The Chicago Blackhawks came into Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators on a four-game point streak (3-0-1). They have played well lately and want to keep that going as they wind down the season.
A visit to Nashville for Chicago always creates a good match no matter where the teams are in the standings. That proved to be the case again in this one.
For the third time this season, Alex Vlasic gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. This came at 1:56 of the second period after a scoreless first. This goal earned Connor Bedard another point as both he and Colton Dach assisted on it.
Just under a minute later, Steven Stamkos tied the game with a power play goal. About ten minutes after that, he gave the Predators a 2-1 lead with his second of the game. It hasn’t been the smoothest transition to Nashville for the legendary Stamkos but he is still a 20 goal scorer with these two markers.
In the third period, Ilya Mikheyev scored for the second game in a row to tie the game. Ryan Donato found Mikheyev for his scoring chance in the slot after having a good shift leading up to it.
For the third straight game, Chicago found themselves in overtime. This one didn’t end as well for Chicago as the one on Friday as Steven Stamkos completed the hat trick in OT.
The Blackhawks lost the game but they have now earned points in 5 straight games. That is their longest point streak since February of 2023 (that one was five straight wins). The guys in the locker room seem to be enjoying the way things are going right now.
“Having the young guys here has helped a lot and bring that energy.” Alex Vlasic said on the point streak. “It feels like a different environment.”
You have to wonder if getting some of the veterans that didn’t want to be there anymore did this group well overall. They are now seeing the youth take over and bring a new vibe to the team.
Without good goaltending, you can’t win in the NHL. Arvid Soderblom was great in the overtime loss as he made 38 saves on 41 shots. It took an all-time great having a hat trick to beat him in this one.
“We feel good since Spencer came in, he’s been playing well”. Arvid Soderblom said when asked about how goaltending has helped them on this point streak. “For me, felt good today as well. We push each other and I think [if] we can keep doing that the rest of the year, we’ll be good.”
Based on this quote, he seems to be all in on his current situation with Spencer Knight. Since they have formed a tandem, they’ve been unbeatable.
The road trip will continue for Chicago as they will head to Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche. Of every possible matchup the Hawks could have this year, this is perhaps the most difficult. The Avalanche are one of the teams that loaded up at the deadline too which makes them even tougher.
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