x

Already member? Login first!

Comments / New

This is mine you can’t take it: Blackhawks 2, Red Wings 0

Posted on by Shepard Price

The Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 2-0 to collect their fourth straight win against Detroit and third-straight win overall on Wednesday. The Hawks have won seven of their last 10 games.

The first period passed without a score. There were offsetting penalties early but not much happened during the 4-on-4 session.

After two more kills, including a power play ending in a penalty kill, the Blackhawks got a full power-play chance.

Or what would have been a full chance, as Philipp Kurashev did this:

The only goal through the first 40 minutes of the game and the only goal scored against a goaltender in this game, but what a goal it was.

The only other goal was scored on an empty net as Alex DeBrincat sent a shot from outside the offensive zone into the net. That was DeBrincat’s ninth goal of the season.

Notes

  • The national broadcast talked a lot about Jonathan Toews and that was sad. Get well soon, Cap.
  • The Blackhawks penalty kill came up with two kills when the game was scoreless and three total. The Red Wings entered this game with the second worst PP conversation rate in the league at 7.55 percent, so it’s not too surprising. Still, a good night like this can always be a morale booster for the penalty kill, which entered the night ranked 13th.
  • The Blackhawks outshot the Red Wings 21-19 at 5-on-5 but didn’t have a high-danger chance until the third period. They finished with a 1.55 expected goals total to 1.6. They’re losing possession battles to the Red Wings. So.
  • Adam Boqvist, not a forward. Who knew? Jeremy Colliton had to put him in a forward’s spot on the power play to learn that, so it doesn’t always come instinctively that a defenseman is not a forward. Boqvist had no shots in 3:28 on the power play and the first unit saw fewer expected goals (.13 to .11) than the second and had zero high-danger chances.
  • Speaking of Boqvist, this was his first game since Jan. 24. He finished with 12:49, two shots and .09 expected goals. Ryan Carpenter joined him in returning, playing his first game since Jan. 29. Carpenter had zero shots in 13:57 including 4:15 on the penalty kill.
  • The Blackhawks now have a contender for the “Phil the Thrill” moniker after Kurashev’s goal. Kurashev has been one of the most quietly impressive rookies so far this season and that move proves why. He doesn’t look like an NHL newcomer often. The dekes against Jonathan Bernier and splitting the defense as he did are not things rookies often do, and he looked comfortable doing it. Just a hell of a goal. And he did it so casually.
  • Kurashev’s goal also meant Dominik Kubalik lost his mark of contributing to every power-play goal he was on ice for. The end came 18 games in which is not bad. Lucas Wallmark still has 100 percent.
  • Kevin Lankinen got his second point on Kurashev’s goal. The goalie now has the same number of points as David Kampf, Calvin de Haan and Ian Mitchell this season and one more than 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere.
  • Oh, Lankinen also got his first NHL shutout. Lankinen made 29 saves in the shutout effort, including 2.72 expected goals against. He also saw five rebound shots. He was excellent in this game, although the Blackhawks keeping Detroit to the outside — just five high-danger saves and an average shot distance of 35 feet — helped. /

Game charts

Three stars

  1. Kevin Lankinen (CHI) — 29 saves on 29 shots, 1 assist
  2. Philipp Kurashev (CHI) — 1 goal
  3. Alex DeBrincat (CHI) — 1 goal

What’s next

The Blackhawks head to Carolina to play the Hurricanes on Friday at 6 p.m.

Talking Points