Blackhawks Postgame
Blackhawks Score Season-High Seven Goals in Win Over Flyers
Sunday was dubbed “The Best Day Ever,” and the United Center was full of kids attending their first game. Those youngsters and their parents sure had plenty to cheer about in the Chicago Blackhawks 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. It wasn’t the prettiest hockey ever played, but it was entertaining as the Blackhawks snapped their seven-game losing streak.
The Flyers got a fortunate bounce to take an early 1-0 lead when Jamie Drysdale’s shot from the point hit Louis Crevier and got in behind Spencer Knight. The Blackhawks were quick to answer when Pat Maroon forced a turnover, headed right to the net, and tapped in an easy goal off a nice setup by Nick Foligno.
Less than a minute later, Joe Veleno gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead with his first goal since being acquired at the trade deadline. It took the Flyers all of 12 seconds to tie the game when Travis Sanheim’s shot just trickled through Knight and over the goal line. Bobby Brink gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead by outmuscling Wyatt Kaiser in front of the net.
Connor Bedard tied the game late in the period with his 20th goal of the season. He retrieved the puck off a faceoff win and quickly fired home the puck into the top right corner of the net. A Flyers’ stick might have ticked his shot to help it reach its final destination.
The Blackhawks tilted the ice to start the second period, eventually leading to their fourth goal of the game. The third line went to work, with Tyler Bertuzzi finishing off a nice passing sequence by firing a backhand into the net for his 19th goal. A couple of minutes later, the Blackhawks got a 5v3 advantage for a full two minutes. Eventually, Teuvo Teravainen saw Ryan Donato at the front of the net and rocketed a pass off his stick for a 5-3 advantage.
The Flyers cut the deficit to one midway through the period when Travis Konency redirected a Drysdale shot into the Blackhawks net. Three minutes later, Teravainen connected with Donato in front of the net again for his second power-play goal of the day.
Two minutes into the third period, Lukas Reichel faked Ivan Fedotov out his crease, then banked his centering pass off defenseman Emil Andrae for his seventh goal of the season.
The seven goals were a season-high for the Blackhawks. They will look to carry this performance into Wednesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
Joe Veleno Starting to Feel Comfortable
It took some time for Veleno to feel at home with the Blackhawks. He joined the team on a road trip, coming from the Detroit Red Wings, while they just left on a road trip as well. That is not an easy task, especially when coming to a team that plays a different defensive system. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen recently acknowledged this contributed to his slow start with his new team.
Veleno had his best game with the Blackhawks against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, with three shots on goal while playing a season-high 17:50. He followed that up today with his first goal with the Blackhawks. He also picked up the secondary assist on Bertuzzi’s goal for his first multipoint game since Oct. 21, 2023.
“His last two games were really good,” Sorensen said of Veleno. “It started in St. Louis there. We got him on the PK again, and he was really aggressive, creating some turnovers and making some plays. He and Bert have found something; they’ve been playing well together, and obviously, you can see that with Bert’s production, as well.
“When you’re traded for the first time in your life and have a lot of things going on, and then you come to a completely new system — I think we play differently from Detroit — it takes a little time to adapt. His last two games have been really good.”
Shoot-Frist Mentality Benefits Connor Bedard
Before the game started, Sorensen mentioned that he wanted Bedard to trust himself more on the ice and make the plays when they were given to him.
“He’s frustrated a little bit, pressing, especially when a player of his caliber expects to score and is under the spotlight constantly,” he said. “But just trying to get him to trust his instincts and make the plays he sees but don’t force things at the same time. That’s the biggest thing: he has to trust his instincts.”
Sorensen added that the entire team’s shooting mentality needs to improve. This is nothing new, as the Blackhawks have averaged the fewest shots per game in the NHL since the start of the 2023-24 season. Bedard’s first-period goal was an example of what Sorensen is talking about.
“He’s had chances, and now they’re starting to go in,” Sorensen said of Bedard postgame. “I thought his last five games have been really good overall. Maybe the numbers don’t always show it, but he’s been really good. I thought today he got rewarded for it.”
The third line with Veleno, Bertuzzi, and Philipp Kurashev produced two goals at 5v5. They were also even with the Flyers in scoring chances (6-6), and high-danger scoring chances (2-2) during their 10:52 of ice time. Since coming to the Blackhawks, Veleno has won 53% of his faceoffs, which is a welcome addition to the NHL’s 31st team in FO%.
Odds & Ends
- Bertuzzi’s second-period goal was the 300th point of his NHL career. We know Bertuzzi is a streaky player who puts up points in bunches. He’s in the midst of one of those hot streaks, with two goals and six points in his last four outings.
- I spotted Alec Martinez and Jason Dickinson, who missed today’s game, leaving the locker room. Dickinson had a brace on his left wrist. Sorensen did not have any further updates on either injury. The Blackhawks will be off tomorrow, so hopefully, we’ll learn more after Tuesday’s practice.
