Blackhawks Postgame
Donato & Mikheyev Record Four Points, Lift Blackhawks To 6-3 Win Over Sharks
Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks (22-25-9) emerged victorious in the first of three battles against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks (27-23-4) this season. Bedard recorded a goal for the third consecutive game as the Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 6-3 at the United Center on Monday.
While all the attention was on Bedard and Celebrini heading into the matchup, and rightfully so, it was Chicago’s third line of Ryan Donato, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev who ended up stealing the show. Both Donato and Mikheyev tallied four points in the win, while Dickinson added two assists. Donato, who played with the Sharks in the 2020-21 season, scored twice and had two helpers, while Mikheyev had one goal and three assists. It was Mikheyev’s second career four-point performance — both have come against San Jose.
“Mikheyev just continues to be a really good player for us, night in and night out,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “He just competes so hard. There’s a simple kind of greatness to him. It’s not necessarily flashy-ish. He really works, wins puck battles, defends hard, and gets the puck on his stick because of it. It’s a good lesson for everybody in our room.”
Ever since a seven-goal outburst against the division-rival St. Louis Blues back on Jan. 7, the Blackhawks’ offense has struggled mightily to get enough run support to win games. They failed to score more than three goals in a single game in each of their final 12 appearances in January, with eight of those on home ice. But in their last game at the United Center before the Olympic break, the offense finally exploded, snapping the five-game losing streak in the process. It’s likely not a coincidence that it occurred on the same night that the power play finally ended its recent drought.
Entering Monday, the Blackhawks had failed to convert on their previous 26 power-play chances, with their last goal coming on Jan. 10 in a 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators. It’s been an abysmal stretch for the man advantage, but they finally broke through with a goal from Bedard to open the scoring in the first period. Bedard buried a one-timer off a feed from Teuvo Teravainen for his 23rd tally of the season, and the offense never looked back.
“Nice to be able to score, and when guys score, they feel better about themselves,” Blashill said. It gives guys confidence, and confidence matters a ton in every league, but certainly this league. Hopefully, we can carry that forward a little bit.”
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 6-3 win over the Sharks, moving their record to 22-25-9 through 56 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
For the first time in over three weeks, the Blackhawks scored a power-play goal, ending a 0-for-26 drought, to grab a 1-0 lead at 7:00. Teravainen found Bedard at the left circle for a one-timer, netting his 23rd goal of the season and third in as many games. Bedard also extended his point streak to four games.
Despite there being four power-play opportunities in the period, with the Blackhawks receiving three, the two teams combined for only five shots on goal. Chicago took a 1-0 lead into the intermission and led 4-1 in shots after a rather uneventful start for both sides.
SECOND PERIOD
The second period was the exact opposite of the first, with the Blackhawks and Sharks combining for six goals and trading chances left and right.
Connor Murphy continued his red-hot goal streak to extend the Blackhawks lead to 2-0 at 2:14, scoring for the fourth time in his past 14 games. Jason Dickinson provided a terrific screen in front to take away Yaroslav Askarov’s vision.
After adding the secondary assist on Murphy’s goal, Donato recorded his second point of the period with a dazzling goal of his own, extending the lead to 3-0. Donato walked right around Sharks’ defenseman Vincent Desharnais and went top shelf over Askarov’s glove for his 12th goal of the season at 9:35.
Just 61 seconds later, the Blackhawks struck for a fourth time, effectively ending Askarov’s night. Sam Rinzel got lost in coverage and hammered a feed from Mikheyev for his 2nd NHL goal at 10:36. Alex Nedeljkovic entered the game for Askarov after he allowed four goals on 10 shots faced.
San Jose finally got on the board at 12:05, as Celebrini circled Chicago’s net and found Will Smith at the far post to cut the deficit to 4-1. Smith has now recorded a point in five consecutive games. He has three goals in two career outings at the United Center.
But just 36 seconds after Smith’s goal, the Blackhawks responded to regain their four-goal advantage. After. Donato won a board battle down low, Dickinson found Mikheyev backdoor for an easy tap-in, extending the lead to 5-1 at 12:41. It’s Mikheyev’s 11th goal of the season and his third point of the period. Donato also tallied his third point of the period with the secondary assist.
Before going into the intermission, Celebrini added his second point of the stanza, cutting the Blackhawks’ lead to 5-2 at 15:11 with his 28th goal of the season. Celebrini received a pass from Tyler Toffoli in the high slot and rifled a shot over Knight’s glove. The puck absolutely jumped off his stick.
The Blackhawks held onto their 5-2 lead going into the second intermission, where the two teams were tied 13-13 in shots on goal. San Jose had a slight 15-10 edge in scoring chances through 40 minutes, but the Blackhawks did a better job of converting on their opportunities.
THIRD PERIOD
The Sharks added a key goal for their comeback hopes in the opening minutes of the third period. Shakir Mukhamadullin got lost in coverage and lifted a backhanded shot into the top corner at 2:13, cutting Chicago’s lead to 5-3. Philipp Kurashev, in his return to the United Center, picked up the primary assist. Because of course.
With the Sharks having a late surge while trailing by a pair, the Blackhawks were hemmed into their own end and didn’t have anything going offensively. But on their first shot of the period, Donato added a huge insurance tally to ice the game.
After Nedeljkovic stopped Mikheyev on a drive to the net, Donato whacked home the rebound for his second goal of the game and 13th of the season at 14:41, extending the Blackhawks lead to 6-3. Both Donato and Mikheyev recorded their fourth points of the night.
The final horn sounded at the United Center, sending the Blackhawks to an emphatic victory in their lone home game in February. Next time they return to play in Chicago won’t be until Mar. 6, which is 32 days from now.
The Blackhawks play their final game before the Olympic break on Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It’s the second meeting in five days between the two teams.
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.
Follow us on X:
