Before Saturday night’s game, the Chicago Blackhawks were once again part of a blockbuster trade. This is the second time this season that they were part of a huge deal right before playing a game. Of course, they were a part of the big Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall, Marty Necas trade that went down ahead of a game earlier this season.
Chicago sent Seth Jones and a fourth to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for Spencer Knight and a first. Florida gets their right-shot defenseman to replace Brandon Montour and Chicago adds assets that will help them in the future.
The game against the Anaheim Ducks was still to be played following the news. In place of Jones, T.J. Brodie hopped into the lineup when it was originally thought that he would be their healthy scratch on the back end.
The Blackhawks and Ducks had a scoreless first period which is rare for games involving the Blackhawks. They seldom reach the second period in a scoreless tie.
Wyatt Kaiser, who had a very good game in all three zones, made it 1-0 at 7:48 of the second period. That is where the floodgates opened in terms of goalscoring. By the end of the middle frame, the Hawks were up 3-2.
The Blackhawks are known for blowing leads and they were on a four-game losing streak so things felt fragile going into the final frame.
Everyone on the team could take a breath when Lukas Reichel made it 4-2 at 4:53 of the third. From there, Ryan Donato added a pair to become a 20-goal scorer (and 21-goal scorer) for the first time in his career.
Leo Carlsson scored to make it 6-3 at 17:16 of the third but the Blackhawks were able to hang on from there. 6-3 ended up being the final.
Not only did the Blackhawks end the bad streak, but they also played well to earn it. There was nothing lucky about this win as everyone contributed to it.
One player who deserves a little bit of individual praise is Teuvo Teravainen. He was not named to be a “Star of the Game” but he had a three-point night once again (1-2–3).
To say he’s been great lately would be an understatement. Teravainen has 33 points in his last 30 games. He went through a bad slump earlier in the season but 2025 has been incredible for him in terms of production. This is the Teravainen that Kyle Davidson signed in free agency.
Chicago managed to get a win on this road trip. They are now 12-3-1 in their last 16 games against the Ducks going back to 2019.
The trip is now over and the United Center will host the Blackhawks for a few games in a row. It starts with a Western Conference battle with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Over the rest of the season or until they find a legit replacement, Seth Jones will be missed in the lineup. However, the vibes were good in this one now that he’s gone following his trade request. With the trade deadline looming (Friday), we’ll see what Davidson does next.
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