NHL Game Recap: Blackhawks Lose 3-2, Smith Scores 1st Two Goals To Hold Off Chicago

The Blackhawks headed to San Jose after an incredible 5-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, October 28th. Unfortunately, Chicago took a 3-2 loss. However, it was a close game in which both teams played well. Both Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Hawks, and Will Smith scored his first two NHL goals, Alex Wennberg also scored for the Sharks, to hold off the Blackhawks for their third straight win after a 7-3 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights on October 26th. On Saturday, the Blackhawks continue their road trip and head to Los Angeles to take on the Kings… they finish their road trip on Sunday, November 3rd, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Chicago Blackhawks Lineup:

Kurashev – Bedard – Teravainen

Hall – Foligno – Bertuzzi

Mikheyev – Dickinson – Donato

Maroon – Reichel – Smith

Kaiser – Jones

Vlasic – Murphy

Allan – Brodie

Mrazek

Soderblom

San Jose Sharks Lineup:

Eklund – Granlund – Toffoli

Gushchin – Wennberg – Zetterlund

Goodrow – Smith – Kunin

Grandstrom – Sturm – Cardwell

Walman – Ceci

Ferraro – Rutta

Thrun – Thompson

Blackwood

Vanecek

At 13:08 of the first period, Will Smith struck his first NHL goal to give San Jose a 1-0 lead. Cody Ceci had the puck along the right boards, getting it to Luke Kunin, who sent it to Smith from the wing. Smith fired a shot over Petr Mrazek’s blocker to grab his first NHL goal. The Hawks responded quickly – just 37 seconds later, Ryan Donato tied it 1-1 after Connor Murphy came down and pinched, Donato supporting at the right point before going back to his spot where the pass hit his stick first before he scored blocker-side on Mackenzie Blackwood from the slot at 12:31 of the opening frame… Less than a minute later, Tyler Bertuzzi put Chicago in the lead 2-1 when he won a net-front battle to tap in a rebound of a shot from Murphy, who shot from the point.

Alex Wennberg tied it 2-2 early into the second at 18:30 when he tucked a loose puck under Petr Mrazek after Fabian Zetterlund attempted to crash the net, the puck going out to Cody Ceci, who sent it back over to Zetterlund, and Wennberg tied the game. With 9:18 on the clock, Will Smith strikes again for his second NHL goal on a bar-down shot from the slot on the power play over Mrazek’s blocker for a 3-2 Sharks victory.

Seth Jones on the third period and the game overall: “We played well in the third. We had a lot of pucks to the net, a lot of o-zone movement, and just couldn’t find the back of the net… Very frustrating, very disappointing,” – “I thought the first period was good, and then the second period, we started turning pucks over, the same old story. We give them life, we give them opportunities after the rush from our turnovers. That’s not the recipe to success that this team needs. 10-15 minutes of bad hockey is good enough for us to lose at this point – It’s a winnable game for us. We think we’re a better hockey team, but we have to go out and show it every night.”

Ryan Donato on the loss, frustration, and his goal: “You’re disappointed in yourselves, it’s a hard loss. I think we had a lot of chances that we could of scored on, obviously, but it’s not good enough to just create. We’ve been saying in the locker room that we’re not going to take moral victories, and getting chances. It’s just not good enough,” – “Just praying a lot. I worked hard in the summer, and it’s hard to look at it after a hard loss like that, but I pray a lot… I try to show up, do the right things, and work hard. My faith has carried me a long way, and that’s what I always go back to.”

Game Notes:

– In his last three games, Ryan Donato has four goals… Connor Murphy recorded two assists.

– Petr Mrazek made a total of 26 saves for Chicago.

– With both Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi’s goals – this is the second game straight in which the Blackhawks scored two goals in under a minute (0:39 on October 28th).

– Will Smith, who’s 19 years old, has become the youngest U.S.-born skater to score a goal with the San Jose Sharks… Previously holding the distinction, Matt Nieto, who was 20 years old (October 8th, 2013).

– Jake Walman recorded an assist for his seventh point in the past three games (one goal, six assists).

– Mackenzie Blackwood made a total of 29 saves for San Jose.

– For the first time since being placed on injured reserve – Macklin Celebrini has returned to team activities. He has missed the last 11 games due to sustaining a lower-body injury.

– Timothy Liljegren, acquired in the trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, is expected to practice with the San Jose Sharks on Friday.