The Chicago Blackhawks finally generated some solid offense but couldn’t tie it up late in losing 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres at home on Sunday during their “Hockey Fights Cancer” night.
Five minutes into the first period, Petr Mrazek made a brilliant pad save on Zach Benson and the Hawks briefly cleared the zone before the Sabres came right back and Benson found Rasmus Dahlin driving the middle with all kinds of time to pick his spot and beat Mrazek cleanly to the blocker side.
With 15 minutes gone, the Hawks’ top line had a fantastic cycle where they pinned the Sabres in their own zone for more than a minute and almost scored a few different times.
A minute into the second period, the Hawks got the first power play of the game when Kevin Korchinski drew a tripping penalty on Casey Middlestadt. As the power play was expiring, Nick Foligno found Philip Kurashev below the goal line and Kurashev sent a shot/pass to the front of the crease where Taylor Raddysh made a really nice play by turning the blade of his stick to redirect the puck up and over Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen and tie the game at one.
Halfway through the period, Buffalo got their first power play after Kevin Korchinski tripped Zach Benson behind the Hawks’ net. During an extended cycle, Dahlin found a wide open Jeff Skinner below the goal line and Skinner was able to maneuver himself into position to sneak the puck inside the post for a power-play goal that gave the lead back to the Sabres.
With just over two minutes left in the second, Connor Bedard rushed up ice and put a hard shot off Luukkonen’s pads that bounced right to Kurashev, who moved it from his backhand to his forehand and buried the rebound to tie the game at two.
Midway through the third period, Erik Johnson entered the Hawks’ zone with speed then snuck the puck to his forehand and fired a shot through Jason Dickinson’s legs that surprised everyone and beat Mrazek over his shoulder.
The Blackhawks pulled Mrazek with two minutes left and Tyler Johnson almost tied it up late (AGAIN!) but it clanked off the inside of the post.
Notes
- The big news headed into tonight’s game was that Lukas Reichel was elevated to the top line with Kurashev and Bedard. They were the Hawks’ best line by far, leading the way in possession, expected goals, high-danger chances and shots/shooting chances. Reichel had two different chances to sweep the puck in off rebounds and just missed on both. If he’s going to continue to occupy what was Foligno’s spot on that line (and he absolutely should) then that’s exactly what he needs to keep doing.
- Kurashev had a big game and I feel like we’re almost to the point where we can classify this as a breakout season for him. With his goal and assist tonight, he’s at exactly a point-per-game pace (10 in 10) which is nearly three times better than his rate last season (0.35 PPG). His points-per-60 rate is 2.9, which is practically double his career mark of 1.5. His shooting percentage is currently 30%, which is completely unsustainable. But, as long as he continues to be deployed with Bedard, he’s going to to rack up points whenever that level finds water.
- Even though Nikita Zaitsev rejoined the team this morning, there’s no way he should replace Isaak Phillips in the lineup anytime soon. Phillips had a really strong game tonight, and his diving stop on the PK saved a surefire goal (I tried to find the clip on Twitter, but never saw it posted). Phillips had the best possession numbers of any Hawks’ defenseman (and was second only to Taylor Hall on the entire team tonight) and the team both outshot (6-2) and out-chanced (4-3) the Sabres with him on the ice. I know there was a bit of concern on how he would handle playing on his off-side but he’s looked solid in limited action so far.
- This will be the first of many battles between Benson and Bedard. Benson looked fantastic and was the Sabres’ best forward all night – creating as many high-danger chances as Bedard did (3) and leading his entire team in shots and possession. I know there was a hope before the draft that he might slide to 19 so the Hawks could nab him and the two of them could play together, but I have a feeling Buffalo might have gotten a steal by landing him at 13.
- Second straight game with a weird shorthanded breakaway. Yesterday it was Alex Vlasic and tonight it was Reese Johnson. Anytime we want to start giving those chances to the top-line guys would be just fine with me, Hockey Gods.
- Staying on special teams for a moment, the Blackhawks absolutely need to start putting someone out to start the power play who can win a faceoff, as it feels like they’re losing 30 seconds of possession time every single draw. Kurashev is currently their best faceoff man percentage-wise (at 55.6%) so let’s fulfill the prophecy and get a top unit of Kurashev, Bedard, Reichel, Perry and Korchinski going ASAP, please.
- Another semi-rough night for Korchinski. He drew the Hawks’ first power play but then took two straight penalties in the second, one of which resulted in Skinner’s goal. Dahlin is an absolute unit and a good example of how dangerous a gifted skater can be on the back end but it took him almost three entire seasons to get to that point and Korchinski doesn’t come with nearly the same pedigree. I have as much faith in Korchinski as anyone, but this is just a reminder that it’s going to take him a while to get there.
- Hawks’ defenders were active offensively all night, finishing with eight of their 21 overall shots — including six of their first eight in the game. This game seemed to have a lot more open ice and chances for the Hawks than the last few and, while I’m sure some of that had to do with the Sabres’ defensive issues, the Blackhawks defensemen driving the opposing net is never going to hurt.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Rasmus Dahlin – 1 goal, 2 assists
- Philipp Kurashev – 1 goal, 1 assist
- Erik Johnson – GWG
What’s Next
The Blackhawks will travel to Columbus to battle the Blue Jackets on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. It’ll be the first time that Connor Bedard and 2023 No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli will face each other.