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Two Chicago Blackhawks players with the initials “C.B.” had opportunities to score their first NHL hat-tricks tonight, but only one of them did. It was Colin Blackwell. Surprised? So was pretty much everyone else. Behind that Colin Blackwell hat-trick and a two-goal performance from Connor Bedard, the Blackhawks topped the Coyotes for the second time in five days with a 7-4 win.
Arizona got off to a fast start against the Blackhawks tonight, a game in which Chicago was coming home from Washington D.C. the night before after a lackluster 4-1 loss to the Capitals. The Coyotes jumped on the Blackhawks first in the first period thanks to Clayton Keller, and then extended their lead 11 seconds into the second period with a second goal coming from Keller. All signs would have pointed to a Blackhawks loss with an early-second period 2-0 hole and Arvid Söderblom in net. But Chicago was able to quickly respond and do it in a big way in the second period.
Connor Bedard tallied two goals in the middle frame, with Blackwell and Tyler Johnson adding to the four-goal total in the period. The Coyotes were able to tie the game at 3-3 with a goal from Dylan Guenther after the C.B.’s worked to take the 3-2 lead, but it was Tyler Johnson’s poweprlay tally, setup by Bedard, that gave the Blackhawks the 4-3 lead going into the third period.
The action continued into the third period with Blackwell netting his second of the game and former Blackhawk Nick Schmaltz getting one back to make it a 5-4 game with just over 13 minutes to play in regulation. Arizona was pushing the pace in the third period, chasing the game’s tying goal, but quickly after cutting the lead to 5-4, Ryan Donato sniped a pretty goal for his eighth of the season to make it a 6-4 game. Connor Ingram was pulled late in the third period and Colin Blackwell found the empty net for his first career NHL hat-trick, sealing a 7-4 Blackhawks win.
Not to be lost in the shuffle is a four-assist night for Seth Jones, a career-high for him in a single game. He played 23:07 minutes, had the four assists and another five shots on goal in this game. Jones recorded two goals in the win against the Coyotes five days ago and joked that maybe they should play Arizona more often.
In the victory, Arvid Söderblom made 32 saves on 36 shots faced, earning his fourth win of the season. He has back-to-back wins over the Coyotes. The Blackhawks’ record moves to 17-43-5 with the win, good for 39 points in the standings and tied for last-place with the San Jose Sharks based on points, but the Sharks have played two fewer games.
When you talk about hockey for a living five times a week, not only are you absolutely living the dream, but you also can sometimes get caught up in stats, graphs and perceptions. We lose sight of the men wearing the jersey, and Colin Blackwell is a great example.
Since returning to the lineup on December 19th, the team has looked tangibly different. Maybe not so much in the win and loss column, but in the overall night to night efforts.
Sunday night’s hat trick aside, Blackwell clearly means more to this team than your average plug and play bottom six forward. He could have easily been traded at Friday’s trade deadline, but GM Kyle Davidson decided to keep him around, despite his unrestricted free agent status.
“He’s 100% pro all the time. He’s a good mentor for the younger guys,” Luke Richardson said after the win. “He looks after himself and he’s not afraid to tell the other guys to get in [the gym] with him. It’s determination from him. We can’t do anything but give him the opportunity and he’s made the most of it.”
If we’re handicapping which unrestricted free agents might be brought back next season, Blackwell might be at or near the top of the list.
The Blackhawks have something special in Connor Bedard. We’ve known that since they won the draft lottery last May. However, it is nice to be reminded of just how great he is going to be from time to time. Tonight was one of those games.
Less than 24 hours after putting up 16 shot attempts in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, Bedard had his fourth two-game of the season. Since returning from his 14-game absence, the rookie star has come back with new confidence.
Bedard showed his creativity by banking his first goal off the leg of a defender. Then, while on a 5v3 power play, he showed off his pure skill with this absolutely sick goal.
He wasn’t done, as later in the second period, he capped off his three-point night with a great assist on Tyler Johnson’s power-play tally. Bedard skated around the zone, drew the defense’s attention, and then found an open Johnson back to his left for his 14th goal of the season.
Bedard’s two goals give him a team-high 19 on the season. In addition to his three points, he had seven shots on goal on 13 attempts, giving him 29 shot attempts in his last two games. This kid is as good as advertised and is getting better with each passing game.
How does a team have their best period of a season when they allow two goals?
Well, they do it by getting 22 shots on goal in that 20-minute timeframe and score four goals.
The Blackhawks have gone full games without scoring four goals and getting 22 shots on goal. The fact that they allowed a goal 11 seconds into the second period today make it even more astonishing that they came back and took a 4-3 lead into the third period. Chicago out-shot Arizona 22-9, had an 18-5 scoring-chance advantage, and had a 9-2 high-danger chances advantage in the second period.
The effort from the middle-frame carried into the third period with an early goal from Colin Blackwell just 33 seconds into the period to give Chicago a 5-3 lead.
It has been a theme this season for this Blackhawks team that they usually cannot get out to a good start in games. But the effort in the second period tonight to recover from a slow start and 2-0 deficit to the Coyotes was a bright spot in what is likely to be a sad march to game No. 82 to close out the year. We’ll take it.
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