookie defender Wyatt Kaiser had another tough night, while Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic had fine, albeit unremarkable, showings.

The Hawks continue their season-opening road trip on Saturday night in Quebec against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Puck drop is 6 p.m. CDT on NHL Network with the radio call on 720 WGN.

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The Hawks opened the scoring when Corey Perry poked in a rebound following a Nick Foligno shot from the slot. Both Perry and Jason Dickinson crashed the net and Perry got credited with the goal at 2:09 of the first period.

̶c̶o̶r̶e̶y̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶r̶y̶ more like scorey perry pic.twitter.com/HCcZwYFiJL

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 4, 2023

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The Hawks would maintain a 1–0 lead after one. For the Hawks, Petr Mrazek was sharp, as he stopped all 14 shots he faced.

Exactly one minute into the second stanza, Joe Veleno tied it at 1–1. The 2018 first-round pick of Detroit fired a one-timer from the left circle past Seth Jones and into the net off a nice cross-ice feed from Jonatan Berggren.

With 4:30 left in the frame, Connor Murphy broke the tie with a nasty wrist shot from the top of the left circle that went in just under the cross bar on a feed from Connor Bedard. The Hawks regained the lead at 2–1.

connor to connor pic.twitter.com/pljr9DTySj

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 4, 2023

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Less than a minute later on a delayed penalty, Bedard skated in alone and tried to go five hole following some slick stick-handling, but Michael Hutchinson made the save for Detroit.

At 4:49 of the third, Veleno scored his second of the night off a give-and go-with Klim Kostin to tie the game at 2–2. On the play, Lukas Reichel was caught out of position and trailed Veleno as he shot the puck into the back of the net.

Midway through the third, Perry scored his second of the game on the power play. Taylor Hall found Perry wide open to the right of Hutchinson, took the pass and skated across the crease and fired it into a wide open net to give Chicago a 3–2 advantage. Hall and Bedard each notched their second assist of the game on the power play goal.

don’t look now, scorey perry got his second of the night pic.twitter.com/XNgZlde23w

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 4, 2023

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With 1:09 left and the Red Wings’ net empty, Bedard scored his first preseason goal on the power play. Following a Detroit clear, Mrazek fed Bedard at center ice, who skated up the left wing boards and fired the puck into the open cage to give the Hawks a 4–2 lead, which was the final tally.

BEDARD EMPTY NETTER pic.twitter.com/8ws2IcrrPU

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 4, 2023

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Analysis

The Blackhawks looked much better on Tuesday than in their previous game in Detroit. After a wide-open first where the Wings outshot the Hawks 14–12, Chicago put the clamps down and held Detroit to just five shots on goal during the final two periods. For the game, the Hawks outshot the Wings, 34–19. In addition to the defensive effort, the Hawks’ power play looked solid, with Bedard drawing two and sometimes three defenders, which created space down low for others including Hall and Perry, who would connect on the eventual game-winning goal.

The Blackhawks play their penultimate preseason contest on Thursday night at the United Center against the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop will be at 7:30 p.m. CDT and will be available on both NBCSCH and on WGN Radio 720.

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— The Stars struck first on the power play to take a 1–0 lead when Joe Pavelski found Roope Hintz on a 2-on-1 down low and he fired the puck into a wide-open net with Mrazek out of position. For Hintz, it was his 27th of the season at 10:21 of the first.

— The Hawks tied it at 1–1 at the 15:54 mark when Cole Guttman tapped in a rebound for his third of the season off a Tyler Johnson shot off the rush.

— At 17:05 of the first, Dallas regained the lead at 2–1 when Hintz scored his second of the game and 28th of the season on a one-timer from the left circle on the power play. Dallas took the lead into the first intermission.

— The Hawks came out for the second period and tied it just 26 seconds in when Seth Jones floated a wrist shot through a screened Murray for his seventh of the season. The teams would remain in a 2–2 tie after two periods.

— The Stars returned the favor with an early third-period goal to take a 3–2 lead. One of the Stars’ newest acquisitions, Evgenii Dadonov, won a board battle behind the net and then found Jamie Benn in front, who knocked in his 25th of the season at the 45-second mark.

— With the Hawks’ net empty, the Stars won a defensive zone draw and Esa Lindell launched a 200-foot shot into the open cage to take a 4–2 lead. For Lindell, it was his seventh of the season.

— With 13.7 seconds left, Hintz completed the hat trick with an empty-net tally for his 29th of the season to give the Stars a 5–2 lead, which stood as the final.

— Once again, the Hawks played hard throughout the contest but just ran out of gas in the third, largely due to the talent disparity. For the Stars, Murray picked up his first NHL victory.

The Blackhawks return to home ice on Saturday night when they face the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CST.

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— The Blackhawks started slow and would never recover, as the Hurricanes dominated 5-on-5 play. Carolina took a 1–0 lead about midway through the first period when Jordan Martinook redirected a Brent Burns point shot for his fourth of the season.

— Carolina extended its lead to 2–0 with just under five minutes to go in the first when Jordan Staal scored his fourth on a wrist shot from the right circle that went over the glove of Petr Mrazek, who made 29 saves in the loss.

— In the second period, Andrei Svechnikov sniped his 12th of the season at the 14:07 mark on a setup from Jesper Fast, who intercepted a Caleb Jones clearing attempt. The Canes’ 3–0 lead would stand as final. Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves for his first NHL shutout to move Carolina to 10–5–1 on the season while the Blackhawks dropped to 6–6–3.

— The lone bright spot for the Hawks was the penalty kill, which went 4-for-4 against Carolina. The Hawks have killed off 10 straight since they gave up three power play goals in their 4–0 loss at Winnipeg on Nov. 5.

The Blackhawks return to the United Center on Wednesday night for a nationally televised matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Puck drop on TNT is at 6:30 p.m. CST.

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After their opening night tradition of walking the red carpet, the Blackhawks slept-walked through the first period where they found themselves down 2-0. The Wings received an even strength goal by former Blackhawk Pius Suter and, 67 seconds later, a power play tally from Dylan Larkin.

New Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou cut the Wings’ lead to 2–1 at the 5:41 mark of the second period when he was awarded and succeeded on a penalty shot for his first of the season.

Midway through the second, ex-Blackhawk Dominik Kubalik scored his first Red Wings goal to regain a two-goal lead for the visitors.

Trailing 3–1 entering the third, Alex Stalock replaced Petr Mrazek in the net, who appeared injured late in the second. Philipp Kurashev scored his first of the season nearly four minutes into the frame to cut the Hawks’ deficit to one.

The Hawks tied it at 3–3 on a shorthanded goal by Connor Murphy.

In the extra session, Max Domi forced a neutral zone turnover and then skated in and blew a wrister past Alex Nedeljkovic for his first as a Blackhawk at the 2:44 mark to secure the win.

The Blackhawks welcome the Seattle Kraken for a Sunday afternoon contest at 1 p.m. CDT.

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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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First period

It did not take long for Dougie Hamilton, the Devils’ big ticket free agent addition this past offseason, to win over his teammates and the hometown crowd, as he scored just 17 seconds into the game. A turnover by Jake McCabe just inside his own blue line, forced by Pavel Zacha, eventually would get to Hamilton in the slot, who knuckled one past Kevin Lankinen to give the Devils a quick 1–0 lead. At the end of one, the Blackhawks and Devils were even in the shots on goal column at six apiece.

Second period

With 1:55 of Blackhawks power play time carried over from the opening frame, Patrick Kane made a pinpoint goal-line feed to a wide open Alex DeBrincat, who buried his first of the young season past Devils goaltender Jonathan Bernier to tie the game at the 51-second mark. On the goal, Tyler Johnson picked up his first point in a Blackhawks uniform.

The Devils regained the lead at 2–1 late in the second period on a spin-o-rama backhand shot by budding superstar Jack Hughes from the left circle that beat a screened Lankinen with just over two minutes left in the frame. The Devils outshot the Blackhawks 13–11 in the second and had a two period advantage of 19–17.

Third period

At 6:34 into the third period, seconds after MacKenzie Entwistle nearly tied it but drew iron, Andreas Johnsson gave the Devils a 3–1 lead. Tomas Tatar fed rookie Dawson Mercer in the right circle, who shot the puck which trickled behind Lankinen, who lost track of it and Johnsson won a foot race to the net with Connor Murphy and tapped it in to give the home team a two-goal cushion. Save that puck for Mercer, as he notched his first career NHL point on the play.

The Hawks cut the deficit to 3–2 on a power play goal by Kirby Dach at 16:07 on a rebound from in front while Mercer was serving a double minor for high sticking and the Hawks’ cage was empty for an extra attacker. 

Late in the third, with the desperate Blackhawks trying to get the equalizer, Seth Jones did a nice job keeping the puck in the Devils’ zone and found Brandon Hagel in the slot, who made a nice feed to Dominik Kubalik, who one-timed it past Bernier to tie the game at 3–3 with 25.5 seconds left in regulation.

Overtime

The Hawks controlled the puck off the face-off, but could not get a shot off thanks to some solid defensive coverage by the Devils. A Kirby Dach pass from behind the net went awry and sent the Devils the other way on a 2-on-1 with Erik Gustafsson in between. Hughes skated around a sprawling Gustafsson and stick-handled Lankinen out of position to give himself a wide open net for the game-winner and his second of the game.

Analysis: The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: Seth Jones bounced back from a poor performance in the opener with a strong game. He played over 26 minutes and it felt like he never left the ice in the third period. His presence was felt all 200 feet and the hope is he can continue to build on his performance.

The bad: The so-called shutdown pair of Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy was anything but that. They were a combined -5 with the tone being set for their rough night just 17 seconds into the game with the McCabe turnover that led to the Devils’ first goal of the season.

The ugly: Everyone’s favorite whipping boy, Erik Gustafsson, was completely fooled by Hughes on the game-winner.

Credit the Blackhawks for a strong comeback in the third from a two-goal deficit to tie the game and grab a point on the road, however, there are still major defensive issues to clean up.

The Hawks head to Pittsburgh for a game on Saturday against the Penguins at PPG Arena. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on NHL Network, NBCSCH and on WGN 720.

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The Wild were playing their second game in as many nights on home ice following a 4–3 win in overtime against the St. Louis Blues.

First period

At 7:13 of the opening frame while Calvin De Haan was serving a minor penalty for tripping, the Wild needed just seven seconds of power play time to take a 1–0 lead and continue the Blackhawks’ struggles on the penalty kill. A face-off win by the Wild led to a soft shot by Mats Zuccarello from the slot, which Kevin Lankinen stopped, but Joel Eriksson Ek was alone on the doorstep and buried the rebound.

The Hawks were fortunate to be down 1–0 after one period thanks to Lankinen, who was strong out of the gate. The Wild outplayed and outshot the Hawks 12–8, with most of them being high-quality chances. 

Second period

The Blackhawks came out of the locker room and tilted the ice their way for the first half of the second period. Strong work in the neutral zone led to turnovers and multiple scoring opportunities off the rush. With Connor Murphy in the penalty box for slashing, Lankinen continued his stellar play and kept his team within a goal with four saves on one sequence during a Wild power play that the Hawks would eventually kill off. Lankinen also stopped Marcus Foligno on a breakaway in the final minute of the period.

