The Boston Bruins’ road to history continued on Tuesday night at the United Center for a game against their Original Six brethren, the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks returned home following a 3–1 loss to the reigning Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Bruins were coming off a surprising and rare 5–3 loss in Detroit. The Hawks started Petr Mrazek in net against Vezina Trophy favorite Linus Ullmark. However, something happened along Boston’s march to a record tying 62 wins: They ran into a feisty Blackhawks team which had nothing to lose and little to play for other than pride.
Despite a slow start, including multiple giveaways, the Hawks jumped out to a 1–0 lead. MacKenzie Entwistle forced a turnover in his own zone then skated in 1-on-1 against Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton and scored on the backhand for his third of the season at 14:29 of the first. The Hawks took that lead into the first intermission.
Nearly midway through the second period, Mrazek took a Dmitry Orlov shot to his mask and would end up leaving the game about a minute later and would not return. With Alex Stalock entering in relief, the Bruins tied it at 1–1. With Jake DeBrusk parked in front of Stalock, Hampus Lindholm fired his ninth of the season from the point at the 14:58 mark.
Less than two minutes later, the Hawks regained the lead when Joey Anderson scored his fourth of the season on a wrist shot from just outside the left post through a screened Ullmark. Anderson’s goal was his second in a Hawks sweater to give his team a 2–1 lead.
The Bruins tied it with 11.1 seconds left in the second when Tyler Bertuzzi won a board battle and centered it to a driving Trent Frederic, who tapped in his 14th of the season. The game was tied 2–2 after two periods.
The Bruins took their first lead of the game at the 3:02 mark of the third period. Pavel Zacha scored his 17th when he fired the puck toward the net and it deflected in off Jarred Tinordi’s skate to give Boston a 3–2 lead.
Just 53 seconds later, the Hawks tied it when the red-hot Taylor Raddysh poked in a loose puck out of scrum in front of the Boston net for his 18th of the season. For Raddysh, it was his fourth goal in the last four games.
The Hawks took a 4–3 lead at the 6:59 mark when Boris Katchouk rushed up the ice, skated around Bruins’ defenseman Derek Forbort, went in alone and fired a wrist shot top right corner from the left face-off dot for his fourth of the season and third point of the night.
The Hawks added an insurance goal on the power play when Ian Mitchell skated into the slot but was surrounded by Bruins. The loose puck took a lucky bounce to Tyler Johnson, who found a wide open Raddysh, who one-timed the puck in for his second of the game and 19th of the season. The Hawks had a 5–3 lead at the 16:08 mark.
With 1:24 left, while Ullmark was leaving the ice, David Pastrnak was awarded a penalty shot, which he overplayed and whiffed on, which kept the game at 5–3.
The Hawks iced it with 44.8 left when Raddysh completed the hat trick with his 20th of the season into the empty net to give the Hawks a 6–3 lead, which was the final. The Hawks would register their best win of the season, which marked the first time all season the Hawks put up six goals in a game.
The Blackhawks begin a five-game road trip on Thursday night in Tennessee against the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CDT.