NEWSLETTER
It was fitting last night that the Blackhawks would win a game on Andrew Shaw Legacy Night in the most “Andrew Shaw” way possible. Part of Shaw’s legacy with the Blackhawks is how he scored big-time goals in unconventional ways or had those goals disallowed because of how bizarre they were (See: The headbutt goal). So to honor Shaw, the Blackhawks won a game where the winning goal had to be reviewed twice in overtime.
• Chicago escaped the Montreal Canadiens, the last-place team in the NHL, with a 3-2 overtime win last night. They nearly avoid losing to the last-place team in the league twice in the same week after dropping a 6-4 game to the Arizona Coyotes on January 6.
• Philipp Kurashev scored the game-winner in overtime, and yeah, like I said, unconventional…
Kurashev scores the game-winning goal on Andrew Shaw Legacy Night! pic.twitter.com/9QB41xcSzV
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 14, 2022
• It’s not his fault that he bulldozed Montreal’s goaltender, but it counted nonetheless after not one but two reviews on the play.
ICYMI… it was a wild finish last night#In60 | @ChevyDrivesChi pic.twitter.com/xziL1Vr9Mk
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 14, 2022
• With the win, the Blackhawks have themselves a little winning streak now with three-in-a-row. It comes at a good time since they had dropped their previous six games (0-3-3) before this streak began.
• Helping the Blackhawks get back in the game last night, scoring his first goal in over a month, was Patrick Kane.
Not NHL All-Star Patrick Kane with his 8th of the season to tie it up 2-2 in the 3rd period!#Blackhawks #CHIvsMTL pic.twitter.com/7VDejCwgAM
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 14, 2022
• Kane had said this season was one of his most frustrating, and it makes sense since he is on the lowest goal-scoring pace of his career. When you’re a player not far removed from back-to-back 40-goal seasons, scoring at a 17-goal pace is no fun. Hopefully, getting back in the goal column can spark an onslaught of goals for Kane.
• Unfortunately, it would be too late for him to make his case to be an NHL All-Star. Kane will not be going to Vegas, but Alex DeBrincat will be! The Blackhawks’ leader in goals this season is heading to his first All-Star Game after getting the nod yesterday.
Alex DeBrincat Is an NHL All-Star for the First Time!https://t.co/80qCYDdKtJ pic.twitter.com/dWD8V6Cln4
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 14, 2022
• Pretty awesome and well-deserved for DeBrincat, who, unlike Kane, is on pace for 50 goals this season.
Casual. Cool. Calm. Cat. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/u3M98xhSY0
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 13, 2022
• Here’s the complete list of who will be headed to the NHL All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas on February 4-5.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 13, 2022
• Seth Jones was named the representative from the Blackhawks for the “Last Man In” vote, which is open this weekend.
• Another big storyline from last night’s game was the NHL debut for Blackhawks 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel. After beginning the season with the IceHogs in the AHL and leading them in goals (11) and points (20), Reichel was called-up to the active roster and put right in the middle of the top line between Brandon Hagel and Patrick Kane.
Lukas Reichel’s reaction when he saw his name on the same line as his favorite player Patrick Kane: “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s awesome.’” #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 13, 2022
• While he didn’t get to set up a goal for Kane, though he tried, Reichel’s debut was not too bad.
Lukas Reichel's final stat line in his NHL debut:
15:55 TOI
3 shots on goal
4 shot attempts
0/3 on faceoffsNothing too remarkable, but he had some good moments, and this is just about giving him a taste of the NHL.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 14, 2022
• His stay with the Blackhawks this season will likely be short. He’s OK with it, and so should we be. The long-term plan is the goal for Reichel, and last night was an excellent first step in his NHL development.
Lukas Reichel on his NHL debut: "I had so much fun out there. First game, first win, that sounds pretty good."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 14, 2022
• He showed flashes of what makes him an exciting prospect and the top forward in the Chicago farm system.
King on Reichel: "I really liked his pace of play. He can skate, and you could see it."
