LAS VEGAS — Twice in the last six days, the Blackhawks have battled for 40 minutes to find themselves tied 2-2 at the second intermission against the Golden Knights.
Last weekend in Chicago, they faltered in the third period. On Friday, they learned from their mistakes, kept battling for 23 more minutes and spoiled the Knights’ previously undefeated record with a 4-3 overtime win.
In a season that will ultimately be measured by the Hawks’ progress rather than overall record, it was an encouraging sign.
They’re 3-5-0, but they became the first team to win at T-Mobile Arena since the Stars did so once during last season’s Western Conference Final. The Hawks have beaten three possible playoff teams (the Penguins, Maple Leafs and Knights) on the road.
They’re proving that when at their best — even if “their best” remains a wildly fluctuating bar given their inexperience — they can keep up with upper-echelon opponents.
“We’re a young team, and we beat the defending champs,” Philipp Kurashev said. “So it’s a great confidence boost for us. We can learn a lot from it.”
It was Kurashev’s power-play goal 2:50 into overtime — 2:50 that he played in its entirety — that ended an entertaining matinee affair. The Swiss forward has made an immediate impact since returning from injury, and he seems like perhaps the Hawks’ best option for a running mate for Connor Bedard at the moment.
Kurashev and Bedard’s line with Nick Foligno had a 10-7 advantage in scoring chances and scored the Hawks’ second goal when Foligno set up Bedard on a first-period transition attack. Take out the iffy offside ruling Tuesday against the Bruins, and Bedard would be riding a three-game goal streak.
“Both games, [Kurashev has] been so noticeable,” Bedard said. “For him to get that one was really exciting. All game, he was buzzing and working plays down low, and he had a lot of puck possession. [It’s] fun for me to play with him.”
Three other pivotal moments, however, might have been even more meaningful than the goals by Bedard and Kurashev from a standpoint of demonstrating team resilience and learning from past mistakes.
After a disastrous start — the Knights led 2-0 four minutes in and were dominating the balance of play — the second line of Lukas Reichel, Taylor Raddysh and Jason Dickinson finally gave the Hawks some momentum with an attacking shift. Ryan Donato then scored moments into the next shift to translate that momentum onto the scoreboard. Just 79 seconds later, Bedard’s goal came.
At the start of the third period, the Hawks recalled how poorly things went in the same situation last time and flipped the script. Last Saturday, Bedard made a defensive mistake right after the faceoff, allowing the Knights to score the first of three straight goals. This time, the Hawks killed off a carry-over Vegas power play, then took the lead when Raddysh capitalized on Shea Theodore’s whiff.
And after Theodore redeemed himself by tying the score, the Hawks’ penalty kill stepped up again — twice — with huge kills late in regulation. That unit is now 23-for-26, putting the Hawks seventh in the NHL at 88.5%. It looks like a potential calling-card strength of this team.
Coach Luke Richardson lauded rookie defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Kevin Korchinski for handling bigger-than-normal workloads with “composure and poise” and helping hold the PK together after Alex Vlasic exited with a not-yet-diagnosed upper-body injury.
Even Richardson leaves Vegas looking good. His direct challenge to the Hawks after their loss Tuesday to play with more scrappiness, combined with the intense practice he coordinated Thursday, worked wonders. He hasn’t lost the ability he showed last season to push the right buttons at the right times with this under-construction roster.
