Another goal from Alex DeBrincat couldn’t power the Blackhawks in victory in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars on Thursday night. Mattias Janmark scored the game-winner with a nifty move after stealing the puck on the forecheck to end the contest.
The Stars’ speedy forwards gave the Hawks trouble for much of the game, and if it weren’t for some early power plays that led to an Artem Anisimov goal, this game might’ve gotten out of hand by the midway point. Instead, Chicago hung around to keep things within one goal until coming to life in the third period to force OT.
The scoring started early with Janmark beating Corey Crawford from behind the net with a wraparound. Jonathan Toews had crashed into the blue paint to try to prevent the puck from going in, but he had jammed his stick inside the post and the puck skidded around it for the goal.
Thankfully it was just seconds later that DeBrincat struck with his 10th goal of the month to tie the game. The winger had hit a post earlier in the period, so he was chomping at the bit to score again during this current hot streak he’s on.
The Stars took back the lead late in the first period on a penalty shot from Radek Faksa, which came after he took a slashing penalty from Patrick Kane on a breakaway. It was a bit of a soft call for a penalty shot, but referees are looking for infractions like those nowadays.
Kane helped make up for it later with this gorgeous pass on a power play to set up Anisimov’s team-leading 12th goal of the season.
Patrick Kane feeds Artem Anisimov with a fantastic pass. 62 seconds into the 2nd period & it’s 2-2 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/SJyxQroxHr
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) December 1, 2017
The two teams would again trade goals from there, with Remi Elie scoring for Dallas and Kane for Chicago. Kane’s goal came on a deflection off a shot from Gustav Forsling, who continues to be revelation for the team in recent games. Forsling has now recorded eight points in 22 games this season.
Unfortunately it took just one turnover in overtime for Janmark to get behind the defense and beat Crawford to end the game. The Stars are now fourth in the Central Division with a 14-10-1 record. The Hawks are tied with the Wild for fifth.
CHI GOALS: DeBrincat (11), Anisimov (12), Kane (10)
DAL GOALS: Janmark 2 (5, 6), Faksa (9), Elie (3)
3 thoughts
DeBrincat stands out among rookies in November
Let’s do an all DeBrincat version of three thoughts. To start, what a November from the winger. He led all NHL rookies in goals for November with 10 in 13 games, and finished second in points behind Matthew Barzal. It was an incredible run that shows the diminutive winger’s cherished scoring ability will translate to the highest level. He has a knack
DeBrincat stands out in Hawks history
Here’s a good stat:
Most goals through 25 career games, Blackhawks history since 1987-88
Alex DeBrincat, 11
Eric Daze, 11
Jonathan Toews, 10
Jeremy Roenick, 9
J.P. Dumont, 9— Satchel Price (@SatchelPrice) December 1, 2017
Consider the four other guys on that list. You have one of the great scorers of the 1990s in Roenick, one of the great all-around centers of his era in Toews, and a player who posted eight straight 20-goal seasons in Daze. The worst of the bunch is Dumont, and even he posted 214 goals and 523 points in 822 NHL games.
That’s pretty great company, and an indication of how good DeBrincat could be.
DeBrincat needs more help, though
For the month of November, DeBrincat and Anisimov teamed up for a combined 19 goals. The rest of the team scored just 22 goals, including zero goals from Ryan Hartman, Richard Panik, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook. It’s awesome that DeBrincat and Anisimov are playing so well right now, but the Blackhawks shouldn’t need those two to be shouldering such a large load offensively.
3 stars
- Mattias Janmark (DAL) — 2 goals, 5 SOG
- Radek Faksa (DAL) — 1 goal, 1 assist
- Alex DeBrincat (CHI) — 1 goal