Blackhawks Lose Matt Grzelcyk To Injury, Defeated By Predators In Overtime

The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Nashville Predators in matinee hockey at the United Center on Saturday. The Blackhawks came into this game looking to rebound from a bad loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

The Predators entered Sunday above the playoff line. The Blackhawks had a chance to play spoiler for one of their top Central Division rivals.

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The Blackhawks played an okay first period, but there was no scoring for either side. The big story from the opening frame is Matt Grzelcyk’s injury, which took him out of the game.

Nick Lardis got the Hawks on the board in the second with his 6th goal of the season. He was allowed to start a game in the top six, and he rewarded the coaches for it.

Just over two minutes of game clock later, Nashville tied the game. Filip Forsberg scored his 31st to even things up for his team.

The Blackhawks did reach the second intermission with a lead, as Connor Bedard scored his 29th of the season to put them up 2-1. He found himself on a breakaway, and he made a beautiful move to beat Juuse Saros.

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In the third period, Steven Stamkos tied things up again. Once again, the Blackhawks had a chance to put a game against a good team away, but they weren’t able to hang on to a late lead. Overtime was required with a 2-2 tie.

In the extra frame, Filip Forsberg took advantage of Andre Burakovsky behind the Blackhawks’ net. Once Forsberg stole the puck, he made a nice play to beat Spencer Knight and won it in overtime with his second of the game.

After the game was over, Jeff Blashill confirmed that Matt Grzelcyk would miss the four-game road trip on the East Coast. He said that it is TBD beyond that.

March has mostly been good to the young Blackhawks, but finishing off some of these potential wins has been an issue all season. There will be emphasis on fixing this as they head into the 2026-27 season.

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