The Chicago Blackhawks looked to go back into the win column on Sunday afternoon at the United Center. They put up an effort against the New York Islanders the other night, with Connor Bedard putting up three points in that game, but still drawing the loss. Against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, everything fell apart. They were unable to do anything after the first period, giving the Devils an easy route to victory.
Arvid Soderblom got the start in net in this second game versus the Islanders, and Joey Anderson drew in for Nick Foligno, who was out sick, and Louis Crevier replaced Wyatt Kaiser on the back end.
First period
It took almost half of the period, but the Blackhawks would be the first to strike. Nine minutes and eight seconds in, Teuvo Teravainen found Ilya Mikheyev, who put a shot on net from in between the circles that went through, 1–0 Blackhawks.
a Mikheyev goal highlight for your feed 😌 pic.twitter.com/kAusYjw5Mi
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 15, 2024
The first would be back and forth, and the Islanders would strike back. After a clearing attempt was held in, Ryan Pulock put a slapshot on net that got past Soderblom, knotting things up at 1–1. We were not done yet, though! With just 20 seconds left, and after some beautiful passing, Taylor Hall put a wrister on net from the right circle that beat Ilya Sorokin, ending the period at 2–1 Blackhawks.
Taylor Hall with a quick response for the @NHLBlackhawks 👀#Blackhawks | #NHLNShowcase pic.twitter.com/fqtTXrh63J
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 15, 2024
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Second period
The second period involved some more back and forth, with both teams getting chances on the power play, but only one converting. The Islanders struck first, but on 5-on-5 play. Pierre Engvall got the puck in near the crease, with his pass to the front deflecting off of Simon Holmstrom and into the net, knotting things up at 2–2. The Blackhawks managed to draw two penalties back to back, putting them on the two-man advantage. Teravainen took a beautiful pass from Bedard and slapped it past Sorokin, 3–2 Blackhawks.
THREE POINTS FOR TEUVO KIND OF DAY pic.twitter.com/reQpLokFCF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 15, 2024
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The Blackhawks were unable to do anything with the remaining power play, and the period would end with Chicago retaining its 3–2 lead.
Third period
Just 47 seconds into the frame, the Blackhawks’ defense did what they have done all season: broke down. They allowed Noah Dobson to skate in and put a shot on the ice that went past Soderblom to knot things up. Chicago then challenged, and it was not overturned, likely due to Soderblom being too far out of his crease.
In the last minute of the game, things got interesting. Ryan Donato took a rebound and got it around the net to Bedard, who squibbed the puck past the goaltender, giving the Blackhawks the lead again.
Bedsy in the final minute of the game? Clutch. pic.twitter.com/4p9o4oP2By
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 15, 2024
Connor Murphy would add an empty-netter for good measure, giving the Blackhawks the 5–3 win.
Analysis
The Blackhawks, despite their own selves, managed to eek out a win. The Dobson goal was inexcusably bad defense that allowed the Islanders to get too close to the net and score. That simply cannot happen when a team is trying to win games. The penalty kill was a success, as they killed off all four chances against, not really allowing anything too dangerous to get to Soderblom. Hopefully, more forwards will step up and start getting some more shots on net. Bedard and Teravainen having multi-point games is good, but if other lines would participate in the scoring a little more, it would be way more beneficial to this team to put more wins together.
The Blackhawks’ next game is on Tuesday night versus the Washington Capitals at the United Center. That game will be on CHSN at 7:30 p.m. CST.