After two, the Wild still led the Blackhawks 1–0. The Hawks had a 9–8 shots on goal advantage for the period, but the Wild still led in that department 20–17 through two.

Third period

After several scoring chances to open the period, the Blackhawks went on the power play at nearly the five-minute mark when Jared Spurgeon was guilty of tripping MacKenzie Entwistle on a great effort to retrieve the puck from the boards and drive to the net. On the ensuing power play, Kirby Dach made a slap pass from the high left circle to Dylan Strome, who had good positioning on Cam Talbot’s right side and deflected the puck in for the equalizer.

The game remained tied for just 88 seconds, as Kirill Kaprizov shot one from the point, which led to a mad scramble in front and the puck dribbled to the right of Lankinen, where a pinching Alex Goligoski jumped on the rebound to give the Wild a 2–1 lead.

At 13:29, the Blackhawks tied it when Brandon Hagel scored on a penalty shot, faking out Talbot to create a wide-open net for the equalizer. The penalty shot was drawn after Henrik Borgstrom made a perfect pass from just outside the blue line to spring Hagel in alone and was hooked by the Wild’s Matt Dumba after deking Talbot.

With 20.2 seconds left in regulation, former Blackhawk Ryan Hartman was sent to the penalty box for a high sticking minor. The Hawks nearly took the lead with 6.9 seconds left when Adam Gaudette’s wide-open rebound in the slot was backhanded over the net and out of play. The Blackhawks outshot the Wild 12–10 for the period, but Minnesota held a 30–29 edge in regulation.

Overtime

The Hawks began the extra frame with 100 seconds of power play time and nearly won it with the 4-on-3 advantage when Kirby Dach skated to the left of Talbot and floated the puck in between the net and the fallen Wild goaltender to create a yawning cage for Strome, who fanned on the shot then the puck missed the outstretched stick of Jacob Galvas in the slot.

At 2:34, Dumba buried the only registered shot during the extra session with a wrister from the top of the circle that went to the high glove side of Lankinen for the game winner. 

Analysis: The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: Kevin Lankinen was brilliant in this contest, as he single-handedly kept the Blackhawks in the game the entire night. He looked much more confident by challenging shooters, however, I would like to see him continue to improve in rebound control.

Jakub Galvas continued to be one of training camp’s biggest surprises. He played over 14 solid minutes and notched an assist on Dylan Strome’s power play goal. He skates well with the puck and appears to have a solid hockey IQ.

Okay, I confess. Strome played really well in this game, which he needed to do if he wanted any chance to start the season in Chicago. In addition to his goal, Strome was strong in the dot winning nine of 15 face-offs.

Henrik Borgstrom had another strong game. His creativity with the puck was on display on numerous occasions playing on the wing alongside Kirby Dach and Brandon Hagel.

Speaking of that Hagel fella, I think we have run out of ways to describe the value he brings to the Hawks every night. The guy can simply do everything and can play up and down the lineup.

The bad: The pair of Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy had a rough night defensively. They gave up a ton of high-quality scoring chances and had trouble defending the Wild’s top line of Joel Eriksson Ek, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Perhaps it is just a matter of building chemistry with each other, but time will tell.

The ugly: That darn penalty kill, which gave up a goal just seven seconds into a man advantage for the Wild. At that time, the Hawks had only killed one of their last six shorthanded opportunities. On the positive side, the Hawks took one more minor penalty for the game, which they killed off. I guess it is something to build on.

The Blackhawks return to the United Center on Saturday night to face the Wild in their final preseason game. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on NBCSCH and on WGN 720.

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Before the postseason, Olli Maata was tabbed as a likely buyout candidate. By all accounts, he had a pretty solid series against the Vegas Golden Knights and now may be sticking around regardless of his hefty price tag. We can all whine about Brent Seabrook’s contract, but he will be back and that is that. Duncan Keith will be still be in the fold. Adam Boqvist will continue to grow as a player, and Calvin de Haan will likely return. Slater Koekkoek is now a restricted free agent, and if the Hawks are trying to make room for highly touted prospect Ian Mitchell, then we may have seen the last of Koekkoek and Bowman could deal his rights. Sure, Bowman could keep him with a cheaper deal and then have Koekkoek and Lucas Carlsson round out No. 7 and 8 on the depth chart and leave it at that.

But, that is exactly what that would be, “leaving it at that.” Candidly speaking, other than a possible marginal upgrade with Mitchell in the mix (though he is hardly a can’t-miss prospect), the Hawks’ blue line will again be mediocre, they will be outshot frequently and will need to rely on their goaltending and offense to win games. So, barring a much-needed shakeup in the back, which may or may not happen, that is what we are looking at.

So, what does that mean for the rearguards of Rockford? Well, one thing that Bowman has prioritized in recent years is the acquisition of defensive prospects. Some will argue he has drafted and acquired too many that are of the same style. I am of that mindset as well, but there is some significant talent in the bunch, and the 2020–21 Rockford IceHogs could have players in a defensive unit with with realistic NHL aspirations.

Rockford has some holes to fill on defense, with some from last year’s squad up for contract who likely will not be re-signed. T.J. Brennan and Ian McCoshen will most likely not be back and the same can possibly be said for Joni Tuulola. In addition, some recent later-round draft picks by Bowman will not be signed. 2019 seventh-round pick Cole Moberg will head back to Prince George for his final year in the WHL, which is smart for him. Roope Laavainen, a 2017 fourth-round draft choice, has signed a pro deal in the IPK second division in Finland. 2017 fifth-round selection Jakub Galvas has signed in Finland with Mikkelin Jukuritt. Alex Vlasic, a solid 6-foot-6 second-round prospect from the class of 2019, will most likely be skating for Boston University for the next two seasons. None of those names will be seen anytime soon. But, while those guys may factor in at some point or never, there are assets under contract who will be skating 90 minutes northwest of Chicago. Where do they fit in? Let’s take a look.

Lucas Carlsson — LHD

Let’s assume that Mitchell lives up to the hype machine and immediately makes the Hawks’ roster out of camp. Well, many fans want to see Carlsson as a permanent fixture with the big club as well. He is included on this list is even if that is indeed the case, as under the current defensive structure, he may still see some time in the AHL next season. Carlsson is a smooth skater that moves the puck well, can provide some offense and plays responsibly in his own end. In a mere six games with the Hawks this past season, he was steady. If Bowman and Jeremy Colliton do not plan on playing him, and have him around to practice and sit in the press box for games, that makes little sense. If Maatta is bought out, the window is open for Carlsson, unless the Hawks go shopping. With two strong seasons under his belt in Rockford, it is time for the Hawks to get serious about this player or look to move him.

Lucas Carlsson carries the puck during a Rockford IceHogs game. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

Dennis Gilbert — LHD

Known for his toughness and adding a spark when he is in the lineup in Chicago, Gilbert is easy to root for. He played 21 games with the big club last season, but candidly, if he plays more than that in Chicago next season, it will be clear that the Hawks are really struggling. The kid has a ton of heart, but his long-term prognosis is most likely to be an AHL regular. For Rockford, ultimately he will have the chance to be a leader and could be a solid contributor for any AHL team for a long time. He will see some games in the NHL this season, but it is hard envision that with regularity.

Hard-nosed Dennis Gilbert could see another season of shuttling back and forth from Rockford to Chicago. (Photograph courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

Nicolas Beaudin — LHD

Beaudin will likely need another full year in Rockford, and then it will be make-or-break time for him. Some think we are already there and would like to see him dealt now for team upgrades in the event he does not pan out. He is not big at 5-foot-10, is only 20 years old and showed last season that he does need to refine his defensive habits and his skating before progressing to the NHL. Posting 15 points and a minus-5 rating in Rockford last season is evidence of that. There is upside and another season in Rockford will do him well, but is this recent first-round pick expendable? Perhaps.

First round pick Nicolas Beaudin is one of two #Blackhawks making an NHL debut tonight at the United Center. pic.twitter.com/2KhMfDas72

— Eric Lear (@EricLear312) March 11, 2020

Chad Krys — LHD

With the signing of Wyatt Kalynuk this summer, excluding Carlsson, that is the three left-handed defensive prospects of the same mold: mobile, offensive, undersized and not refined defensively. Unfortunately, Krys is one of those three, and you begin to wonder where his next stop will be professionally. He is similar to fellow BU alum Adam Clendening, where you want to like him but his limitations prevent that. For Rockford, Krys could have a very good year. The 2016, second-round pick will be a third-year pro and is a good enough skater at the AHL level. Still, his gap control and his in-zone play need attention. He will not be ready to make the jump to the NHL in 2020–21 and you start to wonder if he ever will, considering the logjam of prospects at his position. When Bowman is considering moves this offseason, do not be surprised to see his name involved in a potential trade.

Chad Krys plays a similar style to a number of young defensemen in the system, which may limit his prospects within the organization. (Photograph courtesy of the Texas Stars)

Wyatt Kalynuk — LHD

There was a lot of buzz about this kid when he signed with the Hawks in July. Kalynuk has elite skating ability. When he skates forward, he flies and creates an enormous amount of offense. That will be exciting to see as a first year pro in Rockford. What he was unable to prove at the NCAA level is having the ability to win 50/50 pucks in his own end. The AHL is still an upgrade from the Big 10, and he will have some work to do, unless the intentions are to groom him solely into a power play specialist. There has been excitement about Kalynuk and it is warranted, but a full year in the “A” is necessary.

"A good, well-rounded player that I think has a good opportunity to step in and contribute at the NHL level."

Assistant General Manager Mark Eaton shares his thoughts on new #Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk. pic.twitter.com/NEDGOlKlbk

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 18, 2020

Alec Regula — RHD

Of all the current defensive prospects in the treasure chest for the Blackhawks, this may be the one with the most upside. I do not traditionally bet against London Knight alums coached by Dale Hunter, and I would not bet against this one either. I am not sure what Steve Yzerman was thinking when handing over Alec Regula for Brendan Perlini last fall, but that is his and Detroit’s problem. Regula is big, tough, right-handed, can skate and can provide offense. He tallied 60 points in 56 games in his final season in London, and while Mitchell could win fan popularity contests in the future, Regula could be an anchor for the Hawks down the road. He is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds and is still figuring it out, but has a high ceiling. Yes, he will more than likely see a full year in Rockford, but if he continues to progress at the rate he has the last few years, he will be in Chicago before we know it.

BREAKING: #Blackhawks sign Alec Regula to entry level deal
by @PuckinHostile#HockeyTwitter #BlackhawksProspects #Rinkrats https://t.co/foVPxxGB0O

— The Rink – Hockey coverage (@TheRinkOfficial) November 11, 2019

Rockford still has a few gaps on the back end and one or two right-handed defensemen will most likely be inked before the AHL season commences in December. Nick Seeler may very well play a few games in Rockford, but if the Hawks hang on to him, he will most likely be with the big club in a very limited role.

