NEWSLETTER
I have no doubt Connor Bedard was reading the hilarious, ridiculous comments about Adam Fantilli so he went out and scored a power play goal three minutes into the game to remind y’all he’s still the goods. (I’m being sarcastic about Bedard reading the comments.) In all seriousness, the set up from Ryan Donato on the goal was unselfish and perfectly executed.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jackets pushed back and the game got sloppy at both ends for both teams. The Blackhawks out-shot the Jackets 11-9 in the first, but goals from Ivan Provorov and Kent Johnson sent the teams to the room with Columbus leading 2-1.
The Blackhawks got another power play early in the second period when Connor Murphy had a good open-ice hit on Kirill Marchenko, for which Dmitri Voronkov felt the need to jump Murphy. The Blackhawks scored on the advantage, but that lead lasted 1:50 before Columbus got back on the board.
The Blackhawks overpassed to the point there were a few boos in the second half of the middle period. Was there open ice for their skill to play with? Sure. Were they trying to do too much with it? Absolutely. And that was reflected in the Blue Jackets having a 7-2 high danger chance advantage at 5-on-5 thru two periods (per Natural Stat Trick).
Columbus extended their lead during a brief 4-on-4 period early in the third. But the Blackhawks were able to cash in an extended 5-on-3 later to cut the lead back to just one. Unfortunately, Marchenko scored to push the lead back to two. The Blue Jackets added one into the empty net with 1:26 left in regulation to push the lead to three.
Star 1: Connor Bedard
After having a point in only three of the first ten games in November, Bedard finished the month with a goal against Dallas and assist in Minnesota. He extended his point streak with his power play goal in the first period. Bedard added an assist in the third period on Foligno’s power play goal to give him another multi-point game.
Power play goal #Blackhawks !!
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 1, 2024
🚨 Connor Bedard
🍎 Ryan Donato, Alex Vlasic
pic.twitter.com/XMHOaTOjGy
Star 2: Craig Smith
Smith had a really good, active first period. He was credited with three shots on net in the opening frame and then scored the game-tying goal on the power play in the second. Smith had 11 goals in 75 games in Dallas last year; he already has six in 22 games in his first season in Chicago.
Another #Blackhawks power play goal
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) December 1, 2024
🚨 Craig Smith
🍎 Taylor Hall, Alec Martinez
pic.twitter.com/lxnMKaggKR
Star 3: Ryan Donato
Donato had four shots on goal and five hits thru two periods, both of which were the team’s high. He also won half of his six faceoffs in just over nine minutes of ice time. When Murphy got hammed into the boards behind the Blackhawks’ net early in the third, Donato came to his defense. He was noticeable the entire afternoon.
Key Takeaways
- Not the best afternoon for Petr Mrázek. He did make one of the best saves you’ll see this season early in the third period (see below), but overall there were probably at least two shots he would like back. With Laurent Brossoit being out for an extended period of time still, the Blackhawks might want to strongly consider giving him a few more days off as they can. Sunday was his 18th appearance already.
Petr Mrazek gets a standing ovation after submitting a Save of the Year entry. Wow. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/un1OWJjOST
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 1, 2024
- This is the sixth straight game in which the Blackhawks have scored first. So that’s nice.
- The Blackhawks got three power play goals in the game. That’s also nice. Here’s the pretty power play goal from Nick Foligno in the third period.
OHHHHHH CAPTAIN‼️ pic.twitter.com/jdTA8Dct0w
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) December 1, 2024
- In addition to his assist on Bedard’s power play goal, Donato led the team with four shots on net in the first period. The eye test didn’t lie that his line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen had a really good first period (this from Natural Stat Trick after the first).
- Louis Crevier was really chasing it a lot in the second period.
- The Blackhawks had a nice potential momentum shift from Bedard’s line in the middle of the second period but Philipp Kurashev whiffed on a couple really good scoring opportunities. Bedard probably could have shot the puck initially but that needs to be a finish.
- I thought Taylor Hall had a nice afternoon. He’s skating a lot better more consistently. He mentioned on Wednesday that he’s feeling like himself more again now. That’s a good sign.
- This shot block by Bedard with about four minutes left in the first period kept the game within one goal.
Connor Bedard sells out for a shot block. He was shaking his left foot after but appears to be OK. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/gysJnJcLZR— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 1, 2024
