CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks faced the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. It was their first look at 2025 No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer as he came to town for his only visit this season.
After their last game, the 7-3 debacle against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, the team was looking for a rebound. Another game without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar didn’t make things any easier.
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Early in the game, it looked like it would be much of the same for Chicago. They allowed a goal to Calum Ritchie at 2:56 of the first period. Another multi-goal loss seemed likely. Just under 10 minutes later, Bo Horvat added to that feeling with his 21st of the season to make it 2-0.
A lot of time has passed without any scores. There were a handful of good chances and goals, but nothing went in for a while. That is, until 15:31 of the second period, when Teuvo Teravainen scored to cut the Islanders’ lead in half. Artyom Levshunov and Oliver Moore had a great passing play to Teravainen, who fired the puck into the net.
The Blackhawks had a power play opportunity late in the second period, which gave them some life to finish the second period. With 2.2 seconds remaining, Nick Lardis fired a perfect pass from Oliver Moore into the net to tie the game. This set up a very interesting third period.
There was no goal in the third period, so each team gained a point in the standings by going to overtime. With 2:17 left in overtime, Artyom Levshunov gave the Islanders a power play with a tripping penalty.
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With nothing going right for New York with the man advantage, the game went to a shootout. Bo Horvat scored the only goal the Islanders needed with the Blackhawks leading 0-3. The final score of 3-2 ends the calendar year with a loss for Chicago.
In the loss, the Blackhawks lost Jason Dickinson to injury. He didn’t come out to start the second period and never returned. After the game ended, head coach Jeff Blashill said it was day to day. He could miss Thursday’s game, but he’s not ruled out either.
Without Dickinson, the Blackhawks are down among their top three centers. This is not an easy issue to deal with, but other stakeholders need to step in when such things happen.
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What’s next for the Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks are back in action Thursday night. Their first game of 2026 will be against the Dallas Stars at the United Center. After losing a decision to the Blackhawks last week in Dallas, the Stars will be ready to play.
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