The Blackhawks were looking to keep their playoff hopes alive as they took on the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. They sat four points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference at the beginning of the night, with the ability to gain some ground on their upcoming opponents, the Colorado Avalanche.
Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews started on the same line for this match-up, with Carl Dahlstrom slotting into Slater Koekkoek’s spot in the lineup being the only body to switch out. Corey Crawford got the start in goal, with Cam Ward still taking on the backup role.
Patrick Kane – Jonathan Toews – Dylan Sikura
Dylan Strome – Brendan Perlini – Alex DeBrincat
Dominik Kahun – Artem Anisimov – Brandon Saad
David Kampf – Marcus Kruger – Chris Kunitz
Erik Gustafsson – Duncan Keith
Gustav Forsling – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy
First Period
The Blackhawks came on strong in the first four minutes of the game, peppering Carter Hart with a bunch of quality chances. Brandon Saad had the best one of the bunch, taking the puck in the corner, with a great individual effort to get through multiple defenders and get a shot off that ultimately missed the net. Travis Konecny had the best opportunity for the Flyers at around the 5:35 mark of the period, putting the puck past Crawford but ultimately drawing iron.
Gustav Forsling was called for a hold at the 7:15 mark of the period, giving the Flyers the first power play of the game. Crawford made a great stop, which led to a David Kampf clear. The start of the penalty kill made it look as though they were the ones on the powerplay for much of the first minute, with Saad, Kampf, and Marcus Kruger exchanging shots on Hart. The last minute had the Flyers coming fast and furious, with Crawford having to come up big with a couple huge saves.
At the 10:39 mark of the period, Scott Laughton made a turnover right to Patrick Kane, who skated around with the puck. He went out to the point, passing the puck around before it came to Erik Gustafsson, who shot and scored, giving the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
A Goal for a Gus #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/6FUgKZZorO
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 22, 2019
The Flyers put on a passing clinic with just under seven minutes to go, getting off plenty of good chances on Corey Crawford, who stopped all of their shots. Sean Couturier flipped the puck out of the Flyers’ zone to Justin Bailey, who got a breakaway in on Crawford that was steered aside, as was the rebound.
Just half a minute later, the Blackhawks failed to put pressure on the incoming Flyers, leaving Corban Knight wide open in the middle of the ice as he came from the bench to snap it past Crawford, tying the score at 1-1, where the period would end.
Second Period
Just :59 into the period, the Blackhawks got their first power play chance of the game, as Shane Gostisbehere was called for a hook in front of the net. The Hawks didn’t generate a ton of chances, and mostly ended up passing the puck from their own zone, and the time that they did spend in the offensive zone was mostly passing the puck around.
Both teams tightened things up considerably in this period, not allowing many shots on their goaltenders, and mostly keeping one another at bay. The Blackhawks’ first really good chance of the period came when Dylan Sikura missed a rebound off a Jonathan Toews chance.
Gustav Forsling stopped a Konecny chance by stripping him of the puck after he got it inside in front of Crawford, stopping a breakaway opportunity from happening, and stopping another Flyers opportunity after that as well with a good stick. The second period ended the same way that it started, with a 1-1 tie.
Third Period
The period generally started the same way the second period did, with both teams generating chances against the opposing goaltender, but coming up short. Dylan Strome had the first good shot on goal of the period less than three minutes in, getting in a wrister that passed Carter Hart, but drew iron, keeping the score knotted up.
The Flyers’ Myers rang the puck off of the post at the 7:01 mark of the period, marking the first great chance for the Flyers. The Flyers’ Radko Gudas and the Blackhawks’ Chris Kunitz got into a skirmish in front of Hart after some good Blackhawks chances, but no penalties came of the play for either side.
With some traffic in front, James van Riemsdyk put on the brakes and lifted a backhand shot from forty feet out, putting the puck past a screened Crawford to give the Flyers their first lead of the game, 2-1 Philadelphia.
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK GIVES THE FLYERS THE LEAD!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/5lubxEYSHE
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 22, 2019
Ryan Hartman held Gustav Forsling at the 11:08 mark of the period as both teams were battling for the puck in the Blackhawks’ defensive zone, giving the Blackhawks another powerplay in the game. They didn’t end up generating many chances at all, with the Flyers’ defense stifling what few ones were generated.
The Flyers had another really good chance to score, but Ryan Hartman missed the opportunity as the puck eluded him. The Blackhawks pulled Crawford with over two minutes left in the game, hoping to come back and tie the game up at 2. Couturier managed to push past the Blackhawks and score an empty-net goal, giving the Flyers the 3-1 lead. Even with a flurry of chances, the Blackhawks weren’t able to tie the game up, and the Flyers left the United Center with a win.