CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks returned home for the second half of a back-to-back on Friday night. Chicago hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets with a chance to quickly move past their bad loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins one night prior.
The first period looked like it was going to be scoreless as both goalies (especially Spencer Knight) were brilliant. In the final minute of the opening frame, however, the two teams exchanged goals.
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Charlie Coyle scored a power play goal at 19:13 to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. With less than three seconds remaining, Connor Bedard tied it up at 1. That 1-1 score held through the first intermission.
In the second period, Columbus dominated the first half. They scored two goals (Charlie Coyle again and Mathieu Olivier) and outshot Chicago 7-0 to begin the middle frame.
The second half of the period is where the Blackhawks took over. They ended up getting the second period shot counter to 9-8, and one of their shots went in via Frank Nazar. Nazar desperately needed a goal, and Connor Bedard set him up for a great chance that he didn’t miss.
This 3-2 score went to the second intermission. In a game where the Blackhawks were being mostly outplayed, they were within one with one period to go.
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In the third period, the Blackhawks were the better team, but the only goal was Charlie Coyle’s hat-trick marker into an empty net. Both goalies were strong in the final frame, which favored the Blue Jackets because they came in with a lead and skated away with a 4-2 victory.
Once again, the power play was held off the board for Chicago. They are currently in a 0-26 drought as a unit after going 0/2 on Friday. One of their power plays came with under 6 minutes to go and down a goal, but they were unable get one to tie the game. It’s getting to a back-breaking point of no production.
Before the game, the Blackhawks called up Sam Rinzel from AHL Rockford. Artyom Levshunov is going to take a seat for a while, so Rinzel’s chance to prove he deserves to stay is staring him in the face.
Blackhawks Have A Plan In Place For Artyom Levshunov’s Development
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It was a good start for Rinzel as he played a clean, safe, mistake-free game. He led all Blackhaws defensemen in time on ice with 22:18, earning ice time in all situations.
Chicago, as mentioned before, can make a claim that they were the better team in the second half of the game, but that isn’t good enough when they can’t find the tying and winning goal. It will take a full 60-minute effort to get back in the win column.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night. Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks will be at the United Center for a battle of two young and exciting squads.
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