The Chicago Blackhawks won their second game of their last three, beating the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Colorado Avalanche 3–2 on Thursday night. The Hawks, now 11–25–4, are still worst in the west, but now ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race to the cellar for the best shot to draft Connor Bedard with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL entry draft.
Sam Lafferty opened up the scoring in the first period at the 3:34 mark with an accurate wrist shot, low to the glove side of Avalanche goalie, Pavel Francouz. The Avs tied it with just over eight minutes to play in the period when Evan Rodrigues put away a rebound from the front of the net. The two teams traded goals in the second period. Andreas Athanasiou tallied for Chicago early in the frame, and the reigning Norris Trophy winner, Cale Makar leveled the score just past the halfway point of the period.
Taylor Raddysh provided the game-winning goal early in the third off a nifty set-up from Tyler Johnson. From that point on Petr Mrazek shut the door, cementing 31 saves on the evening.
The Hawks are hosting the red-hot Seattle Kraken on Saturday night. The Kraken are winners of their last seven contests. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. (CST).