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Anti-Hero: Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 3

Posted on by L_B_R

In another comeback win in which they were down 2-0 after the first, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime Friday night.

Pius Suter — you remember him — opened the scoring 9:26 into the first period. Robert Hagg’s rebound bounced off Suter’s skate to make it 1-0 Red Wings.

Dylan Larkin doubled the Red Wings lead on the power play about a minute later with a wrist shot through traffic.

The Blackhawks finally got on the board 5:41 into the second period thanks to an Andreas Athanasiou penalty shot, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

After the Blackhawks failed to clear the zone, Dominik Kubalik — another “you remember” — tipped an Olli Määttä — him too — shot from far out to make it 3-1 Red Wings at 11:18 of the middle frame.

Alex Stalock replaced Petr Mrazek in the Blackhawks net due to an unknown medical issue.

Philipp Kurashev got the Blackhawks back within one just 3:46 into the third period. After a scramble in front of the net where both Jack Johnson and Sam Lafferty were denied, Kurashev scored with a deft backhand to make it 3-2.

Connor Murphy tied the game 3-3 with 9:54 left in the game on a shorthanded goal. Lafferty won the puck clean on the faceoff, passed back to Murphy, and the latter’s long shot made it through traffic and into the net.

Max Domi won it for the Blackhawks 2:16 into overtime. He stole the puck from Lucas Raymond in the neutral zone and sniped it home, lifting the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Red Wings.

Notes

  • Just call them the comeback kids: this is the second game in a row where the Blackhawks were down 2-0 after the first period but pulled out a win. Scrappy identity secured. /

  • A few games ago, we were bemoaning that this might be a boring season, but the last two games have flipped that narrative around and showed it could be an entertaining season. It’s not because the Blackhawks won those games — and we shouldn’t read too much into winning against the likes of the Sharks and Red Wings — but because the players on the ice were competitive. That’s pretty much all we want.
  • Lafferty has been quite the surprise to start the season with five points in the first four games. He’s not going to stay at over a point-per-game, especially since most of his points haven’t come at 5-on-5, but he’s proving to be a very useful player. Maybe he’ll be the Hagel of this trade deadline where the Blackhawks get a first-round pick for him.
  • Congrats to Athanasiou for scoring his first goal of the season — and his penalty shot was beautiful — but he still needs to be removed from Kane’s line. It’s not just about Kane: Athanasiou would likely benefit from players that are more stylistically like him. The Blackhawks hope to flip Athanasiou at the deadline, so getting him going at 5-on-5 needs to be a priority. Proposal: swap him and Kurashev to see if Athanasiou’s speed with Lafferty could be something.
  • Speaking of Kurashev, he’s another player that’s off to a nice start after picking up his third point in four games. As maybe the only player on the current roster with the potential to be with the Blackhawks long-term, that’s exactly what they need to from Kurashev.
  • The steal before Domi’s goal was as impressive as the shot, honestly. It’ll probably always feel weird to root for Domi, but goals like that will definitely help.
  • It was a bit of a former Blackhawks revenge game as Pius Suter and Dominik Kubalik both scored and Olli Määttä picked up a primary assist.
  • The only real complaint I have for Richardson from this game was him sitting both Regula and Roos for the likes of Tinordi who was pretty pointless in the game. Tinordi’s one noticeable play the entire game was a hit in open ice where he got lost afterwards. He was also absolutely eaten alive when it came to shot metrics. At least Richardson seemed to understand how useless he was and only played him around 15 minutes.
  • Conversely, C. Jones had a solid game. His first three games were rough, but he played more confidently in this game and showed that spark that makes him a tantalizing younger player.
  • S. Jones also had a very good game, even if he didn’t show up on the scoresheet. He just did all the little things right and helped drive play for the Blackhawks through much of the second and third periods.
  • The line of Khaira, Entwistle, and Blackwell was also quietly effective when it came to shot metrics and puck possession. They did have a goal scored against them, but it wasn’t really any of their faults. They have the making of a solid checking line.
  • Stalock was really good in the third period after coming in cold for Mrazek. He only faced 10 shots in the third period and overtime, and he’s a bit of an adventure in net, but he needed to be on top of his game on a few of those shots for the Blackhawks to be successful in their comeback.
  • As for Mrazek, Richardson said postgame that the goalie’s injury didn’t sound serious but would be further evaluated tomorrow./

With a game on Sunday, though, the Blackhawks are not taking any chances:

  • No matter how it happens, it’s always nice to see the Blackhawks beat the Red Wings./

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Sam Lafferty (CHI) — 2 assists
  2. Max Domi (CHI) — GWG goal
  3. Dominik Kubalik (DET) — 1 goal, 1 assist

What’s next?

The Blackhawks have a Sunday matinee against the Seattle Kraken at the United Center at 1 p.m.

Talking Points