Connor Bedard put the Chicago Blackhawks on the board, but it was Landon Slaggert who gave them the only lead they’d need.
The Chicago Blackhawks were still smarting a bit Saturday from a couple of letdowns the night before. Not only did they lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime — after leading 3-1 — but they also felt the absence of forward Taylor Hall,
Nikita Kucherov scored 58 seconds into overtime and had two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Friday night. Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Nick Paul ...
Söderblom was the primary reason the Blackhawks were up at all. He made 34 saves — stopping all 26 shots he saw in the last two periods, including 15 in the third — to take the victory. Per Evolving Hockey, Söderblom saved 2.74 goals above expected in the game.
Third period TBL 3, CHI 3 19:19 Jake Guentzel (25) - Kucherov, Raddysh - PP Guentzel redirected the game-tying goal into the Chicago net with 40 seconds remaining in regulation after a Nikita Kucherov pass.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the Chicago Blackhawks twice in the next five days, starting on Friday night in Chicago. The Lightning are 0-2 so far on their road-trip and would love nothing more than to grab two points.
On their seventh try, they finally eluded Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek 5 minutes, 43 seconds into the first period when Spurgeon sent the puck past Mrazek’s blocker after a 4-on-2 rush for the Wild. Marco Rossi factored into the play to pick up an assist on the Wild’s past four goals, tying a team record for the second time this season.
In the middle frame, Chicago’s Nick Foligno was whistled for holding Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov, and complained a bit too forcefully about the call, drawing a second penalty. Minnesota made it 3-0 on the extended power play, as Eriksson Ek recorded his ninth goal of the season and second of the weekend.
Hedman sent a backhand shot toward the net, and Paul redirected the puck past Chicago goalie Arvid Soderblom to make it 3-2 with 7.9 seconds left in the period. “It definitely helped our demeanor, gave us a little bit of life coming back in here,” Bolts defenseman Ryan McDonagh said of Paul's goal.
Kucherov’s game-winner came after Jake Guentzel tipped in his pass in front of the net to tie it 3-3 on the power play with 41 seconds remaining in the third period for the Lightning, who outshot the Blackhawks 17-1 in the period.
Brantford Bulldogs forward Nick Lardis can't stop scoring this season. He's the first to hit the 40-goal mark this season in the OHL and the three leagues that make up the Canadian Hockey League.