As always, the NCAA is a solid feeding ground for AHL talent and there are some strong rearguards that can contribute to the Hogs. Among the promising blue liners that are unsigned are some of the following:

Josh Maniscalco — RHD (Arizona State)              

Maniscalco is a rock. At the completion of his sophomore year at ASU, he registered 11 goals and 21 assists in 36 games. Though a rising junior, he is undrafted, and with so much uncertainty facing college hockey, luring him into a professional contract is worth considering. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he is a legitimate professional prospect and ultimately, the NHL is not out of reach for him.

Connor Moore — RHD (Boston College)

For four seasons, Moore played in every situation for the Eagles. He can kill penalties, contribute on the power play and his gap control and willingness to battle for loose pucks are among his attributes. Had the season not been cancelled for him and his third-ranked Eagles, a Frozen Four appearance could have been in the cards, and he may have be penned to a deal by now. He could be a player that would fill a nice roll with the other prospects in Rockford.

Four-year Boston College letterman Connor Moore could be a useful addition to the Rockford IceHogs. (Photograph courtesy of DistinctAthlete)

Mike Lee — LHD (Sacred Heart)

Sacred Heart had a season for the ages and was NCAA-bound for the first time in program history. Lee was a big reason for that. 33 points in 32 games and a left-handed defenseman that can play both sides. He could be useful for the Hogs in 2020–21, and could be a decent contributor for a few seasons.

The post ANALYSIS: Assessing the Rockford IceHogs’ blue line for 2020–21 appeared first on The Rink.

Though the score for the third game in the series was 4-2 Coyotes, the game also saw the Avalanche playing some of their best hockey of the series. They ended with 51 shots on goal following an offensive effort that was stopped only by the incredible play of Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

To secure Game Four, the Avs will need to approach the entire game with the same level of intensity we saw previously and they will need to clean up the defensive errors that cost them late in the game, like the empty-net goal that came just prior to an Avs goal that could have tied things up:

Thank you for this, Taylor. pic.twitter.com/sOufwEbLJ5

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) August 15, 2020

Again, solving Kuemper will be a priority. Without him, the Coyotes would not pose nearly as much of a threat. The Avs will need to throw everything they have at him in the hopes of breaking through. Keeping the puck in Arizona’s end will need to be the move to get on the board, as Arizona has done a decent job of limiting breakout chances from the skill players on the Avs.

Though Joonas Donskoi played last game despite initially being listed as day-to-day, Vladislav Namestnikov did not take the ice. He is still considered day-to-day, so he likely will not be in the lineup for Monday’s game.

Pavel Francouz, who made his official playoffs debut in Game Three, stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced — two of the goals being empty-netters at the end of the game. We will likely see starter Philipp Grubauer back in net for Game Four, as Francouz didn’t have the kind of performance that would wrest the starting position away.

Players to watch

Andre Burakovsky has been playing well recently, with five points in his last five games. He opened the scoring for the Avs last game, sinking a laser from the blue line. With the Avs powerplay lackluster in the postseason, his goal served to invigorate the team and opened the offensive onslaught late in the game. Several players on the Avalanche have had issues shooting the puck, preferring to take the pass or handle the puck — if Burakovsky can continue throwing his skills at the net, he can easily be a big impact player going forward.

A few more of these, please.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/TFfCA6SQhy

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 15, 2020

The Arizona top line stepped up in a big way last game, combining for two of the four goals. The first goal of the game came courtesy of Derek Stepan, with an excellent setup by Clayton Keller behind the net. Arizona doesn’t tend to generate meaningful offense without this line on the ice, so I would expect to see them leading the charge as the Coyotes look to even the series in Game Four.

Great setup, great goal. pic.twitter.com/9BpZ20r7Fh

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) August 15, 2020

The post Preview: Avalanche look to reclaim the series appeared first on The Rink.

Prior to the start of the game, there was an interesting turn of events in warmups. Marc-Andre Fleury was announced as the starter for Vegas instead of former Blackhawk Robin Lehner.

Additionally, Paul Stastny and Tomas Nosek were ruled “unfit to play” for Vegas, while Max Pacioretty returned after missing Game Two. For the Blackhawks, Adam Boqvist, who turned 20 on Saturday, returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Thursday.

Despite the decent start to the first period, the Blackhawks let a poor play put them down a goal. On the power play, Duncan Keith mishandled the puck at the blue line and Mark Stone was right there, ready to grab possession. Stone skated along the boards, dished a pass over to a wide-open William Karlsson and the Swede backhanded the puck over Corey Crawford‘s blocker to give the Golden Knights a 1–0 lead.

Wild Bill

It's a #VegasBorn shorty. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/tWaaHkuqye

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 16, 2020

After falling behind early on, the Blackhawks played better the rest of the first period. Kirby Dach had a great shorthanded opportunity and then drew a penalty with five minutes remaining. Alex DeBrincat had a few great chances on the power play. Patrick Kane hit the post despite having a wide-open net.

DeBrincat had another fantastic opportunity to score on the power play in the second period, but barely missed on the backhand. Halfway through the period, Crawford robbed Nate Schmidt on a Vegas power play. A few minutes later, the Hawks’ goaltender made another great save on Nicolas Roy‘s backhand to keep Chicago in the game.

Big glove save by Corey Crawford. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/OpyMLdy7zd

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) August 16, 2020

Once again, DeBrincat had more chances to get the puck in the net, but Fleury stoned him twice in a span of 30 seconds. DeBrincat had six shots on goal through two periods.

As the second stanza progressed, the Golden Knights began to turn their game up a few notches. They had ample opportunities to score in the last 10 minutes of the period. With 4:37 left, the Blackhawks turned the puck over in the offensive zone, leading to a Vegas rush up the ice. While Alex Tuch could not put the puck past Crawford, Patrick Brown did on the rebound and doubled the Golden Knights’ lead to 2–0 heading into the third period.

The first career #StanleyCup Playoff goal for Patrick Brown.

Have a night! #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/XGRZDBBavG

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 16, 2020

The Blackhawks put on the pressure during the third period, creating chance after chance and maintaining offensive zone time. It all paid off when Drake Caggiula sent a pass to Olli Matta to create a rush up the ice six minutes into the final frame. Maatta simply threw a wrist shot at Fleury, and it squeaked through the goaltender’s arm to cut the lead for Vegas to 2–1.

*screams*
HOLY MAATTA

Watch live on @NBCSChicago: https://t.co/mfQ1ZBTGTC pic.twitter.com/DbckosxRri

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 16, 2020

Despite all the pushes to tie the game throughout the rest of the period, the Blackhawks could not get another puck past Fleury. The Golden Knights won the game 2–1 to claim a commanding 3–0 series lead.

Along the Boards

Patrick Kane. Goalpost. That's five for him and 14 for #Blackhawks this postseason.

Unreal. https://t.co/B2fqQfwRLt

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) August 16, 2020

It is not that the Blackhawks are not getting their chances this series, especially in the last two games. Throughout the entire postseason, they have missed the net a lot and hit a lot of posts. Tonight, Kane hit the post twice and brought the total for Chicago to 14. If only they could hit the net instead of a post more often.

Blackhawks PK keeps rolling. 11-for-11 since Game 4 against Edmonton.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) August 16, 2020

While the power play as been horrid so far, the penalty kill has been a highlight for the Blackhawks during this series. They had multiple good kills in the game and did not allow many chances for the Golden Knights. It is good to see at least one of their special teams doing well.

Alex DeBrincat will have nightmares about this game. #Blackhawks

— Slavko Bekovic (@SBekovic) August 16, 2020

Will he ever. Outside of maybe Crawford, DeBrincat was the best player for the Blackhawks in Game Three. He was doing everything, from stick checking to solid passes to actually putting the puck on net. DeBrincat had a team-high eight shots on goal. He did everything right and just was not rewarded. Hopefully, he can cash in during Game Four.

The Blackhawks will face elimination on Sunday, as they take on the Golden Knights in Game Four at 5:30 p.m. CDT.

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks defeated by Golden Knights 2–1, fall behind 3–0 in series appeared first on The Rink.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Colorado Avalanche found a way to come away with the Game 2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes with a late third period tally from Avs forward André Burakovsky. With the victory, the Avalanche take a 2-0 series lead and have the opportunity to increase their series lead Saturday at 1 p.m.

Compared to Game One, this was a completely different looking Coyotes squad right from the opening faceoff. They were in your face and constantly held a two-man forecheck that seemed to catch the Avalanche off-guard. However, good playoff teams find a way to win, and that is exactly what the Avalanche were able to do.

After being held without a shot, but finishing Game One with two assists, Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon tallied his first goal of the series, as he just seemed to be all over the ice. Tyson Jost tallied a goal of his own, and Phillipp Grubauer made 30 saves to help the Avalanche come away with the victory and extend their series lead over the Coyotes.

“Nobody feels like they have to dominate,” said MacKinnon, who had two assists in Game One. “We’re all trying to chip in. We have such a deep team and we’re ready, hopefully, for a long run. To do that, we need all four lines to be going and they were today.”

Clayton Keller and Michael Grabner scored for the Coyotes, while Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for the Coyotes.

Avalanche forward Vladislav Namestnikov left the game late in the third period after a collision with MacKinnon and is not deemed day-to-day by Avs head coach Jared Bednar. Joonas Donskoi is also considered day-to-day for the Avalanche.

After a lopsided Game One and a tightly contested Game Two, we can make bets that the Avalanche can expect more of the same style of play from the Coyotes that they saw today. Expect another tightly contested style of game on Saturday.

The post Avalanche take 2-0 series lead with gritty win over Coyotes appeared first on The Rink.

Because the elimination games have already been completed for the West, we now know that the Avs will be facing the Arizona Coyotes for the first round of the playoffs, which begin on August 11.

Hey, @ArizonaCoyotes, see you next week!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/OrAn6b7Taa

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 8, 2020

First Period

In terms of scoring, this game started out quietly. Neither team managed to net a goal during the first period, despite passing penalties back and forth. The first third of the game was slow, with both teams seeming to take the time to feel each other out. The result of that hesitant style of play was a lot of time spent in the neutral zone, with no real sustained pressure around the nets.

The Avalanche went 0-for-3 on the powerplay in the first period, which was to be a grim glimpse into how the special teams would perform for the rest of the game. They were unable to get set up around the net, though they had a few good looks, including one shot by captain Gabriel Landeskog that struck iron.

Second Period

Things started to heat up in the middle frame of this game. Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring 1:34 into the period. The goal came on the powerplay, resulting from Avs star Nathan MacKinnon receiving a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after exchanging a few words with the referees. It was a completely unnecessary penalty to take and it seemed to set the stage for how the Avalanche would continue to perform.

Perhaps to redeem the goal allowed on his penalty, MacKinnon then answered with a goal of his own, burying a messy backhand at 6:46, in the sole Avalanche powerplay goal of the game.

