Charlie Coyle recorded a hat trick, extending the NHL record of 31 in one month. Connor Bedard recorded 2 points in the loss

First Period:

Like the last game, the early portion of the contest was a feeling-out process. Zach Werenski opened up the game, making a great no-look feed to Kirill Marchenko. Marchenko looked for Adam Fantilli in the slot, but his stick broke on the attempt. On the other end, Ilya Mikheyev tried to jam one away, but Elvis Merzlinkis held firm. Later in the period, Sean Monahan’s shot slot attempt was cleared away by Knight. As the period transpired, Andre Burakovsky had not one but two great chances for Chicago. With under 5 minutes remaining in the period, Ryan Donato broke free but hit the post with his attempt. 

After Connor Murphy, who suited up in his 800th game, committed an infraction that would backfire. Charlie Coyle would put away the rebound of Zach Werenski to give Columbus the advantage. Less than 40 seconds later, however, the starboy himself, Connor Bedard, put home a rebound against a diving Elvis Merzlinkis. Chicago and Columbus couldn’t be separated after the first 20. 

Second Period: 

The period started off hot for Charlie Coyle. After Andre Burakovsky sent an absolute “pizza” up the ice, the Massachusetts native was able to get his second of the game past Spencer Knight. Miles Wood and Sean Monahan had great opportunities to give Columbus the lead, but nothing would beat the night. Nothing but Charlie Coyle, that is. About three minutes later, Coyler circled the net and fed Mathieu Olivier, who made no mistake with his chance of capitalizing. In desperate need of a goal, Chicago once again looked to its young superstars. 

Connor Bedard skated over the blue line with the puck, drawing defenseman Erik Gudbranson out of the slot. Frank Nazar skated straight through and made a nifty dangle off of Bedard’s feed to cut the deficit to just one. Chicago kept the pressure on, and Spencer Knight made some great saves on the other end to keep Chicago in it. The Blackhawks got on the power play with all the momentum, but the inability to score continued to haunt Chicago. Before the period concluded, both Louis Crevier and Tyler Bertuzzi had chances in front that didn’t go through. 

Story continues below.

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Third Period: 

Wyatt Kaiser is one of Chicago’s brightest young defenseman, and he quickly made his presence known with a great keep at the blue line. Frank Nazar would get a great shot out of the play by Kaiser. Frank Nazar’s line was humming all night long, continually getting extended zone time. Kent Johnson nearly iced the game for the Blue Jackets, but Spencer Knight once again saved the day. With just around 5 and a half minutes left, Chicago was able to get on the power play. Frank Nazar hit the post, followed up by Bertuzzi getting another chance.

Chicago’s last and best chance of the game came after a mad scramble. Connor Bedard got the puck out of the scrum. With a net as wide as the Grand Canyon. And airmailed his shot straight over the net. Charlie Coyle iced the game and got the hat-trick as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2.  

The Cowboy Round-Up and What’s On Tap

Do you remember when Chicago could score on the power play? I do, it feels like ages ago. For the tenth straight game, Chicago was shut out. And today, they didn’t even look that bad. Multiple great opportunities, tons of chances, decent entries. But nothing has been able to manifest on the box score. It almost feels like the team is cursed whenever they have a man advantage. 

In his return to the lineup, Sam Rinzel looked great. Much more confident than when he left the team on December 7th. Wyatt Kaiser continues to look like a revelation, making excellent neutral zone plays to create counters and continue pressure. With that good news, Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar combined for a goal, and Bedard put home one of his own as well. Much better effort and performance from the fellas in black despite the loss.

On tap for the Chicago Blackhawks is the first match-up between Connor Bedard and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini. Puck drop at 7:30 Central Time.