The Chicago Blackhawks looked to rebound on Friday night at the United Center against the New York Islanders following a lackluster effort in Buffalo on Thursday night. With goals at a premium, the Hawks hoped a better effort would lead to more scoring chances and eventually the puck finding the back of the net. Petr Mrazek started for the home team against the Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin.
Brock Nelson opened the scoring with his 20th of the season on the Islanders first shot of the game at 6:09 of the first. Hudson Fasching entered the Hawks zone, stopped at the blue line then led Nelson with a pass as he had a step on the Hawks defender and skated in alone, and fired a shot through the five hole of Mrazek to give the Isles a 1-0 advantage. The score would remain through the first 20 minutes.
With 1:53 left in the second period, Boris Katchouk tied it at 1-1. Katchouck skated in alone but was denied by Sorokin. Katchouck picked up his own rebound and skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot past Sorokin for his fifth of the season.
Katchouk isn’t the most skilled guy but he never quits on a play #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/G5QrDI3geq
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 20, 2024
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The Blackhawks took the lead with 45.7 seconds left in the middle period when Joey Anderson scored his first of the season. Colin Blackwell skated in on a two-on-one and fed Anderson who tapped it in to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
STAND UP UC ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ozvH9MRBHy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024
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The Blackhawks extended their lead to 3-1 when Jason Dickinson scored his 15th of the season. A Noah Dobson turnover led to a Hawks odd-man rush up the ice. Anderson fed a wide-open Dickerson at 5:10 of the third period.
this goal 🤌🤌🤌🤌 pic.twitter.com/W2yzuEgCnf
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024
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The Islanders cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 3-2 at 6:37 of the third. Matt Barzal picked up a loose puck and dished it to Bo Horvat for his 18th of the season.
At 12:50 of the third, the Isles tied it at 3-3 when Kyle Palmieri scored his 11th of the season. Palmieri skated into the Hawks zone behind the net and scored on a wraparound with Mrazek caught out of position. Sixty minutes was not enough so the teams headed to overtime in a 3-3 tie.
It did not take long for the Hawks to skate away with a 4-3 win in overtime. Just 22 seconds into the extra frame, Seth Jones fired a wrist shot from the middle of the ice just inside the blue line for his first of the season that went past a screened Sorokin to give the Hawks the win.
HAWKS OT WIN ON A FRIDAY NIGHT pic.twitter.com/acgmqc6lO2
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 20, 2024
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Analysis
The Hawks performed a complete 180 from their Thursday night debacle with a strong effort against a gritty Islanders team that was looking for its first win in the final game of their current four-game road trip. It was not to be as the Hawks played a simple game by consistently putting the puck on net and keeping their feet moving throughout the ice. The Hawks also deserve credit for sticking with their game plan after giving up a two-goal lead in the third period. Despite giving up a bad goal on the equalizer in the third, Mrazek had another strong game as he stopped several point-blank chances. The Blackhawks begin a four-game road trip out west on Monday night in Vancouver. Puck drop is at 9:00 PM CST on NBCSCH+ and 720 WGN Radio.