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RECAP: Blackhawks bury Avalanche 5–2 behind pair of Donato goals

  
RECAP: Blackhawks bury Avalanche 5–2 behind pair of Donato goals
Ryan Donato scored two goals and added an assist in the Chicago Blackhawks' 5–2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. (Photo courtesy of Tyler Schank / Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks rode their three-game losing streak into Denver on Monday to take on the 5–4–0 Colorado Avalanche in a Central Division clash but finally got scoring from secondary lines to drop the Avalanche 5–2. Ryan Donato scored two goals and finished off the night with an assist for a three-point night that was much-needed from players not named Connor Bedard or Teuvo Teravainen. Chicago also received goals from Philipp Kurashev, Lukas Reichel and Ilya Mikheyev while Petr Mrazek stopped 24 shots for the victory in net.

Luke Richardson’s starting lineup was as follows:

First period

Colorado looked a little sluggish early in the second game of a back-to-back after defeating Ottawa last night, and Kurashev scored his second goal of the season on the power play after Alex Vlasic made a nice play in his own zone to carry the puck into the Colorado zone, corral his own rebound and find the streaking forward for a quick slap shot that beat Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev for the 1–0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, Casey Mittelstadt beat Mrazek with a wrist shot to tie the game at 1–1, but Chicago would answer right back when Reichel scored his first goal of the season when a shot from Craig Smith hit the backside of Reichel and fooled Georgiev for the 2–1 lead. If there were ever a way for the fan headache named Reichel to score his first goal, this was the way.

The Blackhawks would take a 3–1 lead after Donato’s first goal of the night, and fourth of the season, at the 16:56 mark of the period. Donato found a rebound from a Jason Dickinson shot and put a backhand behind Georgiev. Donato was in the tough area that is rewarded when a forward finds himself in front of the net.

After a high-sticking call on Wyatt Kaiser, Colorado took advantage of the man advantage after Nathan MacKinnon fired his fifth goal of the season behind Mrazek to shorten the Blackhawks’ lead to 3–2. After a wild first period of action, the next goal would not happen until after the Avalanche pulled Georgiev for the extra man late in the game.

Second period

The Blackhawks weathered the storm in the middle frame and were outshot by Colorado 10–5 in the period. Chicago had the look of a team that knew the lead was only one bounce away from disappearing, but the lineup stayed strong and Mrazek played very well to keep the score at 3–2 after 40 minutes of action.

As a fan, this is the type of period that good teams need in order to hunker down in their own end and get solid goaltending in order to weather a storm. A little luck helps, too.

Third period

In an evenly matched third period, Chicago would take a 4–2 lead after Colorado pulled their goaltender, but the home team would not take advantage, as Donato scored his second of the game and fifth of the season into the empty net after a nice play by Dickinson to waste some time along the boards, take a hit and find an open Donato.


Chicago would finish off the home team 5–2 when Mikheyev scored into the empty net from beyond the blue line for the team’s third win of the season.

Analysis

Secondary scoring was great to see early in the season, as Donato, Kurashev, Reichel and Mikheyev all found the back of the net. Early in the season, the Blackhawks were reliant on Bedard and Teravainen to do the heavy lifting. Colorado may be banged up and playing the backend of a two games in two nights, but skating into Denver and winning 5–2 is a good win any time.

Mrazek was excellent in net, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced and really weathered the storm in the second period when the team in front of him looked like they were spinning their wheels in their own zone a few times.

Vlasic and Connor Murphy were excellent. Both finished the night with 25 and 27 shifts, respectively, and both did an excellent job positionally and took away time and space negating some of the Colorado speed that can be overwhelming. The development of Vlasic over the last few seasons has been impressive to watch and he is only scratching the surface on his talents.

Chicago takes on the 1–7–2 San Jose Sharks on Thursday in San Jose for a 9:30 p.m. CDT puck drop that can be seen on CHSN. The Halloween night matchup is the type of game the Blackhawks need to win versus the worst team in the league as they find their identity early on in the season.

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