10 observations: Blackhawks score 4 power-play goals, snap 22-game road losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Chicago Blackhawks snapped their road losing streak at 22 games after beating the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 on Tuesday at Mullet Arena.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. The Blackhawks scored not one, not two, not three, but FOUR power-play goals, including one during a 5-on-3 opportunity in the first period. The goals came from Seth Jones, Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Philipp Kurashev. It was just the third time all season they scored more than one power-play goal in a game. An offensive explosion.
2. For the first time since Nov. 24, Arvid Söderblom is back in the win column. He went more than three months without a victory, which is wild. Söderblom stopped the first 20 shots he faced — including all 17 in the first period — and finished with 37 saves on 39 shots for a save percentage of .949. He earned this win.
3. The last time the Blackhawks were in Arizona, they were blown out of the building and lost 8-1 on Oct. 30. It remains one of their worst losses of the season. They redeemed themselves at Mullet Arena.
4. Tyler Johnson registered three assists in this game. For context, he had only six assists total in his previous 47 games. Connor Bedard (two assists), Dickinson (one goal, one assist), Foligno (one goal, one assist), and Jones (two goals) also had multi-point outings.
5. Great game for Jones, who scored the opening power-play goal of the game, added an empty-netter, and finished with a game-high 11 shot attempts (five on goal). He was excellent.
6. Connor Bedard with the quote of the night after the Blackhawks won their first road game since Nov. 9: “Oh my God, that was a long time. Obviously you try not to think about it much, but that was a pretty crazy stretch there. It’s nice that that’s over. The first happy plane ride we’ve had in a little bit.”
7. Matt Dumba delivered a big hit on Bedard in the first period. Bedard bounced back up like it was nothing, but I thought it was a tad late in real time. It probably could’ve gone either way.
8. Before Tuesday, Zach Sanford hadn’t played since Feb. 17; he had been a healthy scratch for seven straight and was even placed on waivers during that span. I thought he was noticeable against his former team, especially in the first period.
9. The NHL trade deadline is on Friday at 2 p.m. CT, which means the Blackhawks’ roster could look a bit different between now and their next game on Saturday. But probably not by much. The Blackhawks don’t have many trade chips this season, especially after re-signing Dickinson, Foligno and Petr Mrazek.
10. Colin Blackwell could generate interest from contenders as a potential low-cost depth piece. He said before the game he didn’t want to be moved and wanted to be part of the Blackhawks both beyond the deadline and in the future: “I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m finally feeling that comfort, which is hard to do in this league when you bounce around a little bit.”
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