The Blackhawks rallied from a 3-1 deficit to force overtime but could not pick up the victory, losing 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the United Center.
About five minutes into the first period, Chicago went ahead 1-0 on the first NHL goal of Anton Frondell’s career:
GOAL: Anton Frondell scores his first NHL goal on Connor Hellebuyck. pic.twitter.com/0aaHJcgbka
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) April 1, 2026
That lead remained until early in the second period, when Josh Morrissey was given easy access to the front of the Chicago net and he took advantage to tie the game at one:
DIY: Josh Morrissey edition 🥵🥵🥵 pic.twitter.com/HDKJWKyE5v
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 1, 2026
Near the middle of the period, a failed odd-man rush from the Hawks while shorthanded led to a 2-on-1 the other way, resulting in a Cole Perfetti goal:
OH THAT’S SO PER-FETTI 😍 pic.twitter.com/2ywgVPw5KX
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 1, 2026
Just 38 seconds later, Isak Rosen made it a 3-1 Winnipeg lead:
ZHILKS ▶️ ROSEY 🚨
Danny Zhilkin with his first @NHL point! pic.twitter.com/QN6Hoz8GWL
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) April 1, 2026
Tyler Bertuzzi scored about 90 seconds later with this spinning backhander to halt the Jets’ streak of goals:
Bert WHAT⁉️
Tyler Bertuzzi scores his 30th goal of the season, tying a career-high❤️ pic.twitter.com/EjJNCoY6op
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 1, 2026
After Chicago failed to tie the game during a 5-on-3 (more on that in a bit), Bertuzzi tied the game just before the midpoint of the third by stuffing home this centering pass that came from behind the net off the stick of Ilya Mikheyev:
Tyler Bertuzzi scores his 2nd of the game and 31st goal of the season, which is a new career-high. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/VPxqkTA875
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) April 1, 2026
In overtime, Kyle Connor scored 33 seconds in to give Winnipeg two much-needed points in its playoff chase:
KC in OT!! ✈️
The @NHLJets win it in @Energizer overtime, and are now one point back from a #StanleyCup Playoffs spot! pic.twitter.com/UgAcVT4Eu7
— NHL (@NHL) April 1, 2026
Notes
Should we take another look at that Frondell goal? Of course we should!
Anton Frondell scores his first NHL goal! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/nLCB30Su1a
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2026
There will be time for deeper dives on Frondell’s debut when this season ends and there’s a little bit more tape to digest. But suffice it to say that the 2025 No. 3 overall pick has afforded himself quite well in several aspects of the game through these initial five outings, and the point-per-game pace he’s currently on (1 G, 4 A) is very well deserved.
Anton Frondell on playing at the United Center for the first time:
“[It was] incredible. Back on the road trip, when we played in Madison Square Garden and different arenas, I thought, ‘Oh shit, this is pretty good.’ But they said, ‘Wait til you get back at home.’
“I know what…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 1, 2026
We can also point out that Frondell’s responsible for covering the player who scored the winner in OT without condemning him too harshly for it. Just don’t make it a habit, kid.
Would not have expected Frondell’s positioning between to Bertuzzi and Mikheyev to make for Chicago’s best line in this game but it absolutely did. That trio had all three of the Hawks goals while generating an expected goal share of about 81 percent in 11:58 of 5-on-5 ice time together. We’ll take that.
On the other end of things: giving Nick Lardis some run with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene seemed like a solid plan on paper, but the results haven’t quite lived up to that so far. Another slower night for that group, which generated just two shots on goal in 10:58 at 5-on-5.
Speaking of high draft picks, the play below was a personal favorite of Kevin Korchinski’s from this game, as he attacks the puck carrier at his own blue line, which halts a developing 3-on-2 and leads to an excellent Ryan Greene chance at the other end of the ice.
— Dave Melton (@davemelton.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Korchinski seemed to make a good amount of smart, solid plays like that all evening — which is absolutely a good thing. But we still haven’t seen him make plays at the other end of the rink, and it is that dynamic offensive potential which made him a No. 7 overall pick. Here’s hoping we get some glimpses of that before the season ends, because it’d go a looooooooong way towards restoring faith in Korchinski’s long-term standing here.
His line was quieter overall, but Frank Nazar continues to pop off the screen in ways that’ll offer more optimism his slumps from the winter were injury-related and will be a thing of the past come next season.
Hated everything about what the Blackhawks did during the 5-on-3 in the third period. Too much standing around, too much passing, too much looking for a one-timer and not enough player movement. Watch below to see how the Hawks scored a crucial 5-on-3 goal against New Jersey on Sunday:
FRANK NAZAR’S ✌️ OF THE NIGHT!!!
A slick fake shot from Anton Frondell helps start the play! pic.twitter.com/rAhemm1VGf
— NHL (@NHL) March 30, 2026
Yeah, it’s a one-timer, but it came after a lengthy period of sustained possession that featured a bunch of chances which already had the Devils reeling, and then Bedard skates into the low slot, drawing all of the D’s attention, before a slick pass to Nazar for an easy goal. Hopefully the next 5-on-3 looks lmore like that than what transpired in this game.
The inconsistency of this team will drive anyone to drink The first period? Advantages all over the place: 19-14 in shot attempts, 9-6 in shots on goal, 7-4 in scoring chances and 3-0 in high-danger chances during a full 20 of 5-on-5 play, all for a 78.69 percent share of expected goals. The second? Down TWENTY-SEVEN TO FOUR in shot attempts, FOURTEEN TO TWO in shots on goal, SEVENTEEN TO THREE in scoring chances and nine to one in high-danger chances. That’s how a 1-0 lead becomes a 3-2 deficit. The Hawks did recover for better ends of the possession stats in the third period, but Winnipeg’s dominance in the middle frame was such that it ended up in the positive side of all major categories during 5-on-5 play: 45-37 in shot attempts, 22-19 in shots on goal, 25-16 in scoring chances and 9-6 in high-danger chances, all for a 55.09 percent share of expected goals.
Road games have been awfully unpleasant with this side lately. Good time to buck that trend with the final three matchups away from the UC coming up in the next week.
Game Charts
Three Stars
Tyler Bertuzzi (CHI) — 2 goals
Kyle Connor (WPG) — GWG, 1 assist
Anton Frondell (CHI) — First career NHL goal
What’s Next
Chicago heads west for their final three road games of the season, starting on Thursday night against the Oilers at 8 p.m.