The Blackhawks decided to hand out an ass-kicking of their own on Tuesday night at the United Center, running the Anaheim Ducks out of the building in a 7-2 blowout.
Anaheim actually scored first, though, with Brett Leason scoring shorthanded near the midway point of the opening period:
That power play still ended in a Chicago goal, though, with Ryan Donato crashing the net and ultimately fighting the puck through John Gibson:
The Ducks regained the lead just a few minutes into the second period with Leason scoring his second:
Then the Blackhawks scored the next six goals.
First, they had to tie the game. That happened about 90 seconds after Leason’s goal, with Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev taking off for a 2-on-1. Bedard fed Kurashev, and that was the last we saw of any Anaheim lead on Tuesday night.
Did you think the Blackhawks’ power play was done? Because you would’ve been wrong. Seth Jones scored during a 4-on-3 to put Chicago ahead for good:
In the final minute of the second, Bedard put the Hawks up 4-2, as Kurashev politely returned the favor for Bedard’s primary assist on his goal earlier in the period:
And then the game ventured off the rails in the third period. Chicago kept scoring, of course, starting with MacKenzie Entwistle’s tally after an excellent forecheck from Andreas Athanasiou created the opportunity:
The Blackhawks went back to the power play just seconds later. You’ll never guess what happened:
Then there was a full-scale line brawl, which almost included a goalie fight:
Chicago responded accordingly to the power play it received, with Bedard picking up point No. 5 on the night when he set up Tyler Johnson for this goal:
That was the end of the absurdity, as the teams skated out the final, uneventful minutes.
For only the second time this season:
Notes
- So much of the discussion around Connor Bedard prior to his draft was how unstoppable of a shot he possessed. In this game, Bedard also reminded everyone he’s just as adept at making cross-ice passes that’ll bring everyone out of their seat. The feeds to Kurashev and Johnson for their respective PPGs were particularly exquisite.
- Speaking of that Kurashev PPG … was that a no-look pass? It sure as hell looked like a no-look pass. Watch the way Bedard’s head is facing the goal at the time of the pass and then jumps over to Kurashev as the puck gets there:
- There are plenty of other things to discuss but let’s all just take a moment and appreciate what we just witnessed from Bedard. Now remind yourself that he’s only 18 years old, that he has lightyears to travel before he reaches his ceiling and note that he’s doing this all with as paltry of a lineup as just about any No. 1 pick has before. Imagine what’s possible should the lineup all come together around him while he enters his prime NHL years. Should be pretty fun, eh?
- It was nice to see Korchinski running the point on PP1 and he was a bit unlucky to have that SHG against happen so quickly during it. Hopefully he gets another run there, because the future of the Blackhawks power play is not with Seth Jones as the PP1 QB.
- Much of the complaints regarding Foligno from this corner of the internet focus on other things, but that fourth goal is a perfect summary of what Foligno can still do on the ice for this team. He hounded the puck-carrier enough that a poke check from Bedard knocked the puck free, and then Foligno corralled the puck and moved it to Kurashev, leading to the Bedard goal. If he can help win the puck back and then get it to the more skilled linemates (whether it’s Bedard and Kurashev or someone else), then he’ll continue to be worthy of ice time on this team.
- Foligno made a similar nice play along the boards near the Chicago blue line which sprung Bedard and Kurashev for that 2-on-1, something Foligno discussed postgame:
- Speaking of Kurashev, it’s long been floated around these parts that there’s a solid NHL player in there somewhere. Probably not a top-line guy on a good team but the way he complimented Bedard’s play in this game and for large portions of this season suggest he can be a worthwhile passenger on a line driven by someone else. And that’s not something every player can do — just look at the other players who’ve skated with Bedard this season.
- One week ago, the power play was at 12.7 percent. Now it’s up to 16.4 percent after going 10-for-22 in the last four games. They’re far from the first team in NHL history to ride a power-play heater to multiple victories, but it’ll be fun to see how long it all lasts.
- Along with a thorough victory in special teams despite the one SHG against, the Blackhawks also generally had the better of play at 5-on-5. Some of the numbers were skewed by the final 20 minutes when the game went lopsided, but in the roughly 30 minutes of 5-on-5 play during the first two periods, Chicago owned advantages in shot attempts (36-30), scoring chances (18-14) and high-danger chances (8-5), all adding up to a 53.1 percent expected goal share. Not a blowout but, considering how dreadful Chicago’s possession numbers have been this season, any time it’s above water is a good time.
- No one’s confusing this version of the Ducks with the mid-2010s version but they still entered this game 10 points ahead of the Hawks in the standings, and Chicago’s certainly proven capable of playing just as poorly against teams near them at the bottom of the league as they have against the best the league has to offer. Won’t change anything in the short-term but it’s nice to have an evening like this after the way so many of the prior 65 games have gone.
- Some more player comments on the way out:
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Connor Bedard (CHI) — 1 goal, 4 assists
- Philipp Kurashev (CHI) — 2 goals, 2 assists
- Nick Foligno (CHI) — 4 assists
What’s Next
Chicago has a few days off before hosting the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.