Snow Capped (chicago)

In the opening frame, there was a display of a highly skilled team in the Avalanche who clicked as a well-oiled machine dominating a team like the Blackhawks who were a mere collection of players with varying levels of skill just trying to keep up.

Fortunately, the Hawks shored things up in the middle stanza with more offensive pressure and extended possession time fueled by relentless cycling. After trailing 2-0, Jonathan Toews got Chicago on the scoreboard to cut the Colorado lead in half.

The pace and physicality picked up equally for both teams in the 3rd period including a few minutes of uninterrupted play. Alex DeBrincat notched the game-tying and go-ahead tallies on the same power play first on a 5-on-3 then on a 5-on-4.

After Erik Johnson scored his second goal of the game to send the game into overtime, Cale Makar deposited the winner with a beautiful spin move to evade Kirby Dach in the left circle then roof a backhander over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder.

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Blackhawks Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Hagel - Borgstrom - Kane DeBrincat - Toews - Kubalik Kurashev - Dach - Entwistle Khaira - Strome - Carpenter

McCabe - S Jones de Haan - Murphy C Jones - Stillman

Fleury Soderblom

Scratches: Gabriel, Gustafsson

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (0-1): E Johnson (Kadri) 2nd Goal (0-2): Newhook (Aube-Kubel) 3rd Goal (1-2): Toews (Entwistle, S Jones) 4th Goal (2-2): DeBrincat (Kane, S Jones) PP 5th Goal (3-2): DeBrincat (Kane, Strome) PP 6th Goal (3-3): E Johnson (Burakovsky, Kadri) 7th Goal (3-4): Makar (MacKinnon, Landeskog) OT

SOG For/Against: 31/33 PP: 2-for-3 PK: 2-for-2 Faceoffs Won: 47%

Game Notes

* On the 1st goal allowed, there was a lot of traffic in front of Fleury including at least Toews and possibly Seth Jones screening their own goalie.

* On the 2nd goal allowed, Caleb Jones and Brandon Hagel each failed to clear the zone and Riley Stillman's rear end prevented Fleury from tracking the puck.

* On the 3rd goal allowed, Jake McCabe and Nazem Kadri were in Fleury's field of vision as he was unable to see the shot from Johnson who fired the puck from a wide angle.

* Connor Murphy's fight with Gabriel Landeskog was supposed payback for railroading Dach hard into the boards in the season opener; having the tango early in a scoreless tie was ideal.

* During the broadcast, ESPN's Emily Kaplan mentioned the bad blood between Landeskog and Dach as the Avs captain chirped the youngster after the 1st period ended.

* Although he played much better in the 2nd and 3rd, DeBrincat had a sloppy 1st period with several dangerous turnovers -- including a pair in the same sequence -- and botched passes.

* MacKenzie Entwistle exhibited his tenacity on the forecheck by using his long arms and stick effectively to disrupt plays and hound the puck carrier.

Highlights

Goal by Jonathan Toews

IceHogs Updates

Josiah Slavin

Nylander - Reichel - Slavin Teply - McLaughlin - Hardman Gicewicz - Barratt - Altybarmakian Morrison - G Mitchell - Busdeker Osipov, Pour, Yetman

The top 3 lines are better balanced while the 4th line is a "take your pick" from those already suggested for that line plus the reserves.

Rescheduled Games

* December 30 at Milwaukee Admirals now on April 29. * December 31 vs Chicago Wolves now on April 30. * January 1 at Chicago Wolves now on April 19.

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Prospect Updates

Ethan Del Mastro

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Trade Rumors

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See you on the boards!

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