A little backhanded action!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/vh6GKcYAWB

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 8, 2020

Vegas responded by netting another goal, this one by Nicolas Roy at 12:55 of the period. The Avalanche then tied it back at 2-2 when Joonas Donskoi buried the rebound off of a shot by J.T. Compher. This goal, like the earlier goal by MacKinnon, was characterized by a scramble in front of the net rather than the skilled shots the Avalanche usually take during games.

Third Period

Historically, the third period can either make or break the game for the Avalanche. In this game, it was the latter. This was another messy period with nothing much to celebrate. Through the full game, the Avs were consistently handling the puck far too much, neglecting to shoot.

Marchessault scored his second goal of the game on a penalty shot, courtesy of a tripping call on Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves early in the third period. It was a poor play, showing the speed issues which occasionally cause Graves to scramble in his own end when faced with a breakaway.

parfait #VegasBorn | @Raising_Canes pic.twitter.com/HLYnWpJiDl

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) August 8, 2020

Colorado managed to tie the game up with about one minute left to play. Compher buried the puck in a move almost identical to the one that resulted in the goal by Donskoi earlier. Regardless of how messy the play was, it was enough to send the game to overtime.

Overtime

The overtime period was a lesson in frustration. Much like the rest of the game, the Avalanche just didn’t shoot the puck, opting instead to handle and pass down the ice. It was no surprise, then, when the Knights won at 4:44 of the overtime period, with Alex Tuch securing the win.

What’s next?

The first round of the playoffs are due to begin the 11th, giving the Avs very little time to work out whatever issues rose to the surface today. They face the Coyotes, a team they went 1-1-0 against during the regular season.

The post Avalanche drop to second seed in overtime loss to Vegas Golden Knights appeared first on The Rink.

After serving a one-game suspension for an illegal check to the head, Drake Caggiula made his way back into the lineup for the Blackhawks. Meanwhile, Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson was ruled “unfit to play” during warmups. Caleb Jones drew into the lineup to replace Larsson, sliding onto the third pairing alongside Matt Benning.

For once, Connor McDavid did not score early in the period to give the Oilers an early lead. Instead, the Blackhawks were the ones to put the puck in the net first. More specifically, Olli Maatta gave Chicago a 1–0 lead just under halfway through the opening frame with a blast from the point.

Voice activated personal assistant, play Chelsea

It was only a Maatta of time before someone got on the board and it's the @NHLBlackhawks first! #EDMvsCHI | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/u2pyalTeR8

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 6, 2020

But, just 30 seconds later, the Oilers tied it up thanks to Hart Trophy nominee Leon Draisaitl. Three Blackhawks were looming behind the goal line and got caught there once the puck found its way to Tyler Ennis, who passed it over to Draisaitl.

They don't call him Neon Leon for nothin'

The Oilers even the score quickly. It's gonna be a good one. pic.twitter.com/qju570iTKY

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 6, 2020

After the tying goal, both teams traded a handful of chances. But the Blackhawks had a surplus of golden opportunities in the first period, including three posts. Within the final four minutes of the period, three penalties were called on the Oilers, giving Chicago a five-on-three opportunity they eventually capitalized on.

After Alex DeBrincat found Kirby Dach down low, the rookie tossed the puck in front of the net for Dominik Kubalik. Kubalik could not put it past Edmonton netminder Mikko Koskinen, but the biscuit somehow found its way in off Jonathan Toews‘ foot with 4.2 seconds left in the first period, giving the Blackhawks a 2–1 lead.

Somehow went in. Blackhawks have the lead heading into the 2nd period!

Stream: https://t.co/5Fh2WVMIU9 pic.twitter.com/tQE0BSODY9

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) August 6, 2020

With just under five minutes gone by in the second period, the Oilers found themselves with a couple of good chances in the offensive zone. From the boards, Benning put a slap shot on net. Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford was able to get a piece of that shot, but was unable to corral the rebound. Once again, Draisaitl found the puck and lifted it past Crawford to tie the game at 2–2.

DRAISAITL! AGAIN! #NHLonSN pic.twitter.com/yzHMDkQgrl

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 6, 2020

Edmonton and Chicago exchanged power plays throughout the period, and Brandon Saad hit his second post of the game. Both teams remained fairly undisciplined throughout the rest of the period, which seems to be a theme during this series.

With around three minutes left in the period, Dach laid a hit Ennis, who unfortunately was injured on the play. Ennis, an Edmonton native, left the game without putting any weight on his right leg.

DeBrincat and Benning got into a scrum and both were given infractions just over a minute later. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, DeBrincat was called for both slashing and roughing, putting Edmonton on the power play.

The Oilers moved the puck well on the advantage and eventually capitalized. Draisaitl tossed the puck to the front of the net. Crawford could not grab the rebound, the puck landed on McDavid’s stick and he gave Edmonton a 3–2 lead heading into the final frame.

You can always count on Connor McDavid to get it done

The @EdmontonOilers take the lead heading into the break. pic.twitter.com/DJakImfRcN

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 6, 2020

Things moved a bit faster during the third period. Toews hit the post off a rebound just over four minutes in, narrowly missing out on leveling the score. In total, the Blackhawks hit five posts during the game.

After back and forth action throughout the frame, Chicago found some time in the offensive zone with 5:47 left. Slater Koekkoek took a slap shot close to the blue line. Matthew Highmore deflected it in right by Koskinen to tie the game at 3–3.

BLACKHAWKS TIE IT

You're not going to want to miss the rest of this game, promise:
: NBCSN
: https://t.co/lkz1HvPxNq pic.twitter.com/mMj2OEnKAQ

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 6, 2020

In a major turn of events, the Blackhawks were given a gift of a goal. Toews won an offensive-zone face off, allowing Chicago to try and get the puck on net. Connor Murphy snapped it toward goal, hoping for a tip from Toews, and that is exactly what he got. Well, kind of. The puck actually went off Toews’ knee after being deflected by Edmonton defenseman Ethan Bear. Either way, it was a goal, giving the Hawks a 4–3 lead with just over a minute remaining in the game.

Despite some pressure from the Oilers late, Chicago held onto the lead and took a 2–1 series lead.

A stellar face-off win by the Captain sets the @NHLBlackhawks up to take the lead late in Game 3! pic.twitter.com/oiKChbTqUO

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) August 6, 2020

Along the boards

Kirby Dach led all team forwards in ice time at 23:21, which is new a career high. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) August 6, 2020

Everyone noticed how good rookie forward Kirby Dach looked during Phase 3 training camp. That has clearly translated into actual game play so far, and he looks fantastic. He is battling along the boards for pucks and planting himself in front of the net on the first power play unit. Dach is doing everything fans want from him, and he is been rewarded by earning more and more ice time every night. So far, he has four points in three games, all of them being assists. Hopefully he gets a goal at some point, because he truly deserves it.

The Blackhawks are 1-for-6 on the power play, and that one goal came on a 5-on-3 and was an accident.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) August 6, 2020

There is no question the Oilers’ special teams are very good, but Chicago’s power play was abysmal tonight. Outside of the five-on-three conversion, they generated little to no opportunities every time they had a man advantage. In a series that hinges on power play and penalty kill success, this team simply cannot give away prime opportunities when up a man.

https://twitter.com/DimFilipovic/status/1291229556238454784?s=20

There is not much to point out here. It is there for you to see. The Blackhawks have to do a better job at defending the right side of the net. Edmonton is getting most of their chances from this area of the ice. Crawford also needs to do a better job at controlling rebounds. While there was no game plan to plant defenders at this side of the night tonight, there needs to be one going forward or the Blackhawks will find themselves in a lot of trouble.

The Blackhawks and Oilers will be back for Game 4 on NBCSN on Friday. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m. CDT.

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks defeat Oilers 4–3, take 2–1 series lead appeared first on The Rink.

Tuesday, February 4th, Fuel 3 vs Cincinnati 2

In a rare weekday matchup- the Fuel took on the Cincinnati Cyclones. In typical Fuel fashion, the team jumped out to a first-period lead. Three minutes into the first period, Keoni Texeira dangled in the Cincinnati zone and then found Alex Rauter for the impressive finish.

POWER PLAY GOAL

Alex Rauter gives us the first goal of the game and puts us up 1-0! pic.twitter.com/kDhuwyCtM5

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) February 5, 2020

Rauter was not done on the score sheet. He sent Mathieu Foget streaking on a stretch pass. Foget delivered the goods and a two-goal lead. After the Cyclones cut the lead in half to end the first period. In the second period, the Fuel’s Josh McArdle found Foget on three-on-one breakaway, and he cashed in his second goal of the game to give the Fuel a 3-1 lead. The Fuel never relinquished the lead and won 3-2 over Cyclones. 

Friday, February 7th: Fuel 6, Tulsa 2

On Hockey Fights Cancer Night, the Indy fuel ravaged the Tulsa Oilers. Despite the final score being very lopsided, the first period was a whitewash for both teams. In the second period, the Fuel broke open the scoring drought. Keoni Texeira turned on the hyperdrive and scored the game’s first goal. 

TEX BE ZOOMIN pic.twitter.com/ccJgmPS4rU

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) February 8, 2020

The lead provided by Texeira was short-lived as Tulsa’s Jared Thomas scoring the tying goal on netminder Dan Bakala. The Fuel regained the lead on a goal from Joe Sullivan, who received a beaut of a pass from McArdle for the goal. Less than a minute later, Spencer Watson feathered a back door pass to Bobby MacIntyre for the third goal of the game. The flood gates of empty-net goals came after the Tulsa scored a goal of their own. MacIntyre, Nathan Noel, and Ryan Van Stralen added empty goals to seal the victory. 

Saturday, February 8th: Fuel 4, Kalamazoo 2

Saturday’s game was the second game in three days for the Fuel. Indy didn’t have a middle game in let down. Early in the first period, Fuel’s Van Stralen capitalized on a cross-ice pass from Alex Krushelnyski to score the first goal of the game. The Van Stralen goal was scored against former Fuel goalie Jake Hildebrand. The Wings responded quickly, Justin Kovacs snapped wrister in for the equalizer. 

The Fuel regained the lead on a Michael Doherty goal. The goal was generated by the forechecking of Van Stralen. In the third period, MacIntyre delivered the death blow to the Wings. He channeled his inner Tom Berenger from the movie Sniper. 

Don't leave @bmacintyre13 alone pic.twitter.com/gIaVynmtka

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) February 9, 2020

The Wings did not go quietly into the night and scored a late goal. However, the goal from the Wings proved to futile as Doherty’s empty-net goal clinched the victory. 

Sunday, February 9th: Fuel 5, Fort Wayne 2

Perfect weeks are hard to achieve but not impossible. Finishing out their third game in three days and their fourth game of the week, the Fuel started off like a fatigued team. Indy found themselves down two to one after the first period. In the second period, the Fuel would get back into this game with a tying goal from Sullivan. Finishing tied after two periods, the Fuel finally found their legs in the third period. Nathan Noel brought the funk and third goal of the game for the Fuel. Shortly after the Noel goal, Jake Ryczek gave the fans on Sunday funday another reason to celebrate.

