In what seems like a strange turn of events, the Hawks have found themselves the owners of a three game winning streak. The latest win came Thursday against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. As I talked about in the last blog, this is a struggling Avs team and that is putting it very lightly. The Hawks got things going first when Sam Lafferty scored his 5th goal of the season. This makes six consecutive games that the Hawks have scored first, and what is really interesting is in the previous 34 games they scored first only six times. These two teams would go back and fourth and enter the 3rd period tied. Taylor Raddysh put the Hawks on top 3-2. The Avalanche tied it up 3-3; however, the Hawks would challenge the play for goaltender interference. While the Hawks would win this challenge, I still am not sure if that was the correct call, and it continues to add to the narrative that the league needs to clarify what is considered goalie interference.
After a lengthy review, officials overturn the original ruling and call this no goal for goaltender interference after Mikko Rantanen pushed Petr Mrazek's pad into the net. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/tVcu6V2bx2
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 13, 2023
After not starting in three games, Petr Mrazek had himself a great game filling in for the sick Alex Stalock. He stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced and finished with a .939 SV%. He also got in on the fun offensively picking up his fourth career point, assisting on Anthanasiou's second period goal.
With this win, not only are the Hawks on a three game heater, they are also 3-0 without super star Patrick Kane. What makes that more impressive is the quality of the teams they have beat in two of the last three games. Sure, the Flames and Avalanche are struggling as of late, but they are on paper much more talented rosters. The Hawks had to fight and earn these victories, and doing it without Kane should be a confidence booster for this roster. I know what a lot of you are thinking, this is counter productive to the big picture when it comes to draft positioning. There are still 42 games left in this season and this team was not going to go 0-42. They are going to keep winning games past these three, but they are also going to lose a lot as well. You need to let this team have the small victories this season and the rest will sort itself out.
When the Hawks placed Kane on the IR ahead of their game on Thursday, it was said that he was expected to play tonight against the Kraken. The question turned into who would be sent down to make room for Kaner. Well, we got our answer Friday when it was announced that they had sent down Lukas Reichel. In the three games during this latest stint, he put up 3 points (1-2) and averaged 14:38 of ice time. On top of that, we saw great growth in his two-way game and really got this fan base excited to see how his future will play out. Sure, I think they could have kept him up long term with this team, but personally I think having him continue to play in Rockford and develop his game is the best case scenario. Let him build his confidence with a winning team and continue to grow chemistry with some of the players that will more than likely make up this teams roster next season. This isn’t the last time we will see him up in the NHL this season, so patience is key for all you Reichel fans.
Next Up Seattle Kraken
The Kraken have been an amazing surprise this season. After the questionable expansion draft last year, it seems like this team is finding their identity. They sit comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division with a 25-12-4 record. They come into this one on a 7 game winning streak and are 7-2-1 in their last 10. The last time these two teams met, the Hawks won 5-4 and it was in the middle of their 4 game winning streak. Can they do this again and get their 2nd 4 game winning streak of the season or will the Kraken put the Hawks in their place and get their revenge for the first loss? Puck Drop is 7pm Central Time tonight back at the Mad House for game 6 of this 7 game home stand.
Players to Watch Andre Burakovsky 11 goals 24 assists 35 points Matty Beniers 16 goals 18 assists 34 points Jordan Eberle 10 goals 24 assists 34 points
Projected Starter Martin Jones 20-5-3 2.68 GAA .898 SV% 3 Shutouts
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