NEWSLETTER
Good morning! The Chicago Blackhawks are finally winners.
Last night was a breath of fresh air for the 2021 season, seeing the Blackhawks get a much deserved 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Feels good. Take this time to bask in it, because it’s a feeling we won’t get as fans very often this year. It was a reminder that not all games will have to be played against the Lightning this season, and that the Blackhawks will have opportunities to learn from their losses and their mistakes and put those lessons into action against opponents who are closer to them in skill. It was a building block, the first tangible positive building block to the season. Ah.
Jeremy Colliton: "Everyone wants to have a good feeling when you leave a rink. Of course the performance can be better, but we did some good things, but it's a lot easier to build on that when you get a victory. Happy for the guys."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 23, 2021
• At the risk of sounding like the season is saved and everything is puppies and rainbows, the win over the Red Wings showed what this team can do when they are able to build and sustain momentum in games. It helps when the bounces go your way too.
#Blackhawks take the lead, 1-0 vs the #RedWings on a Kane power play goal. Kane's third goal of the season! Watch now on @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/MN1aNmxZmy
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• Patrick Kane and the Chicago powerplay are off to hot starts to the season. Kane has five points over his last four games, and the Blackhawks powerplay has scored at least once in each of the first five games of the season. The last time the Blackhawks have started the year scoring on the powerplay this well was the 1993-94 season.
Shaw's first goal of the season on the power play to put the #Blackhawks up 3-0 against the #RedWings #ShawFacts pic.twitter.com/6ep5ic3zE4
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• There might not be a better powerplay goal this season than the 3-0 goal for Chicago last night. Every player touches the puck, passes are crisp, players are moving, and it’s a bang-in finish for Andrew Shaw. Perfect. Chicago was 2-for-5 on the powerplay last night, improving to 7-for-17 on the season and ranking third in the NHL with a 41.2 percent success-rate on the powerplay.
Patrick Kane on the PP, which is 7-for-17 this season: "The movement in general has been a lot better, and there's a lot of options, especially for me, the way the hands are set up."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 23, 2021
• Speaking of player and puck movement, Calvin de Haan was able to get his first goal of the season, thanks to some help from Dylan Strome and rookie Ian Mitchell:
Calvin de Haan with a beaut… #Blackhawks 2, #RedWings 0 on @NBCSChicago pic.twitter.com/SorZkxhAIX
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• Mitchell gets his first NHL point of his career with the secondary assist.
Ian Mitchell on first NHL point: "I was thinking about shooting, but [Dylan Strome] popped off to the side and he made a great pass to [Calvin de Haan] and Cal ripped it. So any way I can get them is nice, for sure. And hopefully many more." #Blackhawks
— Brandon Cain (@brandonmcain) January 23, 2021
• The story of the night though goes to goaltender Kevin Lankinen, earning his first NHL win in his second career start. Stopping 30-of-31 shots, Lankinen made the first good impression of the year from any of the Blackhawks goalies.
Congrats on the first of many NHL wins, Kev! #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/98kA8qe5Ft
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• I’m very happy for Kevin, having watched him work his way up through the Blackhawks development system from the Indy Fuel in the ECHL, to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL, and now getting the opportunity in the NHL. Only he and fellow goaltender Collin Delia are players on this roster who have taken that path.
Kevin Lankinen on his first career NHL win: "What can I say? Friday night in Chicago, home opener at the United Center, get your first NHL win. Feels awesome." #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2021
• Lankinen’s performance in net gives him the clear leg-up in the goalie competition for the Blackhawks. He’ll likely get the next start on Sunday afternoon against the same Red Wings. The competition is still pretty open, but there is now a front-runner for the moment.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘐𝘛 😅
Send your cheers to the No. 1 Star of the game Kevin Lankinen in the replies below to make @KLankinen smile ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/vpqMZqc5oC
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• Other observations from last night at the United Center, no fans in the stands is weird still, even if we’ve seen it before. It makes a different with the players too.
Patrick Kane: "You definitely miss the fans, that’s for sure. I don’t think we played the greatest tonight, maybe missing a little energy."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 23, 2021
• The Blackhawks also debuted a video that will play before each home game and other team events. A Land Acknowledgement video put together to honor the Native tribes that inhabited the Illinois and Chicago area land that the Blackhawks operate on.
We recently introduced a formal Land Acknowledgement to open home games and events as part of our commitments to the Native American community.
Join us for this recognition of the relationship that exists between the Native people of this region and their traditional homelands. pic.twitter.com/mKJPw7CcMX
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2021
• It’s a great touch for the Blackhawks as part of their initiatives to further engage with Native Nations, elevate Native-led education, cultivate Native American art and support Native communities.
• In other Blackhawks news, the Bernie Sander sitting at the Inauguration meme has hit Chicago:
View this post on Instagram
• Classic.
• In non-Blackhawks news, HUGE trade this morning between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets.
Jack Roslovic has a new deal as part of all this. Laine/Roslovic for Dubois and a third.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 23, 2021
• Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois, the second and third overall picks in the 2016 NHL Draft, both wanted out of Winnipeg and Columbus and will now be headed to Columbus and Winnipeg. Jack Roslovic will also head to the Blue Jackets and has a new two-year, $1.9M AAV deal to go with it.
• The National Women’s Hockey League starts their bubble season this afternoon in Lake Placid, New York. Six teams will play a round-robin style tournament, culminating with a single-elimination “Final Four” to determine the 2021 Isobel Cup Champions. Check it out on Twitch.TV/NWHL and watch the Semi-Finals and Isobel Cup Final on NBCSN on February 4th and 5th!
