CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Edmonton Oilers in a late one on Wednesday night. With each team winning one of the first two matchups, this served as the rubber match.
Chicago returned home to host the Oilers following a road trip that saw them go 1-2-0 against 3 high-end Eastern Conference teams. The Oilers, much like the teams on the trip, have legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations this year.
Before the game started, a bat was flying around the United Center ice. After a little bit of time chasing the little guy around, he was finally caught by Lucas, the United Center bat-catcher. Hockey was then safe to be played.
There was no scoring in the first period of this game. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, however. The Blackhawks had 15 shots to the Oilers’ 12. Both Arvid Soderblom and Calvin Pickard stood tall for their teams in the net.
Some scoring did finally take place in the middle frame. Viktor Arvidsson scored to make it 1-0 Oilers at 8:51. Up to that point, the Hawks were playing well but one bad sequence put Edmonton ahead.
With 6 seconds left in the period, the Blackhawks found a goal. Lukas Reichel tipped a Teuvo Teravainen shot past Pickard to tie the game. The Blackhawks love playing high-event hockey in the final minutes of periods. This time, it worked out well for them.
Early in the third period (1:11), Edmonton’s other big forward acquisition from the summer rewarded them. Jeff Skinner took advantage of a nice play made by Leon Draisaitl to make it 2-1.
Draisaitl later scored a goal of his own to make it 3-1 at 8:18 of the third period. Jeff Skinner forced a Lukas Reichel turnover and Draisaitl scored almost immediately.
The Chicago Blackhawks aren’t a winning hockey team right now but they have shown resiliancy at times this season. This game was no exception. With under 8 to go in regulation, they were awarded a power play and got it done.
Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen made a nice play that set up a redirection goal for Ryan Donato. This power-play tally set up a very interesting finish as Chicago came within one.
At 16:16 of the third period, Alec Martinez tied it up. Ryan Donato made a brilliant pass to find Martinez after Connor Bedard and Landon Slaggert won a tough board battle. The game then required overtime.
In the overtime period, the Oilers were awarded a power play because the Hawks were caught with too many men on the ice.
Edmonton’s lethal man advantage didn’t let them down. Zach Hyman tapped in a beautiful Connor McDavid pass for the win. Chicago’s ferocious comeback came up just short.
The Blackhawks played this elite Oilers team well all year but fell to 1-1-1 against them. Playing well against good teams is a start but it needs to start yielding results.
Next up for Chicago is a date with a team a little bit closer to them in the standings. They will have some Friday night hockey against the Nashville Predators at United Center.
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