Chicago Blackhawks, without Connor Bedard, lose to the Edmonton Oilers. Evan Bouchard recorded two goals in the Oilers victory.

First Period:

The game started for the Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks (this time with the flu) with two excellent chances out in front of Connor Ingram. Edmonton retaliated with their own flurry of shots, including a great shot by Evan Bouchard that couldn’t get past Spencer Knight.

Vasily Podkolzin kept the pressure on the Blackhawks with an excellent one-timer chance that couldn’t be converted. Matthew Savoie kept Chicago on their heels, sending a pass to Hyman on an attempt that missed the mark. As the pressure kept piling, shots were getting closer to lighting the lamp.

 After Connor McDavid found Mattias Ekholm, Spencer Knight made another incredible save. With a board battle in the corner, both defensemen were drawn away from the net. The puck came loose onto the stick of a streaking Kasperi Kapanen, who Spencer Knight rejected. 

However, it was a matter of time before the floodgates would break. Connor McDavid dropped the puck to Evan Bouchard, who drove the near side circle. On the backside, Zach Hyman parked himself in the crease and scored one of the easier goals of his career to make it 1-0 Edmonton.

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Chicago would get one more chance from Ilya Mikheyev, creating a smooth deke and finding Connor Murphy, who couldn’t finish. The Chicago Blackhawks were in a hole for one goal heading into the second period.

Second Period: 

The second period started off with a bang for the Oilers. Evan Bouchard collected Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ rebound and settled behind the line. There, he found a gap and banked the puck off the back of Spencer Knight just 16 seconds in. Andre Burakovsky had a great chance to cut the deficit after a turnover, but his attempt was saved by Connor Ingram. Later, Spencer Knight had a WILD sequence, with six players in the crease and the puck still loose, Knight kept the goalline clean before the whistle blew. 

Connor Ingram responded with his own clutch saves on the Chicago Blackhawks’ power play. This included a showstopper save on Ryan Greene right in front of the crease. The ensuing Edmonton counterattack resulted in one of the funniest moments of the Blackhawks’ season.

Coming off the end of a long shift, Artyom Levhsnuov had to captain the Chicago power play. After the Oilers kept Chicago hemmed in their own zone on not one, but two zone entries. By the time the whistle was blown for a “Too Many Men” call, Levshunov had been on the ice for 5:33 seconds. The NHL record is currently 6:04. Edmonton now holds on to a 2-goal advantage heading to the final frame. 

Third Period: 

Connor Ingram continued to haunt the Blackhawks well into the third. After a miscue, Nick Lardis caused a turnover and created over 45 seconds of nonstop attack by the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, for Chicago, nothing was given away by Edmonoton’s lights-out goaltender. Down the other end, Spencer Knight was doing an equally remarkable job netminding the Blackhawks’ crease. This included a world-class save against the best player in Hockey, Connor McDavid, on the breakaway. 

Chicago was finally able to break through the Oilers’ defense. Wyatt Kaiser’s slot shot was turned aside by Ingram in another amazing save. However, the puck landed on the stick of one of the hottest players in the league, currently in Tyler Bertuzzi.

The BertBoard put home his 24th of the year to breathe life into the United Center crowd.

The Hawks fans in the building were ready for another miracle comeback after the Bears game this past Saturday. Luck was all out, though. Despite great efforts, Evan Bouchard’s empty-netter, his second of the game, and Leon Draisaitl’s garbage-time goal ended the game.

The final score was 4-1 in favor of the visiting Edmonton Oilers. 

The Cowboy Round-Up and What’s On Tap

Illness. How I feel when I  watch a game without Connor Bedard, and probably what poor Connor is feeling right now. The Chicago Virus took the 20-year-old out of Monday’s game under an hour before puck drop. To make matters worse, Teuvo Teravainen, one of the few Chicago Blackhawks represented at the Olympics, went off with an injury between the first and second frames. Two very funny Blackhawks moments happened tonight, though. One was Artyom Levshnov’s minute shift, the other was the stoppage in play when the puck went up Andre Burakovsky’s pants. You take what you can get. 

On Tap for Chicago is the Calgray Flames on Thursday, who travel on down to 1901 W Madison, the home ice of your Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop will be at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.