CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night at the United Center. Chicago came in losers of three straight while Boston was playing in the second half of a back-to-back. The first half was an overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.
The Blackhawks once again got off to a hot start. This team loves scoring goals early in games. This time, it was Alex Vlasic who scored his first of the season at 1:23 of the first period.
On the goal, Nick Foligno made a great read to find Vlasic who didn’t miss with a great shot. Vlasic has had a great season so far and now he has finally been rewarded with a goal.
At 12:17 of the first period, the Bruins finally broke through and tied the game. Morgan Geekie took a shot on Petr Mrazek who made the save but it squeaked through him. Geekie never gave up on the play and buried his rebound that was lying there behind Chicago’s goalie.
Early in the second period, the Bruins took over. Brad Marchand scored his ninth of the season at 2:58 of the second period and then added his tenth just over two minutes later at 5:03.
Chicago found a way to get a bit closer at the end of the second as Jason Dickinson scored at 18:23 of the middle frame. This team has many flaws but they never stop skating hard.
Dickinson is now at five goals and looks like someone who could continue having a great depth-scoring touch on this team. For as good as he is on defense, you can say he provides a fair amount of offense.
At 5:02 of the third period, Geekie scored his second of the game which sealed the victory for the Bruins. The 4-2 score ended up holding as the final.
The Blackhawks were not blown out by the Bruins but some of their tough defensive errors cost them. Their ability to shut down opponents at even strength has slowed down a little bit in recent weeks.
Getting Vlasic on the board this season is a good thing for Chicago but it wasn’t enough to win this particular game.
Vlasic wasn’t named to be on Team USA for the Four Nation’s Faceoff but the fact that he was on a few mocks tells the story of a good young defenseman on the rise. He’ll have an opportunity to represent his country one day.
His playmaking and ability to run a power play all while being strong in his end has been at a high level this season. Now, if goals could start to follow, the Blackhawks have a legit top-pair guy on their hands.
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