Playing in the tail-end of a home-and-home with the Dallas Stars, the Chicago Blackhawks again sent a game into overtime but came away with a lone time after an overtime loss — this time, a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Stars.
The first period was slightly in Chicago’s favor in terms of possession and it was deadlocked on the scoreboard. Alexander Radulov had a power play goal for Dallas, and Cody Franson fired a point shot around a well-placed Patrick Sharp to send the game into the first intermission tied at one.
Dallas owned the second period, to the tune of a 68% share of Corsi events. They took the lead on a goal by Radek Faksa. In spite of that one-sided play, though, the Blackhawks were able to dent the net again when Connor Murphy’s point shot was redirected past Ben Bishop by Brandon Saad, and the teams started the third period tied at two.
A scoreless third period and a frantic 3-on-3 overtime period could not break the 2-2 tie, so the game went to a shootout. Radulov and Tyler Seguin converted for the Stars, while Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were unable to score for the Blackhawks, ending the game.
CHI GOALS: Franson (1), Saad (10)
DAL GOALS: Radulov (9), Faksa (10)
3 thoughts
Anton Forsberg was solid tonight
There’s an argument to be made that he could’ve stopped the Faksa goal, but it would’ve been an above-average save considering how quickly the puck got on net. I’m not mad about it. With Corey Crawford out for the immediate future, the Hawks are going to weigh heavily on the recently-acquired Forsberg. He delivered on Saturday night, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced. How he fares in the shootout carries little importance: he played well enough during actual hockey for the Hawks to win this game. That’s all you can ask.
Dreadful night for the second line
The combination of Nick Schmaltz, Patrick Kane, and Artem Anisimov were at the bottom of the Hawks possession metrics, with Kane occupying the team basement at 21.78 CF%. When Kane doesn’t generate chances on the offensive end, the Hawks don’t win. He didn’t have a shot on goal against Dallas. That can’t happen.
Gustav Forsling is evolving right in front of our eyes
With each game that goes by, I’m more and more impressed by the young Swede defenseman. The offensive skills were always the known part of his game, and we got a good glimpse at his confidence with the puck during 3-on-3. But it’s the smart, safe Forsling makes on difference that lead me to believe that he’s going to be a fixture on the blue line for the immediate future. Remember: he’s only 21. And this is just his second year in the NHL.
3 stars
- Ben Bishop (DAL) — 32 saves, 2-for-2 in shootout saves
- Alexander Radulov (DAL) — 1 goal, 1 shootout goal
- Anton Forsberg (CHI) — 33 saves