The Blackhawks staked themselves to an early lead, let the Flames making it interesting, then pulled away for good on Tuesday night in a 5-2 win at the United Center.
With just under five minutes left in the first period, a blocked shot ended up on Ryan Donato’s stick, and he snapped it home to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead:
Chicago goal! Scored by Ryan Donato with 04:55 remaining in the 1st period. Assisted by Louis Crevier and Oliver Moore. Chicago: 1 Calgary: 0 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 8:13 PM
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In the second, a long chip by Sam Rinzel bounced through the Calgary zone and, when Dustin Wolf whiffed on a clearing attempt, Connor Bedard nudged it through Wolf’s legs for a 2-0 Chicago lead:
Chicago goal! Scored by Connor Bedard with 04:49 remaining in the 2nd period. Assisted by Sam Rinzel. Chicago: 2 Calgary: 0 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 9:10 PM
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With just 27 seconds left in the second period, the Flames executed a perfect jam while on the power play to cut the lead in half and make the score 2-1:
Power play goal for Calgary! Scored by Matt Coronato with 00:28 remaining in the 2nd period. Assisted by Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson. Chicago: 2 Calgary: 1 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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Three minutes into the third period, a physical cycle from Calgary’s fourth line gave Rasmus Andersson all kinds of space to drive the lane and beat Soderblom with a wrister that tied the game at two:
Calgary goal! Scored by Rasmus Andersson with 16:58 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by Mikael Backlund and Adam Klapka. Chicago: 2 Calgary: 2 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 9:46 PM
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Just over a minute later, a seeing-eye seam pass from Ryan Greene put Bedard in a perfect position to snipe one top shelf and give the Blackhawks back the lead at 3-2:
Chicago goal! Scored by Connor Bedard with 15:03 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by Ryan Greene and Andre Burakovsky. Chicago: 3 Calgary: 2 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
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With seven minutes left, a speed rush by Oliver Moore led to a loose puck that kicked in off Kevin Bahl’s skate and slid behind Wolf to put the Blackhawks up 4-2:
Chicago goal! Scored by Oliver Moore with 06:56 remaining in the 3rd period. Assisted by Frank Nazar. Chicago: 4 Calgary: 2 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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The Flames pulled Wolf late, and Bedard hoisted up a no look, 185-foot empty netter with 40 seconds left to seal the deal and give him his second career hat-trick:
Empty net goal for Chicago! Scored by Connor Bedard with 00:41 remaining in the 3rd period. Chicago: 5 Calgary: 2 #CGYvsCHI #Blackhawks #Flames
— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) November 18, 2025 at 10:21 PM
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Notes
*Twitter embeds have been down all day (suck a butt, Elon), so apologies for the screenshots in lieu of actual posts*
The Blackhawks are 5-0-1 in their last six — their longest point streak since 2019 — and have outscored opponents 25-11 in that span. I think we’re firmly outside the “small sample size” zone now, my friends, and it’s okay to start raising the collective expectations (assuming you haven’t already).
That doesn’t mean this team is without its warts, however. We all know that the second period has been a haunted house so far this year, but now it seems like closing out periods is becoming an issue as well. This is the third straight game that they’ve allowed a goal within the final minute of a period, and it definitely gave Calgary a bump heading into the third. Young team full of young players caveats apply, but it’s something Blashill and his staff need to tighten up ASAP.
The Hawks heavily controlled the metrics through the first two — and the Flames are actually a really strong team possession-wise despite not being able to score — but Calgary took it to them in the third, thanks to the aforementioned push, and the Blackhawks giving them three power plays.
This was Bedard’s first time ever wearing the ‘A’, and he certainly had himself a night:
I’m sorry that the tweets are down, because I would love nothing more than to post every single possible video I can find of the toe drag release on his second goal — and believe me, there are many.
Aside from the frequency of the toe drag and a jump in his assertiveness, it’s amazing just how much the extra speed Bedard earned during the offseason is making a difference in his game. It was evident on his first goal — which you’ll never convince me was a set play and not just a straight chip from Rinzel — when he hit a burst of over 21 mph to hunt down the puck and beat Wolf.
And man, does he like playing Calgary:
Speaking of speed, Oliver Moore is becoming quite a menace, and it’s been awesome watching his confidence grow in real time. He’s already an incredibly effective forechecker and if he can ever develop his Stalberg-ian hands and find some finish, he could become a special player.
And while we’re talking Minnesota youths, Rinzel had a nice game in his return to the lineup. While he skated the fewest minutes of any defender on the team besides Louis Crevier (14:16), he finished with a 62.96 percent possession share, a 65.06 percent expected goals for, and the Blackhawks both outshot and out chanced the Flames with him on the ice as well.
Fun one tonight. Let’s keep it rolling.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Connor Bedard (CHI) – Second career hat trick
- Oliver Moore (CHI) – 1 goal, 1 assist
- Ryan Greene (CHI) – 1 assist
What’s Next
The Blackhawks homestand continues with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday at 7 p.m.