On Sunday, one afternoon after a tough loss to the New Jersey Devils, the Chicago Blackhawks came home with a chance to redeem themselves against the New York Islanders.
Of course, the Hawks lost a wild one to the Islanders late last week too so giving their best effort in this game felt important
This match started off looking very familiar as the Hawks took a 1-0 lead for the 20th time in 31 games. That’s an amazing stat for a team that came in with fewer than 10 wins.
It was Ilya Mikheyev scoring off a beautiful feed from Teuvo Teravainen at 9:08 of the first period. The familiarity continued, however, as the Islanders tied it up at 18:43. It looked like Chicago was going to go to the intermission tied but Taylor Hall had other ideas.
Off another great feed by Teuvo Teravainen, Hall didn’t miss and put his team ahead 2-1 at 19:40. That’s how you end a period.
It didn’t take long for the Islanders to get it tied again after that. It was at 2:25 of the second period when Simon Holmstrom scored off his skate. There was never a question of it being a distinct kicking motion so the goal was never even challenged.
Later in the second period, the Hawks found themselves on a five-on-three man-advantage. Teuvo Teravainen kept his great game going when he blasted a Connor Bedard pass past Ilya Sorokin for the lead.
Three points for Teravainen were just what the doctor ordered for him after some issues with confidence over the last month or so.
After taking that 3-2 lead into the third period, could the Hawks finally have a good period and escape with a win? Things were looking bleak when Noah Dobson scored a goal on a beautiful move to tie the game at :47 of the third.
There have been a lot of games blown by Chicago in the third period so they had to dig deep not to let it happen for the second time in as many days.
You draft players first overall in hopes that they eventually learn how to come through for you in the biggest moments. That was Chicago’s reality when Connor Bedard scored at 19:06 of regulation.
To say that Bedard’s offensive production is back to normal is an understatement and this time it came in the clutch. Connor Murphy scored an empty net goal and the Hawks beat the Islanders 5-3.
Bedard’s goal was one of two points for him as he was named to be the Second Star of the Game. Everyone on the team needs to do their part for them to have success but Bedard is the straw that stirs the drink. It is paramount that he feels good about his game at all times. Performances like this will help with that confidence.
One last player that needs to be singled out is Arvid Soderblom. He allowed three goals but the Islanders were the better team for most of the game. His three goals against were on 33 shots so his save percentage was still .909. Without him playing at a high level, Bedard would have never had the chance to put his team ahead.
Soderblom was pulled against the Islanders last time out and that is his only true blemish on the season. He bounced back nicely in this win.
Chicago’s run against New York area teams is done but they aren’t don’t playing opponents from the Metropolitan Division. On Tuesday night, they will be back in action at the United Center taking on the Washington Capitals.
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