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Afterthought: Blackhawks 3, Capitals 2 (SO)

It’s 2026. The Blackhawks remain undefeated this year.

Posted on by Dave Melton
Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Chicago couldn’t hang on to a third-period lead but picked up a second point via the shootout, defeating the Capitals 3-2 in Washington on Saturday night.

Chicago took an early 1-0 lead just 73 seconds into the game when Ryan Donato was left all alone in front of the Washington net to tip home a point shot from Ilya Mikheyev:

About 3:30 later, Dylan Strome pounced on a rebound to tie the game at one:

During a power play in the second period, Teuvo put the Hawks back in front and he took in an excellent cross-crease pass from Tyler Bertuzzi before casually flipping the puck over a sprawling Logan Thompson and into the net despite the angle being on the tougher side:

That lead persisted until the 11:18 mark of the third period, Ryan Leonard got his stick on this elevated puck before Spencer Knight could fully corral it, tying the game at two:

No goals came during the rest of regulation or during a largely boring overtime period, which included a brief 4-on-3 Hawks’ power play. In the shootout, Nick Lardis and Andre Burakovsky scored to keep the Hawks afloat before Nick Foligno provided the shootout winner:

Notes

Nick Foligno: big shootout guy.

Nick Foligno scored during a Blackhawks practice shootout with two Make-A-Wish participants the other day. After he scored, he jokingly screamed at Jeff Blashill, "Put me the fuck in next time!" Two days later, he scores the shootout winner in the sixth round. His first shootout goal ever. Hockey!

— Mark Lazerus (@marklazerus.bsky.social) January 3, 2026 at 8:55 PM

No coincidence that the Blackhawks have turned things around a bit at the same time its secondary scoring is waking up as well. Teuvo has goals in each of the last three games. Burakovsky has three assists in the last two games. Donato has three points in the last two games. Mikheyev has three points in the last two games. These are the guys who were supposed to be the secondary scoring when the team is fully healthy, and their emergence now is even more paramount. Just think of where the Hawks could be if they keep scoring when Bedard and Nazar return.

Burakovsky, in particular, appeared to have some extra spring in his step during his game. His line with Bertuzzi and Greene had the most 5-on-5 ice time together (14:10) among Chicago’s lines and also had the most shot attempts (19), shots on goal (11), scoring chances (8) and high-danger chances (4). That line didn’t score and ended up on the wrong side of the expected goal share battle (41.77 xGF%) but they were in the positive on all other possession-based metrics.

Always found it interesting when someone suggests a player could be really good at the NHL level if they can figure out how to score, like that’s an easily attainable skill. It feels like that knack for scoring is something developed early on in hockey careers and adapts to each level encountered as necessary, not an ability that magically develops once a player is in his 20s. This is all in reference to Ryan Greene, who keeps finding himself in the right spots but hasn’t been able to convert those chances into goals consistenty. And a quick glance at Greene’s career numbers suggests scoring goals has never really been a staple of his game: the most he’s scored in a season this decade was 19 in 59 games with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in 2021-22. There’s still a very useful NHL player there because of the many things Greene does well, it’s just hard to imagine him suddenly becoming a 20-plus goal guy at the NHL level.

If any other defenseman on the Hawks attempted to do this, it’d probably end up as a breakaway for Washington in the opposite direction and Levshunov was probably closer to turning this puck over than he was to creating any sort of scoring chance for the Hawks. But there’s also an undeniable skill here from Levshunov which allows him to manage the puck and the blue line and the opponent all at the same time.

Spencer Knight made five saves during a single Washington power play in the third period with the outcome still very much in question. The shootout saves were also vital. File all of them under “getting saves when you need them most.” He’s earned himself the day off for Sunday’s game.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the lineup shakes out in a few weeks because there’s an obvious chemistry between Lardis and Moore from their Rockford days early in the season and the eventual return of Bedard and Nazar from injury is going to lead to some lineup shuffling. But it seems like neither Lardis nor Moore should be sent back to the IceHogs based on what they’ve displayed recently. The game card below may not be too kind them but they’re still being noticeable enough to warrant additional looks, which is about all you can ask for from NHL rookies.

Overall, not too many nits to pick from this game. This win was not any sort of goalie-based one, Chicago was largely even with Washington in most possession stats, and even took a slide edge in the expected goal share category at 51.71 percent. Not maintaining the late lead was a disappointment but this effort was absolutely worthy of two points.

Now to see if they’ve figured out how to replicate that type of effort in about 20 hours …

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Spencer Knight (CHI) — 32 saves on 34 shots
  2. Teuvo Teravainen (CHI) — PPG
  3. Logan Thompson (WSH) — 31 saves on 33 shots

What’s Next

The Hawks return to the United Center to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night at 6 p.m.

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