The Blackhawks knocked off the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in overtime at Gila River Arena on Wednesday.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. Alex DeBrincat was all over the ice in this game. He had at least three Grade-A scoring chances, recorded his seventh assist in four games to give him 35 on the season — which ties a career-high — and scored the ninth overtime goal of his career to hit the 40-goal mark for the second time in his NHL career, ending a seven-game goal drought. He also logged 25:36 of ice time, which is a new career-high.
2. The Blackhawks came into this game with a 1-8-2 record in their previous 11 games and had been outscored 49-28 over that span. The Coyotes were on a seven-game losing streak and had been outscored 43-10 during that stretch. It looked like the Blackhawks were going to blow Arizona out of the water after the first period but they let their foot off the gas pedal by giving up a pair of third-period goals that forced overtime.
3. The Blackhawks generated 20 scoring chances in the first period, per Natural Stat Trick. They finished with 46. For reference, they had a combined 38 scoring chances in their last two games ... total. No surprise, given the opponent.
4. Prior to Wednesday, the Blackhawks were 2-10-0 against lefty goaltenders since the start of the 2018-19 season. Those goaltenders had a .920 save percentage, and Karel Vejmelka has handed Chicago two of those regulation losses. The Blackhawks finally beat Vejmelka and picked up a rare win against a lefty goalie. Weird stat alert.
NHL
5. The Blackhawks had exactly 10 minutes of power-play time. They had 14 shot attempts, seven shots on goal, seven scoring chances and two high-danger chances on those five opportunities but failed to capitalize on any of them. The sad part is, Arizona had six shorthanded shots, so Chicago's shot differential on the power play was only +1. Not great, considering Arizona has the worst penalty kill percentage of any team at 73.2.
6. Congratulations to Alex Vlasic, who scored his first career NHL goal — and point — in his 10th game of the season. It looked like he was trying to pass it to Patrick Kane on the play but it ended up going off a Coyotes skate and in. Veteran move by Kane pick up the puck for Vlasic, who will remember this forever even though it probably wasn't the way he drew it up in his head.
I thought this was, by far, Vlasic's best game, minus the turnover he had on Arizona's third goal. He was active, aggressive, and the Blackhawks out-chanced Arizona 15-2 when he was on the ice during 5-on-5 action.
7. Jonathan Toews had himself a solid night. He registered two assists, five shot attempts (four on goal), won 15 of 19 faceoffs for a win percentage of 78.9 and also drew a penalty in the third period.
8. Former Blackhawks forward and 2010 Stanley Cup champion Andrew Ladd played in his 1,000th career NHL game. It was fitting, because his first game back from the lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for six weeks earlier this season was on April 3, which is the night Chicago honored Jonathan Toews for his 1,000th game. This is a milestone that probably means a lot to Ladd, who was at 920 games after the 2017-18 season but has had to overcome injuries, healthy scratches and several demotions to the minor leagues.
9. Kirby Dach (right shoulder sprain) and MacKenzie Entwistle (right shoulder injury) did not travel with the team for this three-game road trip. The Blackhawks will have only three games left when they return to Chicago, so you have to wonder if their seasons are over at this point.
10. The NHL announced that the draft lottery will be held on Tuesday, May 10 at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. As of right now, the Blackhawks have the sixth-best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick (7.5 percent chance). If they land inside the Top 2, Chicago will keep it and send its 2023 to Columbus as part of the Seth Jones trade. If it's outside of the Top 2, Columbus will have Chicago's 2022 pick and Chicago will keep its first-rounder in 2023, which is believed to be a strong class, especially at the top.
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