Winners of two straight, the Chicago Blackhawks returned to the United Center on Wednesday night against the Ottawa Senators in the middle game of a three-game home stand. The Blackhawks’ offense had been rolling with 11 goals in their last two contests and the vibe around the team has been quite different following the trade of Seth Jones to the Florida Panthers, and more importantly the return on that deal in 23-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight. The former first-round pick was spectacular in his Hawks debut, making 41 saves on Monday night in the team’s 5–1 home win over the Los Angeles Kings. On Wednesday night, the Hawks gave Knight a rest and started Arvid Soderblom against Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark.
First period
Brady Tkachuk gave Ottawa a 1–0 lead with his 24th of the season at the 2:25 mark. Ottawa won an offensive zone faceoff and a Jake Sanderson point shot hit the post. Ottawa gathered the rebound and went point to point and Artem Zub shot one on goal that was deflected in by Tkachuk for the goal.
The red-hot Ryan Donato tied it at 1–1 with his 23rd of the season and 100th of his career. Ullmark gave the puck away to Landon Slaggert, who fed Donato in front and he deked Ullmark and scored at 11:38.
brb watching this goal 100 times pic.twitter.com/P2uuoMdMFF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 6, 2025
Less than a minute later, the Hawks took a 2–1 lead on a power-play goal from Teuvo Teravainen. The Finnish winger handled the puck in the right faceoff circle and made a diaganol pass to Tyler Bertuzzi on the doorstep. Bertuzzi’s shot went across the goal line but Teravainen was there to tap it in for his 15th of the season at 12:22.
turbo time on the power play🔋 pic.twitter.com/NGLT4gYeNF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 6, 2025
The Senators tied it on David Perron’s third of the season at 14:09. Drake Batherson carried the puck behind the net and passed it to the front of the net and the puck bounced off Alec Martinez then off the crossbar then Perron swatted in the airborne puck to square the game at 2–2.
Second period
Joshua Norris broke the tie with his 20th of the season. The Hawks were caught out of position in their zone and Batherson gathered the puck in the slot and fed Norris for a one-timer from the left circle that he buried at 10:29 for a 3–2 Ottawa lead.
Third period
The Hawks tied it at 3–3 on Craig Smith’s ninth of the season. Pat Maroon forced a turnover and skated toward the net and his shot was stopped by Ullmark but Maroon grabbed his own rebound behind the net and fed a wide-open Smith, who buried it at 1:47. The teams would remain tied at the end of regulation.
cue Chelsea Dagger pls🎶 pic.twitter.com/mNdkVGmOfr
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 6, 2025
Overtime
Just 46 seconds into overtime, Tim Stutzle scored his 20th to win it for the Sens on a delayed penalty call and earn the extra point. Stutzle got a step on Wyatt Kaiser, who held the Sens forward causing the ref to put his arm up. On the play, Stutzle crashed into Soderblom and the puck went in off Stutzle’s skate for the 4–3 win. The Hawks protested and the goal was reviewed quickly before it was upheld and the Sens skated off as winners.
Analysis
The loss was a tough one but there were a lot of positives to glean from this one. The team battled back in the third to tie it to give the Hawks points in three straight games. In what may have been his final game as a Blackhawk, Donato continued to stay hot leading up to Friday’s trade deadline. Similarly, Smith chipped in a goal and may also draw some interest from contenders before Friday’s deadline. The Hawks wrap up their three-game home stand by hosting the Utah Hockey Club on Friday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CST on CHSN with the radio call on WGN 720 AM.