The Chicago Blackhawks scored three third-period goals to turn around a late deficit, earning a 4-2 victory on the road against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Neither team scored in the first period, but Detroit got on the board first by a goal from Wings’ training camp sensation Michael Rasmussen. Richard Panik tied things up with about six minutes left in the second, one-timing a pass from Jonathan Toews into the net. Libor Sulak broke the deadlock 108 seconds later, sending Detroit into the second intermission with a 2-1 advantage.
In the third period, Tommy Wingels received a perfect pass from Vinnie Hinostroza and buried the puck into an open net to tie the game 2-2. Alex DeBrincat would score the game-winner on a third-period power play, finishing off a pass from Cody Franson that was intended for Jonathan Toews.
debrin🐱 goal pic.twitter.com/lLtbQJWpdb
— steph (@myregularface) September 29, 2017
Anton Forsberg made that goal hold up as the game-winner, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced. Laurent Dauphin added some insurance with a nifty takeaway and a long-range backhander into an empty net for Chicago’s fourth and final goal of the night.
CHI GOALS: Panik (1), Wingels (1), DeBrincat (2), Dauphin (2)
DET GOALS: Rasmussen (3), Sulak (1)
3 thoughts
Forsberg looks like a solid backup
It’s easy to forgot about any other players involved in the Brandon Saad/Artemi Panarin deal, but the acquisition of Forsberg was an underrated move by general manager Stan Bowman to fill a hole left by the departure of Scott Darling. We’ve mentioned the prior championship experience that Forsberg has, and there is plenty to like about the 24-year-old’s future in Chicago. But in the present, Forsberg never allowed discussion of a competition for the backup goalie spot with consistent, solid play in the preseason. A similar performance on Thursday night means you can lock him in as the No. 2 goalie to Corey Crawford.
Young forwards continue to excel
We’ve written about Brink (we’re gonna make this happen, folks) extensively, and he did nothing to damage his reputation by scoring Thursday night’s game-winning goal. John Hayden had a strong showing Monday in Boston, and largely repeated that Thursday. Hinostroza showed off his hands when he set up Wingels for an easy goal.
Wingoals pic.twitter.com/p4UaZbqiXQ
— steph (@myregularface) September 29, 2017
Chicago brought in veteran forwards during free agency with the signings of the aforementioned Wingels and Lance Bouma. But if guys like Brink, Hayden, and Hinostroza keep playing like this, it’ll be difficult to keep them out of the lineup.
The Hawks could have plenty of power-play options on the blue line
Chicago has often run a power-play unit with four forwards and one defenseman on its first power-play unit, and that trend appears like it’ll continue based on the preseason action we’ve seen. But after that initial power play unit, which often features Duncan Keith as the lone defenseman, the remaining two defensive spots could be handled by several different players. Cody Franson has long been known as an effective point man and will almost certainly get a look if he makes the team. He, along with Michal Kempny and Gustav Forsling, displayed their abilities during third-period power plays: hands that can distribute the puck, skates that can move enough to open up passing/shooting lanes, and the eyes to spot open teammates. They’ll have options this season.
3 stars
- Alex DeBrincat (CHI) — 1 goal, 1 assist
- Anton Forsberg (CHI) — 32 saves
- Richard Panik (CHI) — 1 goal