NEWSLETTER
There was not as much scoring tonight as there was on Thursday night, but the Chicago Blackhawks were able to provide the same kind of fireworks on a 3-2 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Chicago is now 2-2-0 against Columbus this season, with a 7-5-4 record through 16 games overall.
For the second night in-a-row, the Blackhawks allowed the first goal of the game, as Patrik Laine absolutely sniped one by Blackhawks starter Kevin Lankinen.
Just a ridiculous shot by Patrik Laine. My goodness. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/8Z6YHOP3ra
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 14, 2021
Later in the first period, Laine took offense to a hit on his teammate Jack Roslovic, and Brandon Hagel was happy to drop the gloves with Laine for his troubles. Hagel, standing all of 5’11” and 175 pounds, dropped the 6’4″, 205 pound Laine with a stiff shot. It was both Hagel’s and Laine’s first career NHL fight, according to Hockeyfights.com. And, let me just say … Probably not a good idea to fight a guy who had to play four years of hockey in Red Deer, Alberta, no matter how big or small they are.
https://twitter.com/NBCSBlackhawks/status/1360765231039971330?s=20
Even though the rookies stole the show on Thursday night, Saturday saw even more rookie showcasing. After Hagel’s fight, Nicolas Beaudin was able to tie the game 1-1 in the second period with his second goal in as many games. Nearly from the same spot, Beaudin has been a delight to watch develop this season. His role with Chicago continues to grow in the absence of Connor Murphy and Adam Boqvist.
Nicolas Beaudin ties it up with that Rookie Energy ⚡⚡ #CHIvsCBJ on @NBCSChicago https://t.co/xqft6TZlqM pic.twitter.com/ECWaIbhDyV
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) February 14, 2021
The Blackhawks yet again showed they are a resilient bunch tonight. Having to come back to tie the game twice, they were able to reach overtime against the Blue Jackets and get the winner from DeBrincat. Unlike Thursday night’s contest where the Blackhawks learned a lesson in how not to let games be taken from you in which you should have won, Saturday night was a lesson in how to steal wins yourself.
Carl Söderberg scored his first goal as a member of the Blackhawks late in the third period to tie the game, and DeBrincat provided us with a potential Goal of the Year candidate.
That's some hand-eye coordination by Alex DeBrincat pic.twitter.com/EsRyN6ui9G
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) February 14, 2021
This was the first game this season in which the Blackhawks were trailing heading into the third period and came away win any points. They were 0-4-0 in the previous four instances, whereas Columbus had been 3-0-0 when holding a lead into the third period.
Kevin Lankinen had a tremendous bounce-back effort after allowing six goals in Thursday night’s loss. In his 11th start this season, Lankinen made 29 saves on 31 shots, moving his record to 6-2-3 on the year. He continues to impress on a regular basis and came up big in earning two points for Chicago tonight.
The Blackhawks will play their next six games on the road, starting with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night. Chicago is 2-0-0 against Detroit this season, outscoring them 10-3 in the first two meetings back in January.
Finals Thoughts
• Patrick Kane, with an assist on the Beaudin goal, extended his home points streak to eight games this season.
• Reese Johnson played his second career NHL game tonight. He played seven minutes and had five hits. He has 12 hits this season in two games played.
• Cam Atkinson has seven points in four games against the Blackhawks this season. He had six of those seven points in these past two games. Might want to keep an eye on him next game.
• The Duncan Keith and Ian Mitchell defensive pairing had another positive game, playing 16:31 minutes together at 5-on-5, with 15 chances for and 10 chances against, the best Corsi-For percentage of the three defensive pairings tonight.
