The Chicago Blackhawks’ winning streak came to a halt in their return to the United Center on Wednesday night. Despite leading 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 in the game, the Blackhawks ended up losing 4-3 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils.
Simon Nemec was the overtime hero for New Jersey, as he shelfed a wrist shot to complete the hat trick and give his team the extra point. Nemec became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a hat trick and score the OT winner in the same game. It was one heck of a night for the 2022 second overall draft pick.
The Devils throttled the Blackhawks at even strength for most of Wednesday’s contest, and especially in the second and third periods. The visitors led 64-29 in shot attempts, 30-11 in shots on goal, and 27-11 in scoring chances, but Spencer Knight was terrific yet again in between the pipes to keep the game close throughout. In the end, Knight could only do so much, as the team simply didn’t play well enough in front of him to extend the winning streak.
“They obviously have some dangerous players over there, but let’s just call it what it was: it wasn’t our best game tonight,” captain Nick Foligno said after the game. “We just didn’t have our A-game. I thought we competed hard and found a way to get a point, and that’s important coming off a road trip… But no excuses. We need to find a better game.”
Even though it was a sloppy performance, the Blackhawks still managed to earn a point for the 11th time in their last 14 games. Considering they were down three key forwards, as Andre Burakovsky (illness), Jason Dickinson (upper body), and Frank Nazar (lower body) were all out with injuries, that isn’t the worst outcome against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
In seasons past, this likely would have resulted in a multi-goal defeat for Chicago. Failing to finish the job after holding two leads in the third period is frustrating, but in terms of the bigger picture, this was another example of the growth shown by the Blackhawks this year. Once again, they found a way to remain competitive from start to finish, which has been the case in nearly all 17 of their opening games.
“I think as a whole for the night, we didn’t have our best game. On that note, we did find a way to get a point when we didn’t have our best,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “Sometimes in an 82-game schedule, you’re going to have nights when you don’t feel your best, and we were able to find a way to a point. It’s not a moral victory; it’s a point in the standings.”
Let’s dive into the highlights from Wednesday’s late-night OT loss at the United Center.
First Period
The opening 20 minutes were filled with physicality from both sides, as the two teams each laid a few booming hits to instill some energy in the early going. One player in particular who threw several checks in the first period, mostly against Connor Bedard, was Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon.
During an early sequence, Bedard came racing into the offensive zone and was looking momentarily in the direction of his pass attempt, and that’s when Dillon stepped up and delivered a massive hit. Fortunately, Bedard quickly sprang to his feet and didn’t skip a beat in continuing with the play. While Dillon did catch him up high, this was honestly a play where Bedard needs to do a better job of keeping his head on a swivel.
Dillon continued acting like a goon throughout the rest of the period, and he later took a boarding penalty for a dangerous hit on Tyler Bertuzzi along the wall. It appeared that Dillon threw an elbow into Bertuzzi, and he was rightfully taken to the penalty box as a result.
Dangerous hit from Brenden Dillon, who according to the broadcast has already laid three hits on Bedard in the first period. Here he elbows and boards Bertuzzi pic.twitter.com/q7Xybkxb4q
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 13, 2025
The Blackhawks went on to convert on their 5-on-3 power-play opportunity, and go figure, it was Bedard who lit the lamp for his 10th goal of the season. Bedard extended his point streak to nine games with the goal, which ties his career high. He also now has 19 points (8G, 11A) during his streak.
Tyler Bertuzzi➡️Teuvo Teravainen➡️Connor Bedard🚨
Bedard scores his 10th goal of the season to put the #Blackhawks ahead 1-0 on the power play & extends his point streak to 9 games! Bertuzzi also extends his point streak to 4 games with an assist.pic.twitter.com/0NhfUuvEii
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 13, 2025
The Blackhawks held a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission and outshot the Devils 12-11 in the period. They would go on to tally only eight more shots throughout the rest of the game.
