The Chicago Blackhawks had the odds stacked against them as the Colorado Avalanche came into town. The Blackhawks were down Seth Jones, Taylor Hall and several others, but they have Connor Bedard on their side. In 30 games, Bedard has an amazing 26 points as a rookie. The Avalanche are missing Artturi Lehkonen and Gabriel Landeskog in their top-six forward core, not to mention Cale Makar on the back end. Chicago has had a little trouble over the last 10 games, only going 2–7–1 in the timeframe. Colorado has done little better, with a 4–4–2 record. Here are the takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 3–2 victory over the Avalanche.
Takeaways
— Discipline was a problem for the Avalanche tonight. As they occurred 32 minutes in penalties, they gave the Blackhawks power play six chances. Chicago’s power play has been struggling with a 11.6 percent conversion rate, but they did it when it counted. Two time Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson was down by the crease ready for the pass and tapped the puck in with 11:41 left in the game.
Val Nichushkin gets open at the top of the crease and tallies on the power play, tying it up quickly for the Avs!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oPsmLu8pOU
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023
Val Nichushkin again! Second goal of the period for Nichushkin, putting Colorado up 2-1!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/9wWBxkYlqt
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023
— Bedard is as good as everyone says he is. The kid has speed and a dangerous wrister that he can snap off in a tiny space. He uses his speed to skate quickly from one end to the other, meeting the play in the offensive zone. There is only one drawback to his play. They can easily knock him off of the puck. At 185 lbs., he is not a tiny guy, he just has not adjusted to NHL sized players hitting him yet.
DONATO ON THE DOORSTEP 🚨 pic.twitter.com/goUEoRsC4s
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 20, 2023
Lukas Reichel finds twine off Bedard's pass on the rush, quickly tying it back up at 2!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/TobMhOBOfO
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023
— Nathan MacKinnon provided an assist to extend his 16 game point streak, but other than that he was silent through the night. The Blackhawks did a pretty good job of shutting him down through the entire game. Colin Blackwell let MacKinnon know he was back from his hernia injury with a massive hit in the third period. MacKinnon would not stop yapping to the referees about it for the next few minutes.
Another look at Blackwell's hit on MacKinnon#Blackhawks | #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/xipDZeLCnr
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023
— Chicago can build on this win. The Blackhawks have lost the last four games. And to hold the Avalanche to a tie through second and most of the third periods, this could be a massive confidence booster. Ryan Donato and Nikita Zaitsev both showed their value with two assists each.
Tyler Johnson finishes off the beautiful passing setup for a power play goal, 3-2 Chicago!#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/CPj8CA6lgV
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 20, 2023
Conclusion
The Avalanche once again showed that they need to learn to play without Makar. The young defenseman runs the backend like a conductor of a symphony. Colorado seems like they are lost when Makar is not there. Chicago played a great game, considering they have lost a lot of their top talent themselves. They failed to manage the game in the first half of the game, but took control as it moved along. Chicago will continue their home stand as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. The Avalanche will fly back to Denver tonight to take on the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.