Patrick Kane tallied four points and Robin Lehner made 36 saves, but the Blackhawks leave Winnipeg with another significant injury.
The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at Bell MTS Place on Thursday night. Kane recorded a goal and three assists, and Lehner stood on his head in net to earn the victory. The Blackhawks are now 7-1-0 in the back-end of back-to-back games this season.
RECAP
It didn’t take long for the Blackhawks to get on the board, as Alex Nylander struck just 59 seconds into the game to make it 1-0. Kane jumped on a loose puck in the Winnipeg zone and made a nifty saucer pass over to Nylander for his fifth goal of the year.
The Blackhawks were impressive out of the gate but faded as the period went on. Lehner was called upon often in the final ten minutes of the opening frame, but as usual, he was up to the task.
2ND PERIOD
The middle frame was a little more difficult for Lehner, as the Hawks were outshot 14-3 in the period. The 28-year-old netminder handled the pressure well, shutting down the Jets on every scoring chance he faced.
During a Blackhawks powerplay near the mid-point of the period, Brandon Saad was hit by Jets’ defenseman Luca Sbisa and fell to the ice awkwardly. Saad’s right leg folded under him, and he was unable to leave the ice under his own power. Coach Jeremy Colliton told reporters during his post-game interview that Saad will be out for a couple of weeks with a right ankle injury.
“It’s a tough one,” Lehner said. “We’ve had some injuries this year, for sure. [Saad] is tough. He’s such a big part of our team. Probably our hardest worker on a nightly basis, and he brings a lot of momentum to our game. Hopefully, it’s as quick as can be.”
3RD PERIOD
The final 20 minutes got off to a similar start as the opening 20. Less than a minute into the period, the Blackhawks doubled their lead as Kane forced a turnover to set up Dominik Kubalik for his ninth goal of the season. With the goal, Kubalik has four points in his last seven games.
The Jets wouldn’t go down without a fight though, finally finding a way to beat Lehner at 5:09 with a one-timer from defenseman Tucker Poolman. Winnipeg generated some pressure off a cycle in the Hawks zone, and Poolman found a soft spot between Nylander and Alex DeBrincat to make it 2-1.
Instead of the Blackhawks playing on their heels like usual after surrendering a goal, they surprisingly made a strong push back offensively.
Winnipeg was caught with too many men on the ice halfway through the period, and Erik Gustafsson cashed in for his first powerplay goal of the season to make it 3-1 Blackhawks. Once again, Kane picked up the primary assist on the goal for his third point of the game.
The 2016 Hart Trophy winner wasn’t done yet though, as Kane added to an already impressive night with his 19th goal of the season to put the game away. Nylander made a strong backcheck on Jets’ forward Patrik Laine to create the opportunity for the Blackhawks and pick up his second point of the night.
The Blackhawks rode out the final minutes of the contest to pick up their 14th win of the season. If not for Saad’s injury, this arguably was the Hawks’ best performance of the season.
“Best third period with a lead so far this year,” said Lehner after the game.
UP NEXT
The Blackhawks get Friday to recover after back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, but they’ll need to be ready to go on Saturday in Denver against a phenomenal Avalanche team, as they know all too well. The Avs currently boast a 22-10-3 record and are in second place in the Western Conference. Not to mention a 3-0-0 record against the Blackhawks this season. The game is slated for 8:00 p.m. CT and is scheduled to be on ESPN+, ALT, and NBCSCH+.
For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author (@JackBushman2) on Twitter. Make sure to check out the author’s podcast, Talkin’ Hawkey, which can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Twitter (@TalkinHawkey).
