Analysis
Hawks Hits: Clutch Penalty Kill, Levshunov’s Ice Time Dips, Crevier Steps Up
After missing the past 14 games due to a jaw injury, Frank Nazar returned to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup on Thursday night in Carolina. It was the first time that Nazar, Connor Bedard, Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, and Nick Lardis had all played together in the same NHL game.
Each of the five promising pieces in the Blackhawks’ rebuild had an eventful night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. None more so than Moore, though, who celebrated his 21st Birthday with a game that he will surely remember forever. After getting decked by fellow rookie Alexander Nikishin in a quick fight late in the second period, Moore had to get stitched up in the locker room before returning early in the third. Thankfully, he was able to come back, as the former first-round pick netted the shootout winner in the sixth round to lift Chicago to a 4-3 victory. He also added an assist on Lardis’ fifth NHL goal earlier in the match.
Moore was the shootout hero who gave the Blackhawks their second consecutive win, but a full team effort was required to overcome the Hurricanes’ stout forecheck and seemingly endless pressure.
Chicago’s young lineup, which included seven forwards and four defensemen who are 24 years old or younger, plus 24-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight, impressively fought through adversity to earn a crucial two points against a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in their own building. Three one-goal leads were answered by Carolina in regulation, but the inexperienced group still pushed ahead and eventually finished the job in the shootout.
Let’s break down how the Blackhawks made it happen.
Hawks Hits
1. NHL’s BEST Penalty Kill — The Blackhawks found themselves shorthanded four times in the opening 40 minutes, and the Hurricanes were dominating puck possession at that stage of the game. But Chicago’s penalty kill successfully thwarted all four penalties, preventing Carolina from ever taking the lead. Knight made a few spectacular saves while shorthanded, but some lofty work from a slew of penalty killers, such as Alex Vlasic, Louis Crevier, and Ilya Mikheyev, helped limit the number of threatening opportunities the Canes generated.
In the third period, the Blackhawks also killed off another penalty to keep the score tied at 2-2. For the game, the penalty kill was a perfect five-for-five and played an essential role in taking two points from the top team in the Eastern Conference.
Through the first 11 games of 2026, Chicago has killed off 26 of 28 penalties committed and now ranks first in the NHL at 85.1 percent on the season.
2. Mikheyev’s Magic — Mikheyev’s defensive prowess has been a pivotal reason why the Blackhawks’ penalty kill has been among the best in the league. He’s always using an active stick along with his swift skating to apply pressure to puck carriers and cause havoc.
Not only was Mikheyev fantastic once again to lead the Blackhawks’ penalty kill against Carolina. He also turned defense into offense to score the game’s opening goal while his team was down a man.
Mikheyev effectively broke up a cross-ice pass in the defensive zone to create a 2-on-1 rush going the other direction, and he followed up on his own rebound for his ninth goal of the season. It was the 31-year-old’s first short-handed goal of the year, and the Blackhawks’ fourth as a team.
Later on in the game, Mikheyev added a secondary assist for his fifth multi-point effort of 2025-26. He was a menace in all situations on Thursday, and the Blackhawks likely wouldn’t have won the game without him.
3. Third Period Push — While the score was tied 2-2 through two periods, it felt like the Blackhawks were playing an unsustainable brand of hockey. Carolina was ahead 25-12 in shots on goal, 32-7 in scoring chances, and 11-2 in high-danger chances going into the second intermission.
But when the game mattered most, the young and scrappy Hawks found a way to flip the momentum and apply some pressure of their own in the third period. They did let another one-goal lead slip away, with Carolina answering just 42 seconds later to again tie the score at 3-3; however, they seemed to have sent a message to the opposing bench. It wasn’t about to be a walk in the park for the Canes down the stretch.
Ultimately, Chicago didn’t secure the victory in regulation, but their effort and determination to close out the period were impressive. Especially considering how the first two periods played out. The Blackhawks led 8-5 in shots on goal and were tied 7-7 with Carolina in scoring chances at even strength in the third.
4. Levshunov’s Lesser Role — Near the midway point of the game, Levshunov committed an unacceptable mistake, as he got caught pinching in the offensive zone and was burned in transition as a result. What was so intolerable was that Levshunov could clearly see his defensive partner, Wyatt Kaiser, already up in the play in the offensive zone. Still, he gambled on a 50-50 puck near the left board, which led to a 2-on-1 rush for the Hurricanes with Bedard as the lone defender back. Jordan Staal roofed a shot over Knight’s glove to tie the game 2-2.
That poor choice from Levshunov led to him being stapled to the bench for most of the finishing stretch. The 20-year-old received only four shifts during the third period and just one during overtime. For the game, he finished with 16:37 of ice time, his lowest since Dec. 7. It was also just the fourth time in his last 19 appearances that Levshunov had played fewer than 20 minutes.
5. Top Pairing Steps Up — With Levshunov in the proverbial dog house, head coach Jeff Blashill leaned heavily on his top defensive pairing of Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier in crunch time. It’s been a sturdy start to the New Year for the Vlasic-Crevier duo, and their strong play together continued in Carolina.
Crevier played a career-high 22:21 on Thursday, recording five hits and four blocked shots. He was exceptional while his team was shorthanded, using his long reach to break up rushes and get timely clears from his own end. He’s now played over 21 minutes in back-to-back games.
Vlasic had one of his best outings of the season at the Lenovo Center, leading the Blackhawks with 25:37 of ice time and making several exceptional plays to steer the puck out of harm’s way in the defensive zone. His only mistake of the night came early in the third period, when he committed a tripping penalty, sending the Hawks’ PK onto the ice for the fifth time. It was his first stick infraction in 2025-26.
Neither Crevier nor Vlasic was on the ice for any of the Hurricanes’ three goals in the game. In 133 minutes together so far in 2026, the pairing has only surrendered six goals at even strength.
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