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Blackhawks Hold On For 2-1 Win Over Kings, End Homestand On High Note
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- Blackhawks Hold On For 2-1 Win Over Kings, End Homestand On High Note
CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks had one final home game at the United Center to close out a seven-game homestand. This time, they welcomed the Los Angeles Kings, who played one night prior - a win at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
The Blackhawks lost two straight games heading into this one against the Kings, but they came in with fresher legs, hoping to finally break out of the slump. The Kings are close to the Blackhawks in the standings, which is a change from the recent run of Stanley Cup contenders on the opposite bench, but every team in the NHL presents a challenge.
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The game started extremely poorly for the Chicago Blackhawks. Not only did they give up the first goal of the game, but there was also a long sequence to open the game where they were simply buried in their own end. Breaking pucks out of their own end has been a serious problem for them all season, and it was on full display in the first half of the opening frame.
About halfway through, something changed for them. They started forechecking strongly, creating turnovers in their own end when the Kings tried to break out, and actually looked like a hockey team with the ability to generate chances.
Chicago did not score a goal and was down 1-0 going into the first intermission, but the way the period ended made you believe that they were going to have a much better effort for the rest of the game.
In the second period, the Blackhawks looked much better overall. The play was much more even from start to finish, but the important part for them was the fact that they tied the game. After a power play that had some good looks ended, they drew another one quickly, and got it done this time.
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Roman Kantserov took a nice centering feed from Connor Bedard and tied the game. This was Chicago's first power-play goal in a while, a marker they definitely needed. In this league, you have to score power-play goals to be successful, and it allowed them to tie it here. The 1-1 tie held through the second intermission.
To begin the 3rd, the Blackhawks had to kill off a carry-over penalty from the end of the second period, and they did so with style. The PK as a whole is starting to round into form.
At 7:17 of the final frame, Patrick Kane made a pass to Frank Nazar, who made a nifty move to slide one to Wyatt Kaiser, who scored his first goal of the season. This goal that gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead fired up Kaiser, as they team entered the final stages of the game with a chance to win.
The 2-1 score held as the final for the Blackhawks, who improve their record to 4-8-0. Their 7-game homestand ends on a high note as they are going to hit the road for the first time in a long time.
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Spencer Knight made the start for Chicago, his 7th in a row, and 10th out of 12 games. To say he was excellent in this one would be an understatement. He made 25 saves on 26 shots, including some high-danger chances in the first period while the Blackhawks were trapped in their own zone. If he doesn't hold it down during that time, there is no way they win this game.
The Blackhawks preach a lot about the process. Well, if their process from this game continues, they will start to win a lot more. The first five minutes were ugly, and they rebounded to find their legs, and skate out of town with two points.
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What's Next For The Blackhawks?
The Chicago Blackhawks will now hit the road. They will make their way to Michigan for their one visit to Little Caesars Arena, where they will take on the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. On Saturday, it will be a matinee game against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
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