CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks struggled in the second half in back-to-back situations. Heading into Sunday, the focus has been on playing well against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The night before, the Blackhawks beat the Washington Capitals on the road in a shootout. Even though they were doing better since returning from vacation, not letting themselves explode in this situation was important to them as a group.
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This game was the first in “The Banner Years” chapter for the Blackhawks’ centennial season. Throughout the chapter, they will celebrate the era that saw them win three Stanley Cups in six years.
Fittingly, Brandon Saad scored the first goal of the game to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. Saad, of course, won two Stanley Cups with Chicago in 2013 and 2015.
Just under two minutes later, Tyler Bertuzzi scored to tie the game. It was Bertuzzi’s 20th goal of the season, and it was a superb wrist shot.
43 seconds into the second period, Jack Eichel drove the puck to the net and Mark Stone found the rebound before firing home to give Vegas a 2-1 lead.
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There weren’t many goals afterwards. Things were quiet on the scoreboard until Tyler Bertuzzi scored his second of the game at 11:36 of the third period. Ryan Greene’s never-say-die mentality allowed him to make a cross-court pass to Bertuzzi, who slipped it into the open cage.
With no more goals in regulation, the Blackhawks went into overtime for a second game in as many days. It’s also the fourth time in six games that Chicago has seen the game reach the fourth period.
In overtime, Tyler Bertuzzi completed the hat trick for the 3-2 victory. The puck barely crossed the goal line, then the hats started flying across the ice.
While the team was still cleaning all the hats, officials were examining the play for offside. It was a strange scenario seeing both teams standing on the ice with all those hats and the Blackhawks celebrating, but the goal stood.
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Now, the Blackhawks are 3-0-0 in their last three games. All this good play comes with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar out of the lineup. Before the game, head coach Jeff Blashill said Bédard would be back before the Olympic break, but he could not confirm the same update for Nazar.
One night, after Spencer Knight played well to help the Blackhawks win, Arvid Soderblom did the same thing. He made 13 saves on just 15 shots, but Vegas has some supreme shooters who had their chances.
Chicago finally showed some demons when it came to the second half of back-to-back situations. They didn’t win in those starts, but this time they came out on top against a great team and finished the job.
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What’s next for the Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks are back in action Wednesday night. This will be a national broadcast against the St. Louis Blues on TNT.
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