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Game 56: Hawks 4, Stars 5
May 11, 2021, 3:03 AM ET [74 Comments]
Theo Fox
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With the overtime loss to the Stars, the Blackhawks ended the pandemic-shortened 2021 season with a 24-25-7 record for 55 points to finish 6th in the temporary 8-team Central Division.


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Starting Lineup

The starting lineup saw Dylan Strome slot back in for Adam Gaudette:

And the starters for the opening shift:

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Scoring Recap

1st Goal: DeBrincat (1-0)

Just under a minute into the game, Alex DeBrincat pulled off a rarity by picking off an errant pass up the middle by the generally reliable Miro Heiskanen then skating in against Jake Oettinger to beat him with a backhanded roof shot.

2nd Goal: Suter (2-0)

Half a minute later, DeBrincat teamed up with Pius Suter and Strome to cycle the puck around the right circle and boards with quick short passes before setting up Suter for a wrister that he blew by Oettinger's glove.

3rd Goal: Pavelski (2-1)

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The Stars overloaded the left side of the zone forcing DeBrincat to leave Joe Pavelski alone in the slot as he chased the puck to the right point. Wyatt Kalynuk had proper coverage but Strome and Suter got caught too high.

4th Goal: Strome (3-1)

Dominik Kubalik collected a loose puck in the Hawks defensive end and sent a breakout feed to Strome to send him and Vincent Hinostroza on a 2-on-0 against Oettinger. Strome finished the job by sending the puck upstairs.

5th Goal: Heiskanen (3-2) PP

(No video available)

With a few ticks left in the 2nd, Nikita Zadorov, David Kampf, and Suter all focused on the puck as John Klingberg moved it over to Heiskanen alone at the right circle who tethered a wrister under the arm of Collin Delia.

6th Goal: Hinostroza (4-2)

After some multiplayer pinball action along the wall in the neutral zone, the puck got chipped back into the offensive zone for Hinostroza to pounce on, blaze past Heiskanen, and tuck a shot through the wickets of Oettinger.

7th Goal: Kiviranta (4-3)

(No video available)

Joel Kiviranta caught an airborne puck in the neutral zone then coasted through a trio of Chicago defenders en route to the crease before sailing a shot over Delia's right pad and earmarking it for the far side of the net.

8th Goal: Dickinson (4-4)

(No video available)

Jason Robertson hounded Philipp Kurashev into coughing up the puck in the left corner, skated around the net, and centered a feed to Jason Dickinson between the circles as all 5 Chicago players had their backs turned to the play.

9th Goal: Robertson (4-5) OT

Jamie Benn set up Robertson on a 2-on-1 to complete the comeback by the Stars with 30 seconds left in overtime. With no help from teammates, Connor Murphy leaned too much to the puck carrier Benn rather than to the receiver Robertson.

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Game Notes

Uneven Even Strength

Talk about dominance in scoring chances, the Stars more than quadrupled the Blackhawks in both scoring chances and high danger chances in 5-on-5 situations. The Hawks were also 0-for-4 on the power play.

Porous Defense

With a half century of shots on goal, Dallas more than doubled up Chicago in that category. Delia saved 45 of them while his defense was still able to block 19 before they got through to him.

Missed Opportunity

Even with a majority of time left on a double minor for high sticking assessed to Radek Faksa at the end of regulation, the Hawks still couldn't convert on the 4-on-3 power play in the extra frame.

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Player Notes

Young Quarterbacks

Heading into next season, the Hawks should have options to choose from to have young quarterbacks on the power play units. A healthy Adam Boqvist as well as Kalynuk are essential front runners for those roles.

Yet, Ian Mitchell and Nicolas Beaudin could certainly earn time if the coaching staff looks to compose each unit with 2 defensemen. Long shots to make the team next season are Alec Regula and Chad Krys.

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Roster Updates

A well deserved nomination for Andrew Shaw to represent the Blackhawks organization.

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Rockford Updates

Final Score: IceHogs 5, Wolves 6

Starting Lineup

Game Summary

Poor gap control, inability to establish inside positioning, and fixation on the puck rather than spread-out coverage did in the IceHogs on every goal against as they fell 6-5 to the Wolves.

Tom Aubrun gave up 2 goals just over a minute to start the game and 4 in the 1st period to get his team in an immediate hole. The Hogs stormed back to within one with 8 minutes left in the 3rd.

Player Notes

Just 18 years old, defenseman Michael Krutil got turnstiled twice in the 1st to give the Wolves free chances at his goalie Aubrun.

A year older than Krutil, Isaak Phillips has the capacity to put up points from the blueline with solid breakout passes and hard shots.

Slowed by an injury to start 2021, Michal Teply will be one to watch next season as he's been heating up as the season winds down.

Brandon Pirri is great at scoring goals, especially off of one timers, but too bad he's not very good at anything else.

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Prospect Updates

Probability is high that 2020 1st round pick Lukas Reichel will sign an ELC within the next few weeks.

And perhaps recently acquired Henrik Borgstrom gets inked to a new contract soon, too.

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See you on the boards!

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