As the season winds down, the Chicago Blackhawks continue to seek positives and momentum heading into a critical summer in the franchise’s rebuilding process. While many of their young players have shown promise and the team has been competitive over the last few weeks, the team has won just one of its last 13 games. They had another chance to get back into the win column at the United Center on Sunday evening against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the front end of a home-and-home that concludes Tuesday night in the Steel City. Spencer Knight started for the Hawks against Pittsburgh’s Alex Nedeljkovic.
First period
A fast-paced opening frame saw both teams generate scoring chances but neither was able to scratch the scoresheet. Pittsburgh had an 8–6 edge in shots on goal.
Second period
With a Penguins power play winding down, Frank Nazar forced a turnover and went in 2-on-1 with Teuvo Teravainen, and Nazar eventually had a breakaway and scored his ninth of the season at 18:55.
Frank’s first shorthanded goal, nbd🤷 pic.twitter.com/G4F0jQRKrk
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 6, 2025
The Hawks took a 1–0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.
Third period
The Hawks took a 2–0 lead on Ilya Mikheyev’s 19th goal of the season. Sam Rinzel retrieved the puck in his own zone and found Connor Bedard at center ice and he fed a streaking Mikheyev down the left wing side. Mikheyev blew past Penguins defenseman Conor Timmons and beat Nedeljkovic at the 9:40 mark. For Rinzel, he got his first career point while Mikheyev tallied his career-high 33rd point of the season.
Pittsburgh cut the Hawks’ lead to 2–1 with a power-play goal from Rickard Rakell. Ville Koivunen found Bryan Rust, who fed Rakell, who buried it for his 34th of the season at 14:36.
With the Pittsburgh net empty, Joe Veleno cleared the puck with one hand to Nick Foligno in the neutral zone and he found Mikheyev, who skated in alone and scored his 20th of the season at 19:04. The Hawks won it 3–1.
Analysis
It was a strong performance for the Blackhawks, led by Knight, who made 28 saves making the Hawks a winner for just the second time since March 7. The Hawks’ young defensemen had a strong game as they broke up several plays and ended Sidney Crosby’s point-scoring streak at 12 games. The Blackhawks have now won seven of their last 11 games against the Penguins and will get another shot at them on Tuesday night. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on 720 AM WGN.