Blackhawks Postgame
Blackhawks Special Teams Shine in 7-3 Blowout Win Over Blues
The Chicago Blackhawks remain unbeaten since the start of the New Year, moving to 4-0-0 after defeating the St. Louis Blues 7-3 at the United Center on Wednesday night. Chicago is now 5-1-1 in seven games since the Christmas break.
A total of 13 different skaters recorded a point in Wednesday’s win, with five multi-point performances. Oliver Moore (1G, 1A), Louis Crevier (1G, 1A), Landon Slaggert (1G, 1A), Connor Murphy (1G, 1A), and Matt Grzelcyk (2A) each recorded two points to help the Blackhawks roar back from a nearly disastrous start.
Less than 30 seconds into the game, the Blues pounced on an early mistake and raced ahead 1-0 with a goal from Tyler Tucker. Then, within the next five minutes, the Blackhawks committed a pair of penalties to give St. Louis two chances to build on their early lead.
But as it’s done all year, the penalty kill rose to the occasion to keep the game from swiftly spiraling in the wrong direction. Two successful kills seemed to settle the Blackhawks into the game, and they went on to score seven of the next eight goals en route to a blowout victory.
For the night, Chicago killed off all five penalties that were committed and now sit third in the NHL at 84.4 percent while shorthanded this season. The penalty kill has allowed just one goal during the current five-game point streak and remains a major strength for the team.
“I think our penalty kill gave us some momentum at the start and allowed us to get to our game,” said Murphy, a staple of the PK, after the game. “When you get kills, when you can get some in a row, you kind of build a little bit of flow.”
On the other side of the coin, the Blackhawks’ power play also came up clutch in the win. The man advantage converted on three of its four opportunities, including a strike to tie the game 1-1 shortly after the two quick penalties were extinguished. That shifted the momentum the rest of the way, and two more tallies helped provide insurance in the final two periods.
“You give up a goal early, and then you have those kills… I thought it was great,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “It’s a huge thing… Those moments in games are big. Great job by our special teams.”
Wednesday was arguably the most complete team win from the Blackhawks this season. Both special teams units were spectacular, four of the six defensemen in the lineup recorded a point, and seven different players scored a goal.
It feels like things are starting to click for the Hawks, and it perhaps comes at the perfect time. Star forward Connor Bedard participated in the team’s morning skate and appears on the verge of making his return. Bedard was among the most productive players in the league before suffering a shoulder injury on Dec. 12. It goes without saying that his comeback will provide a massive spark, and that could happen in the coming days. Possibly even on Friday, when Chicago returns to action next.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks 7-3 win over the Blues, moving their record to 18-18-7 through 43 games.
FIRST PERIOD
The scoring ensued in the opening minute of Wednesday’s game, before most fans could even sit down from the National Anthem. Tucker scored just 27 seconds in to put the Blues ahead 1-0 in the blink of an eye. Ryan Greene lost the inside position to Brayden Schenn in a board battle below the net, leading to a dangerous chance for Tucker.
St. Louis received two early power plays in the minutes following Tucker’s tally. Artyom Levshunov was whistled for holding, then Ilya Mikheyev got called for delay of game.
Chicago’s stout penalty kill successfully killed both infractions, preventing the game from spiraling out of hand. Less than 30 seconds after Mikheyev stepped out of the penalty box, Colton Parayko was called for hooking.
With the second unit on the ice, Moore used some deception to fool Blues’ netminder Jordan Binnington and tie the game. Moore appeared like he was going to shoot from the left circle, but instead shipped a pass over to Lardis at the right dot for the one-timer at 9:26. Lardis made no mistake with the shot for his third NHL goal. 1-1.
The score remained tied for the rest of the period, as neither team generated many threatening opportunities after that point. The Blues had a 13-10 advantage in shots on goal.
SECOND PERIOD
While there wasn’t any scoring in the opening seven minutes of the second period, a full-blown scoring frenzy emerged afterwards.
On their second power-play chance of the night, Moore received a pass from Grzelcyk in stride and charged to the top of the left circle. He ripped a shot off Binnington’s shoulder and into the net for his 4th goal of the season at 7:41. 2-1, Blackhawks. Both Moore and Grzelcyk earned their second points of the game.
Just 41 seconds after Moore’s goal, the Blues answered back to tie the game 2-2. Otto Stenberg sniped a shot through a tight window for his first NHL goal at 8:22.
The chaos continued in the following shifts, and the Blackhawks managed to gain the lead right back. After Oskar Sundqvist coughed up the puck in his own end, Murphy powered a shot through Binnington for his first goal of the season at 8:57. Three goals in 1:16.
The Blackhawks added to their lead with 7:33 left in the period, as Colton Dach let go of a booming wrister from the high slot. Parked out in front of Binnington was Slaggert, who got a piece of the puck as it went by for his second goal of the season. 4-2, Chicago.
With momentum fully on their side, the Blackhawks recognized a wounded opponent in front of them. They kept their foot on the pedal and beat Binnington once more before the second intermission.
Crevier fired a shot on target from the right point, and Jason Dickinson cruised the crease for a deflection. He was successful in his attempt and netted his fifth goal of the season at 17:24. 5-2, Blackhawks.
After what could have been a disastrous start in the opening minutes of the gate, the Blackhawks were in the driver’s seat through 40 minutes. They outscored the Blues 4-1 in the period and led 14-4 in scoring chances.
THIRD PERIOD
The Blackhawks’ power play was already having a ravishing performance, and they got a chance to add to it early in the third period. Two St. Louis penalties gave Chicago a 5-on-3 advantage, and they quickly cashed in for a fourth unanswered goal. Andre Burakovsky snapped his seven-game goal drought at 5:11 with his 10th tally of the season. The goal also extended his point streak to four games. 6-2.
To add insult to injury for Binnington, the Blackhawks had one final goal in store for him on Wednesday. Crevier jumped into the play and got to a loose puck first for his fourth goal of the season at 12:56. He and Slaggert picked up their second points of the game. 7-2.
The final goal of the evening occurred at 13:19 of the period, as Nathan Walker made a nifty play to bat the puck out of midair and past Spencer Knight. Too little, too late at that point, however.
The final horn sounded at the United Center, and all the fans who stayed all the way until the end near midnight were rewarded. That’s now four consecutive wins for the Blackhawks to begin 2026.
Next up, the second and final meeting of the season with the Washington Capitals on Friday. The Blackhawks just defeated the Caps 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.
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