JAKE RYCZEK GOALLLLLLLL

*KISSES FINGERS*

And now we are up 4-2! pic.twitter.com/dTgbcQunGF

— Indy Fuel (@IndyFuel) February 9, 2020

Van Stralen chipped in a power-play goal from the point to cement the victory and perfect week.

Fuel Dump:

• Ryan Van Stralen has a goal in his last three games.
• Jake Schultz has been released for the roster.
• Josh McArdle was recalled by the Rockford Icehogs.
• Mathieu Foget is on a four-game point streak.
• The Fuel have now won five games in a row going back to last week.

The Fuel will return to action on Friday, February 14th against the Fort Wayne Comets.

The post Fuel Tank: The Indy Fuel Are Streaking! appeared first on The Rink.

This morning, head coach Jeremy Colliton announced that Dylan Strome would be a healthy scratch. Robin Lehner got the start in net.

The Oilers got an early lead in the game. Zack Kassian‘s original shot was blocked by Alex DeBrincat, went off the pad of Lehner, and bounced right to Riley Sheahan for an easy tap-in goal.

Sheahan gets us on the board in a hurry. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/uMBtRPTWpl

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2020

About four minutes later, Patrick Kane streaked into the zone and patiently waited for Brandon Saad to follow him in. Saad beat Kassian to the net, and Kane sent a cross-crease pass right to the stick of the winger to tie the game at one goal apiece.

WHAT. A. PLAY!

Kaner is now tied for 𝟖𝟖𝐭𝐡 on the career points list with 1,006 AND the Blackhawks ties this one up: https://t.co/Zb0aASqEuf pic.twitter.com/o2cztktcSf

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 12, 2020

After taking a penalty just over five minutes into the first period, the penalty kill went to work. Olli Maatta battled for the puck along the boards in the Oilers’ offensive zone and sent it to Jonathan Toews. He passed to Ryan Carpenter on the blue line, who then slipped it across the ice to the captain for a shorthanded goal and a 2-1 lead.

Who needs 5 guys anyway? pic.twitter.com/e9yrg9qwyT

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 12, 2020

Then, after a questionable penalty call on Jonathan Toews for “tripping,” the Kailer Yamamoto tied it back up on Edmonton’s power play when Chicago failed to clear the zone.

Early into the second period, the Blackhawks found themselves on a rush down the ice. Kane beat Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and slipped a pass to a yawning Adam Boqvist, who directed it right by Mike Smith to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead.

When Kaner tells Boqer "Nice shot!"

Watch live: https://t.co/mfQ1ZBC5v2 pic.twitter.com/DFeRyKheNr

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) February 12, 2020

Not even two minutes later, the Oilers tied it up yet again. The original shot by Nugent-Hopkins hit Lehner’s pad, but Yamamoto found the loose puck right and deposited it into the net for his second of the game. That’s a puck your goalie just has to stop, but no defensive coverage in front of him didn’t help either.

Kailer Yamamoto, big equalizer guy. That's two on the night. @kailer_yamamoto | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/vR4dckaENc

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2020

The Oilers then went to the power play on another questionable call, and they capitalized. Smith sent a pass all the way down to Nugent-Hopkins. Leon Draisaitl then threw it on net before Nugent-Hopkins converted on the man advantage to give Edmonton a 4-3 lead.

8 goals, 13 assists & 21 points in his last 15. The Nuge has moved from heating up to full on-fire status. @RNH_93 | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/NXuMUmYJNo

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 12, 2020

As the game continued, the Blackhawks had a surplus of chances. The power play started off awful, but eventually got better the more time they received on the advantage. Chicago put six shots on net during their third power play of the game.

Despite dominating the third period in shot attempts (28-6), shots on goal (18-5), scoring chances (12-3), and high-danger chances (6-1), the Blackhawks couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net again to tie it up. Draisaitl scored the empty-netter and the Oilers handed Chicago their fourth-straight loss.

Along the Boards

pic.twitter.com/IECNo15xdx

— Second City Hockey (@2ndCityHockey) February 12, 2020

For the third game in a row, questionable calls were made. This “trip” that the officials called on Jonathan Toews was nothing of sorts. Instead, the Edmonton player fell right over the linesman’s skate, but the crew still deemed it a penalty. So instead of the call being overturned by the linesman, the Oilers go on the advantage and tie the game.

They made another bad call in the second period, dinging Zack Smith for slashing (rightly so) but not getting Gaetan Haas for holding the stick, which is what clearly happened before Smith slashed them. What should’ve been coincidental minors ended up being a power play for Edmonton, and they scored the game-winning goal.

Officiating gets worse and worse every night.

GOAL: Boqvist from Kane. 3-2 Blackhawks. Kane with two unreal primary assists tonight.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 12, 2020

This isn’t about Kane having two ridiculous assists tonight, which he did, but more about Boqvist scoring the 3-2 goal. I loved watching him join the rush with Kane on this play. We all know he’s offensively talented, and that shows when he’s on the power play. But plays like this are where he can make a difference on the offense, because he’s not afraid to act as the fourth forward at times.

And while that sometimes can end up being a bad thing if he’s behind a rush the other way, Boqvist has been steadily improving defensively every night. He’s a joy to watch, and much like Kirby Dach, it’s awesome to see him grow. I think he’s going to turn into a much better defenseman than we anticipated if he can continue to up his defensive game.

Due to the medical emergency involving Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, tonight’s game has been postponed and will be made up at a later date. #stlblues

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 12, 2020

#stlblues telecast says Jay Bouwmeester was alert and responsive as he was being taken to the hospital. @Panger40 reported that a defibrillator was “close by” and #stlblues and #nhlducks trainers and doctors were on the case immediately.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 12, 2020

Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench during the first period of their game against the Anaheim Ducks tonight. He was transported to the hospital and is alert. The Blues and Ducks postponed the game to a later date due to the medical emergency. All of us here at The-Rink are sending thoughts to Bouwmeester, his family, and the St. Louis Blues organization. We wish him the best in his recovery.

The Blackhawks will continue their western Canadian road trip tomorrow when they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Daniel and Henrik Sedin will have their jerseys retired in a pre-game ceremony. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST. 

The post Along the boards: Blackhawks drop fourth in a row, defeated by Oilers 5-3 appeared first on The Rink.

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

Corey Crawford starts tonight. He’s 9-2-2 all time against his hometown team with a 1.54 GAA and a SV% of .954. He’s won each of his last five starts in Montreal. #Blackhawks

— Eric Lear (@EricLear312) January 15, 2020

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

Zack Smith stepping up big-time with the shorty goal pic.twitter.com/kHJOn1FSov

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 16, 2020

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

Soooo it turns out…..Zack Smith REALLY likes points

Stream more goals here: https://t.co/WDGVJ2w68F pic.twitter.com/ApVxPdgLvy

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 16, 2020

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

Cette passe sans regarder de Kovalchuk.

That no-look pass by Kovalchuk.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8Ci3mVUnod

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 16, 2020

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

The doing what he does best. Lighting the lamp!!! pic.twitter.com/E6WhK7Bhxr

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 16, 2020

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

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

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

Caggiula piling on as the 'Hawks take a commanding 4-1 lead pic.twitter.com/CEg9bKyoeg

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 16, 2020

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

Along the Boards

Zach Smith's 11 shorthanded goals since 2015-16 are tied for the most among all skaters through that span.

More #NHLStats: https://t.co/MedCHs1PhC pic.twitter.com/HVBdtzeOpr

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 16, 2020

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

Patrick Kane: 998 points. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 16, 2020

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

Corey Crawford stopped 31 of 32 shots and his career save percentage in Montreal went DOWN.

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 16, 2020

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

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

The post Along the Boards: Blackhawks win three straight, defeat Canadiens 4-1 appeared first on The Rink.

First period:

The Blackhawks started off the game in incredibly rough fashion. They lost a big defensive zone faceoff which proved incredibly costly, as the Senators got a puck to the front of the net and an uncovered Connor Brown put the puck past Robin Lehner, making it 1-0 Senators. Then, a couple of minutes later, the Senators got another puck towards the net that Chris Tierney put off of Erik Gustafsson’s skate. The puck then went off of his stick and into the back of the net, changing the score to be 2-0 Senators early on in this one.

The Blackhawks got a power play on a penalty from Mark Borowiecki elbowing Kirby Dach in the face. They weren’t able to do anything with it, ultimately, although Dominik Kubalik continued his strong play by putting the puck towards the net multiple times and finding himself out in front frequently. In the last couple of minutes of the period, Slater Koekkoek got called for a high stick in front of the net which gave the Senators their second power play of the game, with which they didn’t convert. The first period ended with Ottawa having a 2-0 lead.

Second period:

To start the second period, both teams traded great chances back and forth, with the Blackhawks getting a good chance on a Drake Caggiula one-timer and the Senators getting a great opportunity on a wrister from Anthony Duclair. The Blackhawks got a good chance with just over ten minutes left in the period, with Patrick Kane getting the puck out in front to Jonathan Toews, who put the puck wide of the net. With just under eight minutes to go, Drake Caggiula put a shot off of the post. Then Gustafsson blasted one wide, with Marcus Hogberg deciding to hold onto the puck and settle things down.

With just under three minutes to play in the second, Toews got the puck in front to Kane who wristed it off of Kubalik’s shin pads and into the net, bringing the Blackhawks within one. That’s how the second period would end, with the Blackhawks needing to get another goal to come all the way back and tie things up.

Third period:

There was a lot of back and forth to start the third. Both teams were generating chances and getting shots on the opposing teams’ goal. Toews out-waited the Senators’ defense and whipped a pass up to Kubalik who took the puck and wristed it past Hogberg to make it 2-2 in the game. The Blackhawks continued to generate good chances, win faceoffs, and do all that they could do to break the tie that they helped create. Kane tried to set up Kubalik for his first hat trick in the NHL, but wasn’t able to get the pass over to him for a shot attempt. Then, Kubalik was set up again by Kane, who tried to deposit the puck between the pads, but it was stopped by Hogberg. The Blackhawks did a good job of keeping the puck out of their own zone and in their possession, but weren’t able to score. The period would end in the same 2-2 score, sending this game to overtime.

The Blackhawks would end the game quickly on an incredible individual effort by Toews who burst right through the Senators’ defenders, went around the net, and flung a wicked wrister past the glove of Hogberg, giving the Blackhawks a 3-2 victory.

Let’s go around the boards and see what was being talked about tonight during the game:

#Blackhawks line of Kubalik-Toews-Kane in 10:01 of 5-on-5 action vs. Ottawa:

— 11 shot attempts for and 5 against
— 7 scoring chances for and 0 against
— 4 high-danger chances for and 0 against
— 2 goals for and 0 against

They combined for 3 goals and 4 assists tonight.

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 15, 2020

Yes, the Blackhawks’ first line was this good. It’s insane that they only allowed five shot attempts against them, which didn’t necessarily wind up being shots on goal. This is quite an incredible performance, but did come against the Senators, so it should somewhat be taken with a grain of salt.

