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Gather Up Your Jackets, Move It to the Exits: Blackhawks 4, Senators 3

El fin.

Posted on by Dave Melton
Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

On the final night of their 2024-25 regular season, the Blackhawks ended on a positive note with a 4-3 overtime win on the road against the Ottawa Senators.

The first goal arrived in the game’s second minute, when Connor Bedard sniped one past Anton Forsberg just 1:28 into the first opening game:

Joey Veleno added a second goal about five minutes later on one a shot that Forsberg likely wishes he could have back:

Just 43 seconds after that goal, though, Nick Cousins got free for a breakaway and cut the Blackhawks lead in half:

Early in the second, Thomas Chabot tied the game at two with this power-play tally:

But Bedard restored Chicago’s advantage with a power-play tally of his own about a minute after Chabot’s goal:

Power-play goals were the theme of the second and Drake Batherson added another with about five minutes remaining in the period to send the game into the second intermission tied up at three:

The third period was scoreless. Overtime was not, though, as the final play of those Blackhawks season was a goal for Frank Nazar assisted by Bedard:

And … scene.

A sincere stick tap to @BlackhawksFocus on Twitter for providing clips all season long. No idea if they read this site but they’re a massive help!

Notes

Before we get too caught up in some other things, let’s acknowledge that this was an absurdly lopsided game that Ottawa probably would’ve won 8-1 were it not for the guy in their goal and the guy in the Chicago one. During 5-on-5 play, the Senators had comically large advantage in shot attempts (60-37, shots on goal (33-13), scoring chances (38-10) and high-danger chances (12-3), all adding up to a 72.94 percent share of the expected goals. This was not a complete performance by any stretch. But it’s a win and, at this point, who cares?!

This game should be shown to Bedard on repeat next season. He has an absolutely lethal shot but it’s no good if it’s not used, and there are plenty of goalie in this league who are close enough in quality to Forsberg that he can light up for some cheap goals to get him going when those inevitable slumps greet him next season. There should be much, much better seasons ahead for Bedard than this one and statistical observations like the one below should be left behind for good with the end of this 2024-25 season.

This is Connor Bedard's first multi-goal game of the season. He had four two-goal games last season.

— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) April 15, 2025 at 7:15 PM

Yeah, Rinzel let Cousins behind him for that one breakaway and had a few other tough moments but he also saved a goal with this kick somehow managed to propel the puck out of the net instead of into it:

And speaking of Rinzel, there are plenty of things that will not be missed from this 2024-25 Blackhawks season, but one that will be missed is the joy we’ve been treated to in the last month of watching Rinzel consistently be a one-man breakout:

We’ll put the bit to rest after this final run: nine games in, still nowhere near enough evidence to suggest he’s playing anywhere other than Chicago next season. Can’t wait to see where his trajectory goes from this incredibly promising start.

Also, Kevin Korchinski was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Monday night and was the best statistical player on the team during 5-on-5 play. He was out there for 14:52 and posted the best expected goal share at 71.92 percent despite starting in the offensive zone just 27.27 percent of the time. When he was on the ice, Chicago was even in shots on goal and ahead in both scoring chances (6-4) and high-danger chances (2-0) while scoring two goals and not allowing any. He’s also at the top of the Game Score card below. Sometimes it feels like the biggest contributions Korch makes are in less noticeable areas of the game: breakouts, puck retrievals, zone entries, etc. They’re the things that may not end up on a highlight reel but certainly contribute to winning hockey. Here’s hoping there’s more of that from him at the NHL level next season.

The season ends with a trio of youngsters — Bedard, Nazar and Rinzel — on the ice together while teaming up for a game-winning goal. Sure won’t hurt to have that be the final memory of Blackhawks hockey we have for the next six months.

Thanks for hanging out this season, everyone. It hasn’t been the most enjoyable season for this squad once again, but it remains a daily pleasure to drop by this little corner of the internet and talk some hockey with all of you. Here’s to better times ahead, too.

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Connor Bedard (CHI) — 2 goals, 1 assist
  2. Spencer Knight (CHI) — 34 saves on 37 shots
  3. Frank Nazar (CHI) — GWG

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