x

Already member? Login first!

Comments / New

Humoresque: Blackhawks 8, Red Wings 5

Posted on by Shepard Price

The Chicago Blackhawks poured it on Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings, winning 8-5, in part thanks to Dylan Strome’s first career hat trick.

After being badly outplayed in the opening minutes of the game, the Blackhawks quickly turned that around and got the scoring started as Dominik Kubalik secured a rebound off of Red Wings’ goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and put the puck in the net after it had bounced off due to a Seth Jones shot:

A little over two minutes later, Dylan Strome redirected a shot from Alex DeBrincat into the net as the Blackhawks took advantage of a power-play opportunity, a rarity this season:

Strome would put another shot into the net less than two minutes after his first goal, as Patrick Kane set him up and he was able to shoot past Nedeljkovic:

Before the end of the first period, Strome passed to Sam Lafferty near the crease to set up Lafferty for his first goal of the season:

A turnover from Calvin de Haan led to the Red Wings scoring first in the second period, as Robby Fabbri gathered the puck off of the turnover and maneuvered Marc-Andre Fleury out of position, creating a score of 4-1.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored on his own rebound to make it a 4-2 game less than a minute later.

Before the second period was over, former Blackhawk Pius Suter scored to make it a 4-3 game.

In the third period, Strome secured his first hat trick, scoring on another power play as he tipped a puck into the net on a shot from the point:

Later in the third period, a takeaway by Caleb Jones at one end of the ice led to a DeBrincat goal at the other as Jonathan Toews set the Cat up for the Blackhawks’ sixth tally:

Later in the third period Moritz Seider — a rookie defenseman for the Red Wings — spoiled some of the Blackhawks’ fun when he scored on a blast from the point to make it a 6-4 game.

Dylan Larkin then scored to make it a 6-5 game with less than five minutes left in the game.

Brandon Hagel successfully took the puck away in the Red Wings’ defensive zone by intercepting a pass from old friend Nick Leddy and put it past Calvin Pickard to make it a 7-5 game.

DeBrincat added an empty-netter for the final goal of the game.

Notes

  • In what was effectively a game without defense, the Blackhawks got worse as the game wore on, going from an 80.8 percent expected goal share in the first period to 43.98 percent in the second and 30.31 percent in the third. However, part of that is score effects, but the Blackhawks still got shelled in the later periods and yet emerged the superior team.
  • A great night for Dylan Strome is made better by the fact that he, Hagel and Kane were inarguably the best Chicago line on the night. The trio had a 73.33 percent shot share and 75.5 percent expected goal share in 12:13 of ice time at 5-on-5.
  • Marc-Andre Fleury faced just 2.35 expected goals against and six high-danger shots and gave up five goals. After several games of being the best player on ice for the Blackhawks, Chicago finally bailed him out and gave him more than enough goal support.
  • Even on his best night, Strome only played 16:46. In fairness, he did take a minor penalty on the night which affected the amount of time he could even be on the ice.
  • Despite five goals, the Red Wings saw just two players account for multiple points on the night, and both had a goal and secondary assist. Eight Red Wings scored at least a point, but again, five goals. Huh.
  • Not a good night for either team’s goaltending.
  • The Blackhawks dominated the paint at 5-on-5, generating 11 high-danger chances and giving up just five throughout the game. The Blackhawks also outshot the Red Wings and created more expected goals at full strength, primarily based on the strength of the first period. One of the best 20-minute sessions of hockey for the Blackhawks — if not the best — this season.
  • The Blackhawks’ power play generated just three shots and 0.36 expected goals. On most nights they’re not scoring, but tonight was not most nights. The Blackhawks’ penalty kill allowed 0.51 expected goals against and two shots, and most nights aren’t allowing a goal — but again, not most nights, this one./

Game Charts

Three stars

  1. Dylan Strome (CHI) — 3 G, 1 A
  2. Alex DeBrincat (CHI) — 2 G, 1 A
  3. Brandon Hagel (CHI) — 1 G, 1 A

What’s next

The Blackhawks head home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Talking Points