Patrick Kane this season vs Canadian teams

9 games
9 goals
11 assists (2 tonight)
20 points#Blackhawks

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) January 15, 2020

Patrick Kane likes to play Canadian teams. I’m really hoping that this point streak is able to continue against a better opponent in Montreal than they saw tonight. But Toews, Kane, and Kubalik looks like a great first line to me!

https://twitter.com/HeresYourReplay/status/1217281265860337665?s=20

Yes, I just had to put up this gorgeous winner for everyone to see again. Man, what an individual effort by number nineteen in white! He looked like the Jonathan Toews of old on this play, and singlehandedly beat all three of the Senators’ defenders, who were barely able to get a stick on him.

Looking to pick up their third win in a row, the Blackhawks will be back in action on Wednesday night versus the Montreal Canadiens at 6:30 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post Along the boards: Blackhawks first line comes up big, beats Senators 3—2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period:

The game got started off with some craziness from both sides. First, Pekka Rinne got his stick stuck in the Zamboni door, which created a chance that the Blackhawks couldn’t capitalize on. For the first period, this would be the first and really last of the good chances that the Blackhawks would be able to muster at all. Then, Roman Josi came sneaking into the Blackhawks’ zone and put the puck off of Viktor Arvidsson’s shin pads and into the back of the net to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

Then, a few minutes later, Colin Blackwell got a great pass out in front of the net and put it past Corey Crawford to give the Predators a 2—0 lead. This was his first NHL goal after missing an open net earlier in the game. Then, Matt Duchene took advantage of the Blackhawks’ cluelessness after he was trapped deep in the offensive zone. The Blackhawks thought that they cleared it, but Mattias Ekholm managed to keep it in and get it up to Duchene, who made a nice move to get it past Crawford and make it 3-0 Nashville. Through it all, head coach Jeremy Colliton looked like he couldn’t have cared less if he was behind the bench or not.

Second period:

The Blackhawks in the second period looked like a very different team than the first period. They came out looking like they actually wanted to play, and put good pressure on Nashville from the get-go. They came up with one in the first part of the period with a Dominik Kubalik goal to make it 3-1 Predators. They put good pressure on, and continued to get shots, although they weren’t able to convert on any chances they had. They looked like they should have looked at the beginning of the game, if they had shown up and wanted to play.

No. 14 of the season for Kubalik was gnarly#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/3uQE9g3Mwq

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 10, 2020

Third period:

The Blackhawks started off the period well, getting good pressure on Nashville that eventually resulted in a power play opportunity. The Blackhawks streaked into the zone, with Patrick Kane getting the puck over to Jonathan Toews who passed it in front of the net to Alex DeBrincat. He made some beautiful moves to get Rinne to bite, and backhanded it past him to make it 3-2 Predators and pull the Blackhawks to within one goal. They kept the pressure up well throughout the period. Then…they pulled Crawford, and things went downhill quickly. The Predators got an empty netter on a Nick Bonino heave with under a minute to go. The Blackhawks pulled Crawford again and then allowed something that made you want to laugh and cry at the same time: a goal for Pekka Rinne, who cleared the puck all the way down the ice and into the vacated net to the cheers of his teammates.

Along the boards:

has jeremy colliton ever raised his voice once in his life

— Let's Get Bedarded (@FAUXSPORTZ) January 10, 2020

This is something I, and many Blackhawks fans, have wondered over the course of his time as a head coach. He rarely, if ever, shows emotion on the bench, and doesn’t seem to have the fire or passion for the game that he ought to have. No one should be shocked if big changes come down to the management structure of this team, from president down to the head coach.

Pekka Rinne shoots and scores. This is real. #Blackhawks down 5-2.

— jeff gerharz (@jeffg2112) January 10, 2020

Yeah…not the way anyone wanted to see this end. Even more salt in the wound of what was already a brutal game of blown chances, and a coach who shows no fight at all, and therefore cannot expect his players to either. The Blackhawks didn’t come out ready to play and payed the price dearly for it, creating a hole so deep that they couldn’t climb back out.

Hopefully the Blackhawks can turn things around on Saturday night against the Ducks. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CST on NBC Sports Chicago.

The post Along the boards: Blackhawks lose to “fragile” Predators, 5-2 appeared first on The Rink.

However, the holidays went too quickly. The Brent Seabrook/Calvin de Haan/Brandon Saad news on Thursday put a bit of a damper on Friday’s contest. The lines made the feeling no better:

#Blackhawks lineup vs. Islanders:
Kubalik-Toews-Quenneville
DeBrincat-Dach-Strome
Nylander-Carpenter-Kane
Smith-Kampf-Highmore

Keith-Gustafsson
Koekkoek-Murphy
Maatta-Gilbert

Lehner
Crawford

*Sikura and Boqvist (shoulder) and are the scratches.

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 28, 2019

Adam Boqvist was also sitting out Friday’s tilt, so Slater Koekkoek drew in for the young Swede. Robin Lehner also took the net against his former team.

Plenty of love for Lehner on the Island. Islanders fans lined up to show love for their former goaltender on Friday night. Photo: Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

Despite how it looked before the game, the Hawks came out as the better team, pressuring the Islanders up and down the ice.

Although the visitors opened the game’s scoring, the home team was the dominant team in the opening frame. Three first period goals from Dennis Gilbert, Dominik Kubalik and Alex DeBrincat gave the Hawks a two goal cushion at the end of the opening frame.

Gilbert’s first career goal was a product of great cycling by the Strome line. Gilbert found himself in the low slot when Dylan Strome found him for the home team’s first goal.

That is career goal #1 for Dennis Gilbert!

He ties this game up 1-1 midway through the 1st: https://t.co/qdFbPJSbTJ pic.twitter.com/xxsbF1gy74

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

Kubalik’s marker was an impressive play between Kubalik and Kane, who was the first member of the Carpenter line on the ice during a change. Kubalik gave the puck to Kane, who quickly returned the puck to the Czech winger for a one-time opportunity. Although he didn’t get everything on it, Kubalik’s changeup found the twine behind Thomas Greiss.

And just like that… the #Blackhawks lead 2-1! pic.twitter.com/lUSqVtbLyu

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

DeBrincat’s tally was the “prettiest” of the opening period goals. Strome once again set up his favorite teammate for an excellent opportunity in the high slot. DeBrincat wired a perfect shot, top shelf, to beat Greiss and ultimately chase him from the game.

The Cat keeps em' coming!

This is fun: https://t.co/qdFbPJSbTJ pic.twitter.com/8t1vfQSUwE

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

The Dach-Strome-DeBrincat line was the best line in the first period. Although the Toews line was solid in the opening frame, the Strome line consistently dominated puck possession. They were continually able to cycle the puck and provided two of the three goals in the first. 

Despite the quiet middle frame for both teams, the third period yielded some excitement. In the first minute of the final frame, Jonathan Toews scored to give the Hawks a three goal lead. Not too long after, Matthew Highmore scored his first of the season to extend the Hawks’ lead to four goals. 

Toews looked like his classic self on the opening tally in the third period. While skating down the right wing boards, Toews slightly changed his angle on Seymon Varlamov and beat him over the goalie’s right pad. 

The Captain doing it all himself! #Blackhawks take a 4-1 lead in the 3rd: https://t.co/qdFbPJSbTJ pic.twitter.com/seymMuNetC

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

Highmore made the “smart play” and threw the puck toward the net from the corner with Zack Smith out in front. The puck bounced off an Islanders defender and found the back of the net. Smith knew it right away, as he pointed at Highmore when the puck trickled into the net behind Varlamov.

Highmore of that please, Matthew!

Watch the rest of tonight's matchup live on the #MyTeams App: https://t.co/mfQ1ZBC5v2 pic.twitter.com/Is3Y3Kyj48

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

Although the Islanders scored late, it didn’t matter as the Hawks captured the 5–2 win over the Islanders. 

Along the boards

The kid shines

One of the best players on the ice in this game, based on the eye test, was Dennis Gilbert. He was all over the ice, making his presence felt in the physical game, as well as blocking shots. He was excellent, even gaining a little high five and pat on the butt from Robin Lehner after arguably Gilbert’s most important block of the game.

Dennis Gilbert is out there making plays tonight pic.twitter.com/VEGCkhI56d

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

WHAT. A. BLOCK by Gilbert!!!

— Ron Luce (@LuceOnTap) December 28, 2019

Watching Gilbert step up was refreshing. With all the injuries this Blackhawks team is facing right now, seeing Gilbert be able to play a big role is a positive sign for this team going forward. Perhaps in the future Gilbert cements himself as a bottom pairing defenseman who can kill penalties. That type of defenseman will be critical down the road when the offensive minded Adam Boqvist and Ian Mitchell are roaming the ice.

All hail King Lehner

Another day, another sensational performance from the Hawks’ net-minder. He has continually been the best player for the Blackhawks all season and, if every team had an MVP award for the first half of the season, Lehner would take the cake. Against his former team, who let him walk in favor of Semyon Varlamov, Lehner stepped up and ensured the Blackhawks beat the organization that Lehner helped lead to the playoffs last season. Lehner admitted in his always colorful interviews that he respected the guys on the other side of the ice, but enjoyed beating his former team.

Our @NickGismondi talked with @RobinLehner after being recognized as the 1st for his awesome 38-save performance pic.twitter.com/y4GQGEZxsN

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 28, 2019

The big deadline for the Blackhawks is the turn of the new year. Once we ring in 2020 in about five days, the Blackhawks can extend Robin Lehner. The Blackhawks’ new year’s resolution should be to establish a long-term plan in net, and they can do just that by extending Lehner in about a week. Be smart Stan, do something right and extend Lehner.

Captain Dach?

Kirby Dach had a very nice game playing alongside Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat on what was tabbed the “third line” on Friday night. Playing the wing allowed Dach to play a little more freely, and it benefitted the young center, despite not registering a point on the score sheet.

One notable play Dach made was on the Gilbert goal. He was able to take the puck behind the net, and dish to Duncan Keith at the point. Keith then set up Strome for the pass to Gilbert. The play was impressive because it looked so effortless. He did a lot of little things right; crashed the net on transition plays, led transitions into the offensive zone, and helped orchestrate the second power play unit.

On top of all those things, he had the presence of mind to pick up Gilbert’s puck after he scored his first career goal, which is the second time he’s done that this season (see Boqvist’s first goal). Maybe he’s the next captain?

Make him Captain https://t.co/f3ufCL2l42

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) December 28, 2019

The Blackhawks return to action on Sunday for a late afternoon matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CST.

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Saad—Toews—Shaw

DeBrincat—Carpenter—Kane

Kubalik—Smith—Dach

Nylander—Kampf—Wedin

Murphy—Maatta

de Haan—Seabrook

Koekkoek—Gustafsson

Lehner

First period: The game got off to a rough start for the Blackhawks, with Jonathan Toews taking a penalty less than thirty seconds into the game on a slash on Joonas Donskoi. Zack Smith took a steal up ice in a two-on-one and fed it across to Brandon Saad who put it past Phillip Grubauer to make it 1—0 Blackhawks on a shorthanded goal.

Kneel. Before. Saad.

