Chicago Blackhawks snap three game skid in rout of Mammoth
SALT LAKE CITY — The Chicago Blackhawks entered the Delta Center on a losing streak, with neither Hawks showing any flashes outside of Connor Bedard’s two goals. They desperately needed to change the course of a passing season.
The Hawks had to flip the script in their kryptonite setting – a back-to-back. They’ve suffered shutouts, multi-goal losses and embarrassing performances in those second games this season.
Bédard carried the team out of the Olympic break, making a nagging question stronger. Could the Hawks produce outside of No. 98?
Well, yes. In Salt Lake City, at least.
“That’s something we probably haven’t had enough of, just scoring in general, (so) getting that is really important,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “They had efficient shifts where they weren’t on site long, but they were able to connect.”
The Utah Mammoth faithful had nothing to celebrate as the Hawks saw three unusual suspects send their pucks into the net. The white sweaters seemed to be having fun there.
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“I think more importantly, it was a really good win all around,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “We didn’t feel like we gave them a lot of chances, we felt like we played a really solid team game and everyone contributed.”
The Hawks (23-28-9) made work easy for Mammoth in a 4-0 victory Sunday. It was their first victory after the Olympic break and ended a three-game losing streak.
Utah (31-24-4) had its chances, but the Hawks defense was solid from start to finish. It was a similar defensive effort to Saturday’s against the Colorado Avalanche, but the Hawks were able to extend the lead before some entertaining business ensued.
“I thought we played really well defensively overall, but I thought we did that the other night as well,” Blashill said. “Like I said after the last game, as the game went on, I thought we did a better job of getting the puck out, (and) we showed some of those (clips) before the game, and we continued that today.”
Vlasic played perhaps the best game of his five-year career. He had an assist, blocked two shots and led a ferocious stop of the fourth-best 5-on-5 offense in the NHL (136 full-strength goals).
It was a 180 from the Avalanche game. He said Denver’s altitude was to blame.
“Sometimes the legs work, sometimes they don’t,” Vlasic said. “I was skating well with the puck and taking chances when they were given to me, I felt like my legs were working tonight.”
Teuvo Teräväinen opened the scoring at the end of the first period (19:05) thanks to a superb assist from Tyler Bertuzzi. He scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season against the Mammoth.
Team captain Nick Foligno scored his 250th career unassisted goal 11:38 into the second period, while Landon Slaggert joined the scoring group (13:07) after Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka failed to make a glove save.
“Slaggert’s goal was the execution of the faceoff that led to that goal,” Blashill said. “(Foligno’s) great hands around the net, it was (his) 250th, what a great number for him.”
The Hawks have the best penalty kill in the NHL, and they added another layer to the unit with a short-handed goal in the third period. It was thanks to Teräväinen, the Olympic bronze medalist’s second goal of the match.
Goalkeeper Arvid Söderblom saved all 22 shots taken against him in Utah. It was the first shutout of his career.
“It took a while and a lot of ups and downs, but finally getting there was great,” Söderblom said. “The guys did a great job up front today, (and) I think we used our defensive system perfectly.”
Blashill added: “That’s the life of a backup goalie sometimes, you have tough games, and we kind of let him out to dry a few times, to be honest with you. Everyone is really happy for him, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great professional, he goes about his business and does his job, so the guys were eager on the bench to try and do that for him.”
The Hawks improved to 15-2-2 while leading after two periods. Mammoth fell to 5-18-1 while trailing in the second intermission.
This is the first of three games against Utah over the next 11 days. The Mammoth play at the United Center on March 9.
The first of these matchups set the tone for the Hawks, and the two Central Division games grew in importance.
“They’re a division rival, we’re excited to continue playing them,” Vlasic said. “It’s good to have a few games against a similar team and you can get some pre-scouts and things like that.”
Defenseman Sam Rinzel missed his second straight game due to illness. His status on March 3 in Winnipeg is unknown.
