Despite needing extra time, the Chicago Blackhawks got the job done against the Utah Hockey Club Friday night. Bolstered on Spencer Knight’s second win in as many games as a Blackhawk, Connor Bedard recorded his first points in a month, and Blackhawks’ youth led the charge.
SPENCER KNIGHT MAKES 36 SAVES IN WIN
The “dawg” that is Knight (as said by Bedard) has a 2-0-0 record, a .950 save percentage, and only a 1.93 goals against average.
In his first appearance, the Blackhawks backcheck did no favors for Knight, but he stood on his head nonetheless.
Regardless of the three goals allowed against Utah, Knight only allowed one goal on 22 shots through the first two periods.
If it weren’t for the anomaly of a one-timer from Clayton Keller, Utah wouldn’t have sent it to overtime.
It was iterated multiple times on the Utah broadcast that without Knight, the Hawks weren’t in the game as closely as they were.
It’s been hard to watch Knight in net and find something to critique in his last two starts.
Besides the lane being taken away from him on the game’s first and second goals, Knight’s positioning was top-notch.
History tends to repeat itself, and as in his first win, Knight showed great poise.
Utah had multiple hard rushes to the net, and when the puck was loose in front of him, or being shoved into his crease, Knight stayed with it.
BEDSY SHEDS THE MONKEYS
Most players struggle to break free from one streak, but few break free from two in the same game.
Bedard hadn’t recorded a point since February, before the league’s Four Nations Faceoff break.
Besides lines being the same as they were on Wednesday, and Bedard scheduled to shift with Colton Dach and Frank Nazar, there was quite a few times Bedard had been on the ice with Ryan Donato or Ilya Mikeheyev.
His connection to the roster and his playmaking ability facilitated the removal of the assist monkey in the second period.
Tracing his rebound into the corner, quick peeking to find a trailing Wyatt Kaiser and setting Kaiser up. Kaiser was able to snap it past Karel Vejmelka, grabbing Bedard’s 50th point on the season.
Skating in on Vejmelka’s stick side, circling behind to the glove side, and then sliding into the slot allowed Bedard to snap the winner home.
Bedard was one of the game’s youth-producing players.
YOUTH SHINES BRIGHT
Bedard, Nazar, and Kaiser were the responsible for each of the Blackhawks’ goals Friday.
Nazar’s penalty shot in the second period to put the Blackhawks up by one, helped break the lul of production up and down the roster.
Nazar’s Patrick Kane-esque forehand to backhand move slid Vejmelka out of position, giving Nazar a wide-open net.
Kaiser’s capitalization on Bedard’s pass to him deserves some light shining on it as well.
Finding a slot in the middle of a veteran D corps, like what Utah has, isn’t easy, especially for a defenseman.
Colton Dach deserves his flowers for being all over the ice and keeping plays alive while recording two shots.
Louis Crevier and Ethan Del Mastro were instrumental in keeping Utah’s offense at bay, despite very good opportunities.
Lukas Reichel and Landon Slaggert were on the offensive train as well, with a shot apiece each.
Game two of the Blackhawks’ back-to-back proved to be more tricky after Nashville was active at the Trade Deadline.
(ALL PHOTOS VIA: NHL.COM)
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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