Second Period
Chicago was heavily outpossessed for most of the middle stanza and spent too much time in their own end. For whatever reason, this young group cannot seem to solve these second-period woes.
One of the only scoring chances generated by the home squad in the period came from Bertuzzi, who extended his point streak to four games with the secondary assist on Bedard’s power-play tally. Bertuzzi had a prime-time chance to find the back of the net for a fourth consecutive game, but Jacob Markstrom came up with a big blocker stop to keep the Devils down by one.
Speaking of big stops, Knight thwarted a pair of breakaway chances from Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, two of the top scoring threats for New Jersey, in less than a minute near the midway point of the frame.
After bailing his team out time and time again, the Devils finally found a way to beat Knight in the final moments, as Nemec floated a backhanded shot under his blocker to tie the game 1-1. New Jersey was trending towards that all period, and they got a huge lift going into the second intermission.
At even strength, the Devils led 27-8 in shot attempts, 13-3 in shots on goal, and 12-4 in scoring chances for the period. All the momentum was on their side going into the third.
Third Period
The Blackhawks responded nicely out of the intermission, despite what had developed in the final minute of the previous period. Just over three minutes into the third, the fourth line cashed in to regain the lead, as Landon Slaggert, who was recalled from Rockford earlier in the day, redirected Louis Crevier’s shot from the point to make it 2-1.
Nick Foligno➡️Louis Crevier➡️Landon Slaggert🚨
Slaggert deflects Crevier’s shot from the point for his 1st goal of the season to put the #Blackhawks back ahead early in the 3rd period! 2-1.pic.twitter.com/2TkrZtwWA6
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 13, 2025
Slaggert was inserted into the lineup with Burakovsky not feeling well enough to suit up, and the former third-round pick certainly made the most of his opportunity with his first goal of the season.
The lead didn’t last too long for the Hawks, however, as Hughes set up Dawson Mercer for a one-timer to tie the game 2-2. Chicago’s defensive structure broke down off the rush and never recovered, leaving Mercer all alone at the left circle.
Like they did earlier in the period, the fourth line came up clutch for the Blackhawks to give them their lead back. This time, it was Sam Lafferty’s turn to score his first goal of the season, which had to feel good after being a healthy scratch in 12 of the opening 16 games. And it wasn’t any ordinary goal for Lafferty; it was a nasty one. He left young Luke Hughes in the dust with a dangle and put home a shot on his backhand to make it 3-2.
Louis Crevier➡️Nick Foligno➡️Sam Lafferty🚨
Lafferty pulls off a NASTY dangle & finish for his 1st goal of the season to put the #Blackhawks ahead 3-2! After being scratched most of the season so far, that HAD to feel good for Lafferty.pic.twitter.com/xO1KEcz29Y
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 13, 2025
Sadly, the Blackhawks were also unable to hold onto this lead, as the Devils responded less than three minutes later to knot up the score again. Nemec potted his second goal of the game off a feed from Stefan Noesen, but it was Hughes who made it all happen with excellent poise and patience in the offensive zone.
Just what everyone in the building wanted for an 8:52 p.m. CT start… overtime!
Overtime
The extra frame didn’t go too well for the Blackhawks, as they failed to record a shot on goal and made some costly decisions. First, Wyatt Kaiser committed a horrible turnover in the defensive zone, throwing the puck into no-man’s land and forcing his team to defend when they should have had possession. Kaiser has been outstanding for the most part this season, but that was a crucial giveaway with the game on the line. You can’t score the overtime-winner without having the puck. He was way too careless in that situation.
Then, the Blackhawks made an ill-advised line change, and their other two players on the ice got caught being overly aggressive. While Ryan Donato was jumping on the ice, Artyom Levshunov and Ryan Greene were up near the Devils’ end, which allowed Nemec to get free for a breakaway.
The 21-year-old defenseman roofed a shot over Knight’s glove to put a stamp on his career performance and give the Devils the 4-3 overtime win. Their only lead of the game.
The Blackhawks move to 8-5-4 on the season and are back in action against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
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