"He pushes everybody back and frees up space for other guys. You see him dishing to Kane, [then] Kane gets the puck and there’s nobody in his face. I really liked watching him."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 14, 2022
• He’ll likely stay in the lineup through the weekend with the Blackhawks hosting the Ducks tomorrow night. From there, we’ll see.
• In roster move news today, the Blackhawks are sending three players to the IceHogs for tonight and tomorrow’s AHL slate of games.
Blackhawks Roster Moves: Slavin, Beaudin, Mitchell Assigned to the IceHogshttps://t.co/80EgAWUbC3 pic.twitter.com/42PrVvQRQz
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 14, 2022
• In Olympic Hockey news, the Blackhawks will be represented on the Women’s and Men’s U.S. Hockey teams. With Kendall Coyne-Schofield on the Women’s roster already, goaltending prospect Drew Commesso was selected to the Men’s team yesterday!
Blackhawks Prospect Drew Commesso Named to USA Men’s Olympic Teamhttps://t.co/r1b5FIdqvG
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 13, 2022
• The Athletic’s Sean Gentille and Corey Pronman have more on Commesso and the rest of the U.S. Men’s roster…
U.S. men’s Olympic team cheat sheet: Everything you need to know before the Games.
– Reasons to watch
– Scouting reports on the top prospects from @coreypronmanhttps://t.co/0WnWeVqqmG— Sean Gentille (@seangentille) January 13, 2022
• Another former Blackhawk heading to the Olympics will be the 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Michael Frolik with the Czech team.
Frolik Navidad! #Blackhawks https://t.co/9sYmDbuKyu
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 13, 2022
• And add another former Blackhawk to the list today as Team Canada announced their coaching staff this morning, including former head coach Jeremy Colliton.
Jeremy Colliton will be an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics#Blackhawks
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) January 14, 2022
• That’s still pretty cool, no matter how you feel about Colliton from his time in Chicago.
• Here’s a wild stat…
Bruins defenceman Tyler Lewington
1,012th player to appear in an NHL game this season, setting the record for the most used in any campaign (eclipsing the mark set in 2020-21).
And less than 43% of the schedule has been played so far !
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 14, 2022
• And here’s that same stat, but with a Blackhawks flavor…
The Blackhawks have used 37 players through 37 games this season.
For context, in 2013, they used 32 players in 48 games despite bringing up like half the Rockford IceHogs for the meaningless season finale in St. Louis.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 14, 2022
• I have a feeling that number is going to continue to increase for Chicago, especially once we get closer to the March 21 NHL Trade Deadline.
• Hey, siblings, amirite? 🤷🏻♂️
tender moments between brothers: matthew tkachuk smacking brady in the crotch pic.twitter.com/RA51F8gAk1
— Mike Pfeil (@mikeFAIL) January 14, 2022
• In the mood for another laugh? Connor McDavid is human…
McDavid doing a skill drill before practice, loses the puck, Barrie from the corner “OH! He’s human!!” Everyone has a chuckle. pic.twitter.com/vSt03sV7Fh
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) January 13, 2022
• From laughs to applause, a history-making night for the Los Angeles Kings and athletic trainer Aisha Visram!
Congratulations to Aisha Visram who's serving on the bench tonight as an Athletic Trainer for your LA Kings! 👏
Aisha is believed to be the first female to work a regular-season @NHL game behind the bench in any capacity.
History. Made. pic.twitter.com/GmNpHeyuwY
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 14, 2022
• Last night, the Flyers and Bruins faced each other in Boston. It was also Kevin Hayes’ first game back in his “hometown” since the passing of his brother, former Bruin (and former Blackhawk) Jimmy Hayes. Here’s the ESPN feature on Kevin and his family from Emily Kaplan.
So appreciative of Flyers forward @KevinPHayes12 for sitting down with me ahead of what will be an emotional night in Boston ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Tvr8bZMmuS
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) January 13, 2022
• It doesn’t get much better than Kevin and his nephew, Jimmy’s oldest son Beau…
Uncle Kev and Beau. 🧡🤍 pic.twitter.com/1aZ5p9BhRD
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 13, 2022
• Love that.
• That will do it for today. I hope you all enjoy your TGIF Friday!
