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The Kids Are Alright: Hurricanes 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)

Posted on by Mil Savich

After a 3-1 victory against the Blue Jackets on Sunday evening, the Blackhawks suffered a 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of the Hurricanes on Tuesday night at the United Center.

With their fifth consecutive victory, Carolina continued to ride the hot play of forward Vincent Trochek, who now leads the team with five goals.

Carolina got off to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Andrei Svechnikov and Warren Foegele. After a sluggish start to the game, the Hawks power play was able to find the back of the net yet again, when Phillip Kurashev tapped in his fourth goal of the season.

With the clock winding down in the first period, Patrick Kane cut in from the high slot and scored the equalizer, which materialized from a Hurricanes turnover.

The second period was mostly uneventful, save for a few quality scoring chances for both teams. The third period saw an unfortunate bounce that resulted in Trocheck scoring the go-ahead goal for the ‘Canes.

But Dylan Strome was able to send the game to overtime:

Chicago was unable to complete the comeback, though, losing in a shootout. The Blackhawks failed to score on three shootout attempts, while Svechnikov scored to give Carolina the win:

Notes

  • Alex DeBrincat and Nicolas Beaudin returned to the Blackhawks lineup after missing time while on the COVID-19 protocol list. DeBrincat contributed two assists and four shots in his return.
  • The line of DeBrincat, Strome and Dominik Kubalik was the Hawks best forward group. WIth Jeremy Colliton’s blender on auto-pilot, they were one of only two lines to see over 10 minutes of ice time (11:25). While there is still room to improve, their 55 percent share of shot attempts while on the ice together showed signs of life for the offense. It’s encouraging to see consistency, especially against a shot-suppressing machine like the Hurricanes. More of this line, please.
  • It’s becoming a real joy to watch Kevin Lankinen in net. The rookie’s .927 save percentage kept the hawks alive in a game that looked like it was about to get out of hand early on. Lankinen once again impressed with 38 saves on 41 shots. Some of which were a result of the speedy Canes’ torching the Chicago defense. After only seven starts, Lankinen is casting shades of Corey Crawford… that’s a scary thought.
  • While still working with limited ice time, the kids continue to impress. Kurashev has scored in back-to-back games, with his most recent tally coming on the powerplay. It was assisted by Pius Suter, who added to his point streak as well. There is still room to improve in the dot, however.
  • While the Hawks still lack consistency in zone entries and faceoff wins, the young players are continuing to put up numbers. It would be nice to see the ice time distributed more evenly, though. Once Boqvist returns, he, Ian Mitchell and Beaudin can take some of the work load off of Duncan Keith’s hands, who led the team in ice time at 27:01.
  • Something tells me that once fans return to the United Center, the seats will be packed with No. 32 and No. 23 sweaters — and not with Versteeg on the back./

Game Charts

Three stars

  1. Vincent Trochek (CAR) – 1 goal, 7 shots on goal
  2. Kevin Lankinen (CHI) – 38 saves, .927 save percentage
  3. Andrei Svechnikov (CAR) – 1 goal, 6 shots on goal

What’s next

The Blackhawks remain at home for a rematch against the Hurricanes on Thursday night at the United Center for a 7 p.m. start.

Talking Points