NEWSLETTER
How about that top line for the Blackhawks!? Looking for some firepower, Derek King added Alex DeBrincat to the top line with Dylan Strome and Patrick Kane ahead of tonight’s contest with the Anaheim Ducks, and boy did he get it.
First, it was Dylan Strome with his fourth goal in three games to make it 1-0 Blackhawks just 1:38 into this one. Then it was Alex DeBrincat at the 7:05 mark and Patrick Kane at the 13:53 mark in period one. Just like that, everyone on the top line had a goal in the opening period. Before it was all said and done, Ryan Carpenter tipped in a Patrick Kane shot, and Jonathan Toews added one more late in the period, a short-handed goal, for good measure as the Blackhawks took an early 5-0 lead into the first intermission.
Patrick Kane logged four points (one goal, three assists) in the opening frame, and Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat each had a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks had their best opening frame of the season. In fact, it was their best opening frame since they scored five goals against the Ottawa Senators in the first period on February 18, 2019.
Moreover, Patrick Kane became the fourth skater in NHL history with four or more points in an opening period, joining Grant Mulvey (4-1—5 on Feb. 3, 1982 vs. STL), Pit Martin (1-3—4 on Jan. 30, 1969 at PHI) and Dick Redmond (1-3—4 on Dec. 5, 1973 at DET), per NHL Public Relations.
Here are all five goals from the first period tonight!
https://twitter.com/NBCSBlackhawks/status/1501386287613452294?s=20&t=PXuHKVXRDuWHSW_lx4X9oA
It didn’t take long for the Blackhawks to pick up where they left off in the second period, with Brandon Hagel scoring just 19 seconds into the middle frame, his second point of the night. Hagel’s early second-period goal was scored against Anthony Stolarz after the Ducks pulled John Gibson after allowing five goals in the first.
Aside from a brief stretch of three unanswered goals for the Ducks in the second, this one was never in doubt. The Blackhawks would right the ship before the second period ended with one more goal, once again by Dylan Strome. The goal for Strome was his fifth in his last three games, and of course, it was assisted by Patrick Kane, who tied his career-high in points with five at the second intermission.
Here’s Stromer’s second goal of the night:
Me thinks Dylan Strome is good and shouldn't be traded. Kane with five points. #Blackhawks #FlyTogether #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/xWhBrdzgaR
— Wally (@WallyMaz18) March 9, 2022
Before it was said and done, Dylan Strome and Patrick Kane had one more reason for the United Center to celebrate:
STROME HAT-TRICK KANE 🍀 pic.twitter.com/JQXx5CtDH1
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 9, 2022
The eighth goal of the night for the Blackhawks gave Dylan Strome his second hat trick of the season (the first came on January 26 against Detroit). It also gave Patrick Kane a new career-high in points (6) with a goal and five assists. The nuclear top line (DeBrincat, Strome, and Kane) scored five of Chicago’s eight goals (a total that tied the season-high for Chicago this season).
In a season like this, games like these are a welcomed change of pace. It was nice to be treated to an exceptional performance. The United Center crowd let the Blackhawks know it, too, with a roaring standing ovation at the end of the first period and in the third period when they showered the ice with their caps for Dylan Strome’s hat trick and Patrick Kane’s new career-high in points.
You can find the complete box score here!
