Connor Bedard’s hat trick powered the Blackhawks to a 5–2 win over the Flames, extending Chicago’s hot 6-2-2 stretch.
Connor Bedard scored his second NHL hat trick in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Chicago is now 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, and Bedard has 10 goals and 21 points in his last 10 games. This has been the most exciting time to be a Hawks fan since, maybe, 2016.
Box Score: Blackhawks 5 – Flames 2
FlamesGame StatsBlackhawks21Shots on Goal2355.9% FO%44.1%25% (1/4)PP%0% (0/4)62Penalty Minutes6043Hits1315Blocked Shots119Giveaways192Takeaways5
Bedard’s Hat Trick
The story of the night is Connor Bedard’s dominance on the ice. Bedard’s first goal was the result of an excellent flip pass by Sam Rinzel (who had given the puck away moments before). Bedard’s second goal was a textbook example of his wicked toe-drag-release. And that final goal, even though it was an empty net goal, was the result of an excellent takeaway followed by launching the puck from the defensive zone. Bedard had another night of high-volume shot attempts (eight shot attempts, six shots on goal) and gave the Blackhawks high-quality scoring chances when he was on the ice (69.47% expected goals share at 5-on-5).
Blackhawks Performance
The Blackhawks as a whole played a solid game. For the first time in a while, they finished just north of 50% in expected goals (50.35%) and had the better puck possession metrics through the first two periods (62.96% Corsi in the first, 50% in the second). They weren’t perfect; the Flames’ game-tying goal in the third was due to poor defensive coverage and miscommunication.
Story continues below.
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Game Notes
Ryan Greene deserves a mention here, as I thought he played a solid game (despite his mistake in the above goal against). Greene had a notably strong last shift towards the end of the game and finished with a 62.03 xG%. I can see Greene being a solid third liner. His pass to Bedard for the second goal was impressive.
Oliver Moore scored his second NHL goal after turning on the burners from the defensive zone (more on this in a second). Moore certainly looks fast, and he’s scoring, but I’ve noticed moments of hesitation or poor reads during offensive zone entries.
The way Moore scored from the defensive zone is why this team plays a man-on-man defense. Forwards are high, and as soon as Moore touched the puck, all three forwards jumped like the ice electrocuted them. There’s still a lot of work to be done in ensuring assignments aren’t confused, but I’m buying Jeff Blashill’s system.
Frank Nazar got an assist and had decent numbers (58.07% Corsi), but he’s been noticeably less himself recently. Is it anything to worry about? No. He’s probably nursing an injury (Nazar was injured on Nov. 7 against the Flames).
My notebook is full of observations—both good and bad—but let’s savor another Hawks win. This has been an excellent start to the season, and oh, hey, would you look at that? Arvid Soderblom had a .905 SV%.
Let’s Go Hawks.