The Chicago Blackhawks continued their winning ways of late with a 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night at the United Center.
Chicago struck early, with Seth Jones keeping the power play’s red-hot stretch alive by scoring during this early man advantage:
Later in the first, Joey Anderson deftly opened up a passing lane during this 2-on-1, finding Jason Dickinson for this one-timer:
That same connection produced a second goal for Dickinson in the third period to extend the Chicago lead after a scoreless middle period:
In the third period, Landon Slaggert nearly had his first career NHL goal — twice.
The second chance came a few minutes later:
The Slaggert family reacted with a facepalm and 1.5 surrender cobras:
The Flames did score once to ruin the shutout, with MacKenzie Weegar playing spoiler:
But the Flames moved no closer as the Blackhawks won for the second game in a row.
Notes
- Mrazek faced 39 shots in this game but it didn’t really feel like Calgary generated too much pressure, did it? Natural Stat Trick only had the Flames at 1.62 expected goals in the 50:36 of 5-on-5 ice time, which suggests there wasn’t much in the way of quality in the 31 shots that came during even strength.
- It’s probably too early in Bedard’s career to call anything a “signature” move, but the clip below has occurred frequently enough that it’s worth highlighting: a quick little backhand-to-forehand dangle and lightning-fast release, from the left side of the ice. He didn’t invent it, but he just seems to move the puck a little faster, release it a little quicker and shoot it a little bit harder than most players could dream of doing. He didn’t score on this one, but he’ll score on it plenty during his career:
- At some point in the first period, Wyatt Kaiser had the composure to make a pass from his ass after falling that started an odd-man rush for the Blackhawks. It seems like there are similar little moments from Kaiser in just about every game since his return, which is a callback to his solid first month or two in the NHL from the fall. He’s going to be fascinating to watch next season because it feels like he could be up for close to a full 82.
- Every time Jason Dickinson plays well, the same mental loop repeats itself: yes, he looks like he’d be an excellent fourth-line center for a contending team as someone who can handle the defensive side of the game along with chipping in some points here and there. At the same time, though, good teams rarely have the ability to spend $4.25 million on any fourth-liners, which is where Dickinson’s AAV will be for the next two seasons. But we can cross that bridge in a few summers should the Blackhawks be worthy of that “good team” label.
- Landon Slaggert seems like a decent fit on the fourth line from the incredibly small sample we have but that is also in line with projections from most scouting reports during his college career, so no reason to complain about that one. Hopefully, more data continues to support these early returns.
- This victory makes it six in the last 10 for Chicago, the first time this team has put together that many victories in a 10-game sample. As mentioned in the preview, this team is essentially locked into 31st in the league standings so there’s no reason to not feel the full extent of the enjoyment for this one. Actually … it’s possible that we’re completely done with the miserable task of weighing the joy of victory against the loss of draft odds.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Jason Dickinson (CHI) — 2 goals
- Petr Mrazek (CHI) — 38 saves on 39 shots
- Landon Slaggert (CHI) — 2 assists (first two NHL points)
What’s Next
The trip home is short-lived as the Blackhawks head north and east for the next three games, starting off against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at 6 p.m.