Remember how there was concern about Lukas Reichel’s confidence? It’s safe to say there’s nothing to worry about after the play he pulled in the Blackhawks 3-2 win Saturday afternoon over Dallas.
Reichel burst through the neutral zone and into the Dallas zone, drawing two defenders while making a move, and then being knocked off balance. On a knee, Reichel glided his way through the slot, left a perfect drop pass for Andreas Athanasiou, and the veteran forward netted his first goal of the season.
So yeah, the Lukas Reichel everyone expected to see this season, helping the Blackhawks play spoiler against the Stars.
The Hawks certainly made things more interesting than they needed to in the final minutes of the third period after roaring out to a 3-0 lead.
It was Connor Bedard who opened the scoring with Dallas giving far too much time and space in the right circle on the power play. Bedard blew the shot past Scott Wedgewood and it banked off the post and in to give Chicago a 1-0 lead and Bedard his 22nd of the season. Next it was Athanasiou and then capped off by a Seth Jones bomb that made it a 3-0 lead on the presumed Central Division champions.
Dallas answered back when Roope Hintz redirected one in the low slot that beat Petr Mrazek for his 29th of the season. It would be Jamie Benn getting the second goal, but the Hawks would hang on.
Mrazek Masterful Again for Blackhawks As Usual
At the end of the second period, Mrazek had made 36 saves–an insane amount of work in just 40 minutes of play. The Blackhawks stifled the Stars in the third, but this came after they were outshot 23-5 in the second period. Mrazek’s workload saw its apex in the middle frame.
Because the Hawks were able to get three past Wedgewood, giving Mrazek a margin of error he hasn’t worked with often this season. So the third period, and the result was a nice change of pace early on but Dallas started rushing the net in the final five of the period.
Regardless, Chicago held strong and once again, Mrazek was his masterful self.
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