Good guys strike first. Stream: https://t.co/mRcXCKrtKj pic.twitter.com/nMDIhqn2RW

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 1, 2019

Then, a minute later, Saad took the puck into the zone on a pass from Patrick Kane and put it off of the post, beating Grubauer again. The Avs got a great chance to drive to the net, but Andrew Shaw came across and got his stick in the way, not allowing a shot on goal. Wedin got called for a holding call at the 7:22 mark of the period, putting the Blackhawks shorthanded yet again. The Avs struck gold on this one, with Nazem Kadri getting a pass in front that he was able to put past Robin Lehner to tie the game at 1—1. A few minutes later, the Avalanche picked apart the Blackhawks defense, with the puck eventually ending up on Kadri’s stick yet again, who made the score 2—1 Avalanche. Then, the Blackhawks absolutely imploded defensively, allowing Nathan MacKinnon to put a Mikko Rantanen pass past Lehner again, making it 3—1 Avalanche. The Blackhawks were just getting run around the ice for most of the rest of the period, not making great plays and playing some very sloppy hockey. Their best chance came from a Toews drive to the net in which he looked like he was shot out of a cannon to get into the offensive zone, getting a great shot off that was saved by Grubauer. Cale Makar ripped one off the pipe that beat Lehner at the 16:46 mark of the period that luckily didn’t go. DeBrincat missed one that got across to him in front of the net, and then got a hit from Samuel Girard that he took exception to, getting into a scrap and getting a couple of good rights in.

The Cat is out of the bag. pic.twitter.com/x22LS4sr5u

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 1, 2019

The Blackhawks got their first powerplay of the game when David Kampf was held in the back of the net. The situation got even more important when Graves of the Avalanche got a four minute penalty for high sticking Shaw and drawing blood. The Avalanche killed off the first of those penalties before the period ended with a 3—1 Avalanche lead. The Blackhawks still had over 2:30 left on the powerplay going into the second to try to make something happen.

Second period: The Blackhawks started off the period with over 2:30 of powerplay time left on the double minor penalty from the first period but got the puck taken away and cleared every time you turned around. Just after that was killed off, Joonas Donskoi took a pass from Ryan Graves just out of the box and put it past Lehner, making it 4—1 Avalanche early on in the second period. Then, at the 5:50 mark of the period, Robin Lehner was chased after Mikko Rantanen put the puck past him to make it 5—1 Avalanche. Lehner was not happy going off, as he shouldn’t have been and made sure that his bench knew as much.

Robin Lehner visibly frustrated after being pulled down 5-1 in Colorado pic.twitter.com/55KUFUm2Mf

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 1, 2019

The Avs kept pressing even after jumping out to such a big lead, with MacKinnon putting the puck out in front to Donskoi again, who got the puck past Crawford to make it 6—1 Avalanche. The Blackhawks were outhustled, outplayed, and positively outclassed by the Avalanche once again a few minutes later, when Tyson Jost went all the way by himself to make it 7—1 Avalanche. Really, if you missed this game, nothing good happened for the Blackhawks in the second period for the first eleven minutes. Dominik Kubalik wristed the puck five-hole on Grubauer to get the Blackhawks to within five goals, and get the score to 7—2.

Don't call it a comeback?

Would be pretty epic. Stream: https://t.co/mRcXCKrtKj pic.twitter.com/PoGag8TL6H

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 1, 2019

The Blackhawks took a tripping penalty at the 14:26 mark of the period to put them down a man yet again, and giving the Avs a chance to add to their lead. The Blackhawks killed that penalty off with relative ease, as Crawford only had to make one or two good stops. The period would mercifully end with the Avalanche jumping out to a seemingly insurmountable advantage, leading 7—2 going into the intermission.

Third period: The period started off with a lot more back and forth, which was encouraging because it meant that the Blackhawks were sharing possession better than they had in the second period. Alex Nylander drew a trip in the offensive zone to put the Blackhawks on the powerplay early on in the period. They got more chances, and were actually able to keep the puck in their offensive zone enough to get some good chances in front of Grubauer. The Avalanche did kill that off, but the Blackhawks were able to actually not allow any bad chances the other way. The Blackhawks got some good puck movement going, allowing for more scoring chances in the period than they had in the past two. Kane got a puck across to DeBrincat on a three-on-two rush into the zone, with DeBrincat getting a one-timer off on Grubauer, who made a great stop. Andrew Shaw got called for a trip at the 9:32 mark of the period, putting the Blackhawks up to kill off yet another penalty in this game. They killed it off, and didn’t give the Avs much of an opportunity to pad the stat sheet. Andrew Shaw then drew a penalty at the 13:05 mark of the period as he was tripped in the offensive zone, giving the Blackhawks a powerplay again. Pierre-Eduard Bellemare put the puck right off of the ice and into the stands, giving the Blackhawks a five-on-three penalty. They converted on the first of the two penalties, with Kane wristing the puck right through Grubauer’s five hole, and making the score 7—3 Avalanche.

If you're in the mood for silver linings, Patrick Kane just extended his points streak to 15 games. pic.twitter.com/ZY3PXaES3P

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 1, 2019

The Avs were able to kill off the second penalty without too much effort, not allowing very many shots on goal from the Blackhawks. The game would end with the Blackhawks losing big to the Avalanche by a final of 7—3.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night against the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues at the United Center. That game will start at 7:30 pm Central on NHL Network and NBC Sports Chicago.

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The Blackhawks’ lines and pairings were:

Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alexander Nylander
Alex DeBrincat — Kirby Dach  — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Andrew Shaw
Matthew Highmore—Ryan Carpenter — Zack Smith

Duncan Keith — Erik Gustafsson
Calvin de Haan — Brent Seabrook
Olli Maatta — Connor Murphy

Corey Crawford got the nod in net for Chicago, opposite Pavel Francouz for the Avs.

FIRST PERIOD

Did not go well.

Nathan McKinnon tipped a JT Compher shot from the left circle past Crawford at just :59 on the Avs’ first shot of the game. 1-0 Colorado.

And things got worse from there. Less than 3 minutes later, Ryan Graves got his turn also from the left circle, set up by Matt Nieto and McKinnon. 2-0 Avalanche at 3:17. Not long afterward, Andrew Shaw tried to “juice” his teammates by taking on the much larger Graves in a fight, earning kudos from the Hawk radio broadcast team for changing the tone of the game.

Except, he really didn’t.

Sure, Zack Smith cut the lead in half at 9:14 on a Ryan Carpenter feed, beating Francouz from the top of the crease. 2-1 Colorado. 

But after an Erik Gustafsson penalty, Avs defense phenom Cale Makar burned the Hawks from above the circles on the power play, making it 3-1 Avs.

Gustafsson took another late penalty, but the period ended without any further scoring. Shots were actually 10-7 Chicago for the period, but the Avs were basically besting the Hawks with their speed for better scoring chances and lots of odd-man breaks.

SECOND PERIOD

Also, proved basically disastrous for Chicago.

Two quick goals, one at 9:45 by Valeri Nichushkin, and another by Compher at 11:26 made the score 5-1 Colorado.

Patrick Kane salvaged a small token of respect from the period, scoring at 19:56 from Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad, making the game 5-2. Again, shots were 19-7 Chicago in the period, but Colorado often had the Hawks on their heels regardless.

THIRD PERIOD

The Hawks didn’t have much pushback in the third, especially with Duncan Keith out with a groin injury suffered earlier in the game. The Avs for their part, seemed to have it on cruise control, hence the period ended at the same score it started with. 5-2. Shots in the third were 8-7 Colorado.

THE GOOD

Shaw showed some energy aside from just scrapping with Graves. The Hawks’ fourth line of Smith, Carpenter and Matthew Highmore was arguably their best.

THE BAD

Not a great outing for Crawford, who seemed to have trouble tracking the puck early on. Gustafsson and Keith were both -2.

THE UGLY

The speed difference between the Hawks and the Avs was clear. Further, and because of that difference, the Blackhawks lack of structure and tendency on the part of their defensemen to overcommit up the ice was taken advantage of all game by Colorado—hence the number of odd-man rushes the Avs had.

The Blackhawks and Robin Lehner get a shot at redemption tomorrow night in Colorado. They’ll need their best effort and perhaps a bounce here and there. Colorado made a statement at the United Center today. Tomorrow, we’ll see if the Hawks can answer back. All we have on this one. Comment below.

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It was clear to most that Stan Bowman was envisioning a future goaltending battery of Lehner and Collin Delia. Many fans and media members, though, continue to hang on to the delusion that Corey Crawford is ageless and unaffected by at least two major concussions. As a result (and to my surprise), there have been mentions of potentially extending Crawford when his contract is up July 1, 2020.

This would prove to be a huge mistake.

I should not have to preface this, but I have been a huge Crawford apologist for years. Ever since he arrived on the scene in 2010–11, I was a vocal leader of the Crawford support group and fought the good fight for No. 50. I felt like he never truly got the recognition he deserved, even after winning two Stanley Cup championships. People would poke holes in his accomplishments because Scott Darling, Ray Emery and Antti Raanta played well behind him. While Raanta has been a good NHL starter, none of those backups were able to go on and accomplish what Crawford has done with the Blackhawks.

This was because Crawford was quite simply a better goalie.

I love the guy, but this is the time to start planning for life without him as the Blackhawks’ primary starting goalie.

No smart general manager commits to a 35-year-old athlete with a history of serious head injuries, especially when they just signed a younger (and better) player. This would just be nostalgia clouding basic common sense. I have seen people attempt to bring up that Tim Thomas had success at a later age. Thomas was an anomaly. You are better off betting that lightning will strike the same tree twice.

Thomas did not even make the Bruins full time until he was 31 years of age. His last truly successful year was in 2011–12 when he was 38 years old. He burned hot and bright for seven seasons, but faded away quickly. Crawford, on the other hand, took over the Blackhawks crease at 25 years of age, which means he has six more seasons of wear and tear on top of his concussion problems.

No goalie in the modern NHL has been re-signed at the age of 35 and had long term success. It just does not happen. While Crawford had a decent season last year, until he was injured again, his statistics were considerably lower than the “top 10” goalie that everyone remembers. He was playing behind a very porous defense, but his even strength save percentage (.913) was the lowest of his career and his overall save percentage (.908) was below league average. It could be argued that he will start a steep decline in ability soon, if he has not begun already.

There is this strange “walking on eggshells” mentality surrounding Crawford that also complicates the situation. We have heard things like “I have not talked to Corey about the goaltending situation,” which is highly unusual. Each of the past two summers, it has been widely reported that no one from the organization, short of Jimmy Waite, has had any contact with Crawford. He just simply disappears. He was a guest at the 2018 fan convention, but that was largely a public relations stunt to keep fans from mass panic since he had not been seen nor heard from for the equivalent of a full-term pregnancy. I cannot put my finger on the issue, specifically, but this is not normal behavior between an organization and one of their alleged leaders.

Seriously, though, who is running this Mickey Mouse operation? Corey Crawford or Stan Bowman?

Shifting gears, Bowman just signed a very successful, considerably younger goalie to a $5 million contract in July and (despite the nonsense the public has been spoon fed) it was not to be Corey Crawford’s backup. Lehner is in Chicago to audition for the starting spot next fall and he deserves every chance to seize the opportunity. Like Crawford, he did not blossom until his mid-20s, which means he is in the prime of his career rather than riding off into the sunset. Lehner proved that he could be an NHL starter in Buffalo, and followed it up by proving he could be a top-tier level netminder with the Islanders last season. He has that Scott Darling “feel good” comeback story and comes with a high pedigree. He is primed and ready for the Chicago spotlight. This is not some unproven fringe AHL kid. This guy has 275 NHL games and 101 wins to his credit. Why is everyone completely dismissing this? The only two possibilities are ignorance or denial.

Also lost in this whole situation is my guy, Collin Delia. There is no question that he is ready to be, at minimum, an NHL backup. He is young, affordable and now long overdue. Is he ready to be a full-time starter? Probably not. He has paid his AHL penance and deserves an honest shot at being and NHL player for a full season, though. If not, then send him somewhere that he can get an honest shot, instead of this shroud of uncertainty. Wasting this kid’s potential because the organization cannot make up their mind is borderline criminal.

In short, unless Robin Lehner spirals into some kind of Anton Forsberg–type downfall, Stan Bowman needs to find a way to extend Lehner before he hits free agency and start preparing everyone for a Lehner-Delia duo to start the 2020–21 season. Corey Crawford has been a warrior and will go down as a Blackhawks legend, but his expiration date has been approaching for quite some time.

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Dach, de Haan and Kurashev dealing with injuries to begin Blackhawks camp

As training camp opened on Friday at the Fifth Third Bank arena, the Blackhawks announced some long awaited injury updates regarding the players at training camp and the players that were hurt in the Traverse City prospect tournament.

Full release here:

MEDICAL UPDATE: Forward Kirby Dach (concussion protocol) is out of the lineup.

Forward Philipp Kurashev (left knee/shoulder contusion) will not practice today.

Defenseman Calvin de Haan (groin strain/shoulder surgery recovery) is expected to be out of the lineup 2-3 weeks.

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 13, 2019

Dach is being held out of practice as a result of concussion protocol. He took a big hit in the seventh place game of the rookie tournament on Tuesday and was kept out of action for precautionary purposes.

Kurashev was also injured in the seventh-place game on Tuesday, but his injury is listed as “left knee/shoulder contusion.” The team stated that the 19 year old former 2018 fourth round draft pick will not practice Friday.

Meanwhile, de Haan has been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and also has a groin strain. He is expected to be out of the lineup 2–3 weeks, but the team hoped to have him in the lineup for the season opener.

The Blackhawks continue training camp this weekend and hos the annual Training Camp Festival on Sunday at the United Center. Following Sunday’s team scrimmage, Chicago opens the preseason as they travel to take on the Washington Capitals.

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Kirby Dach, Chicago’s top draft pick in the 2019 draft, started the scoring burying a shot past Wild goaltender Dereck Baribeau. Defenseman Adam Boqvist assisted on the goal.

Kirby Dach with authority to give the #HawksProspects a 1-0 lead off the rush. Entwistle with the assist. https://t.co/XkEF8QGl6D pic.twitter.com/Ctoq66DYSo

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

A few moments later, forward Riley McKay beat Baribeau to extend the Chicago lead to 2–0. McKay would also add a fight to his game resume after he dropped the gloves with forward Drake Pilon. McKay’s goal was assisted by forward Sean Josling.

Josling picks the pocket of a defenseman behind the goal and Riley McKay capitalizes on the loose puck. #HawksProspects pic.twitter.com/6FoiWr932N

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

Dach would leave the game after taking an awkward fall into the boards after taking a hit from Wild forward Darian Pilon. Pilon went off to the penalty box for boarding on the play.

The nasty boarding penalty that sent Kirby Dach to the locker room. #HawksProspects pic.twitter.com/AiNSwgm8KL

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

Forward MacKenzie Entwistle extended the Chicago lead to 3–0. The power play goal ended the scoring in the first period. Defenseman Nicolas Beaudin assisted on the tally.

Entwistle adds the third, Beaudin centered it off the boards. #Blackhawks flying nowm 3-1. pic.twitter.com/GwtYIp6eAM

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 6, 2019

The Blackhawks would add to their injured players when Boqvist, forward Phillipp Kurashev and forward Mikael Hakkarainen all left the ice in the second period of play.

Early in the third period, Chicago extended their lead to 4–0 when forward Tim Soderlund beat Baribeau after a nice give-and-go with forward Michal Teply.

Tim Soderlund with the intercept in his own zone and finishes a give-and-go with Michal Teply to give the #HawksProspects a 4-0 lead early in the third. Second of the tournament for the 2017 fourth rounder. pic.twitter.com/YMMKHaELrW

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

Forward Dylan McLaughlin beat Baribeau for Chicago’s fifth goal of the game when he beat the 6-foot-6 goaltender short side. Josling picked up his second assist of the game on the goal.

Cross-ice feed from Sean Josling and Dylan McLaughlin roofs it from a difficult angle for a 5-0 lead. Second assist on the afternoon for free-agent Josling. #HawksProspects pic.twitter.com/eAOUto0gQQ

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

The third Chicago goal of the period extended their lead to 6–0 after Teply scored his first of the game. Soderlund assisted on the play.

Soderlund and Teply team up again to take a 6-0 lead. Former does the leg work to find the latter. #HawksProspects pic.twitter.com/mCGYsIxNsj

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) September 10, 2019

Minnesota finally figured out Chicago goaltender Alexis Gravel with just over two minutes left to play in the game when forward Connor Dewar scored. Gravel finished the game with 27 saves in the contest.

With the victory, Chicago finished the tournament in seventh place following a record of 2–2. However, the organization will keep a close eye on the four Blackhawks players that left the game early due to suspected injuries. Early reports indicate the injuries are not serious.

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Blackhawks announce 2019 training camp roster

Chicago heads into the 2019–20 season after back to back seasons without postseason hockey at the United Center. The first step in making sure it does not become three years in a row is getting the finer things tuned during training camp and the preseason. Chicago is inviting 55 players to camp this year, highlighted by top rookie prospects Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, as well as newcomers Alexander Nylander and Robin Lehner.

Here are the 32 forwards invited to camp:

The Chicago Blackhawks’ forwards for 2019 training camp.

Here are the 17 defensemen and six goalies invited to camp:

The Chicago Blackhawks’ defensemen and goalies for 2019 training camp.

Training camp opens on Friday, Sept. 13 with the annual Training Camp Festival taking place on Sunday, Sept. 15 at the United Center. Chicago opens the preseason schedule the next night on the road against the Washington Capitals.

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Youngstown 4, Chicago 3

On Friday, Chicago jumped on the scoreboard first, as Mastrosimone scored his 25^th goal of the season at the 1:13 mark of the first period. The goal, assisted by defenseman Uula Ruikka and forward Jake Schmaltz, kept the Boston University commit atop the Steel goal scoring lead.

Smooooth moves from Uula Ruikka to set up Mastrosimone @ChicagoSteel #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/G5UqfQGJoE

— USHL (@USHL) March 16, 2019

Chicago took the 1–0 lead into the first intermission, outshooting Youngstown 8–7 in the hard-fought first period.

The Phantoms jumped to a 2–1 lead with back-to-back goals by Craig Needham and Jack Malone, the second goal coming at the 5:50 mark of the second period, which seemed to put the Steel on their heels for a few shifts.

Mastrosimone scored his second goal of the game, and 26^th of the season, when he finished off the rebound from a shot by defenseman John Spetz. The goal, also assisted by forward Mathieu De St. Phalle, was the only power play goal scored in the game.

He slips… he scores!!!
Mastrosimone on the rebound ties it up for @ChicagoSteel#WhosNext pic.twitter.com/twVyW6Itcq

— USHL (@USHL) March 16, 2019

Forward Nick Abruzzese put the Steel on the board first in the third period, giving Chicago the 3–2 lead. The goal, scored at the 3:42 mark, was assisted by defensemen Owen Power and Luke Reid.

That would be the last goal for the Steel. Youngstown tied the game, at the 10:29 mark of the third period, when Malone scored his second goal of the game, after a nice stretch pass from forward Matthew Barnaby, who beat Steel goaltender Justin Robbins five-hole.

GO LOOONG!
Barnaby Malone@YtownPhantoms #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/E4nb65td1V

— USHL (@USHL) March 16, 2019

Phantoms’ defenseman Aiden Gallacher scored his first goal of the season, at the 15:38 mark, to give Youngstown the lead, and ultimately the victory, 4–3.

Chicago outshot Youngstown 29–22 but could not tie the game with Robbins pulled for the extra attacker.

Chicago 3, Dubuque 2

The great news about USHL hockey, after dropping a hard-fought game on Friday, the Steel could not sit back and think about the loss, as they hosted the Fighting Saints the next evening. Dubuque would jump out to a 1–0 lead, however, Chicago came racing back with three straight goals, and held off a late push by Dubuque, giving Chicago the 3–2 victory and a much needed two points in the standings.

Dubuque took the lead, at the 3:47 mark in the first period, when right winger Riese Gaber scored his 19^th goal of the season, beating Steel goaltender Reilly Herbst.

Riese Gaber is really feelin' it lately @fightingsaints #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/aCJmLnib69

— USHL (@USHL) March 17, 2019

The score would remain 1–0 until Mastrosimone tied the game on an unassisted goal midway through the second period. Mastrosimone stole the puck along the left boards and buried a wrist shot blocker side.

Mastrosimone is a straight up hustler
The with the steal and score@ChicagoSteel #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/0DG7NNM0hF

— USHL (@USHL) March 17, 2019

Chicago would score a late goal in the second period, when Matteo Pietroniro buried his 17^th goal of the season. The captain’s goal was assisted by forward Adam Robbins.

After two period of play, Chicago lead 2–1 while outshooting Dubuque 12–11. The offensive push would not be much better in the third period, as Dubuque fired a total of six shots on net, besting the Steel by one shot.

One of Chicago’s five shots did find the back of the net when forward Josh Groll beat Dubuque goaltender Matthew Thiessen, a Vancouver Canuck draft pick, to extend the Chicago lead to 3–1.

Dubuque forward Matias Maccelli scored for the Fighting Saints to bring the visitors to within a goal midway through the third period, but could not beat the Steel defense for the game-tying goal.

Chicago walked away with the 3–2 victory, in a game with 34 shots total, and one penalty called in the game. Herbst stopped 15 shots for the victory.

With the victory, Chicago kept control of the second spot in the Eastern Conference, a race that has seen the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Youngstown Phantoms creep into.

https://twitter.com/USHLKevin/status/1107119721554608129

Chicago will be back in action this week for three games. Chicago plays in Green Bay on Tuesday, March 19 and Friday, March 22. Both games start at 7:05 p.m. The Steel then return home, on Sunday March 24, for “Daddy Daughter Princess Day” for a 3:05 p.m. puck drop, at Fox Valley Ice Arena. Fans can also enjoy a post-game “Skate with the Steel.”

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