Recap: Blackhawks smother the Flames 5-2

The first period ended with Hawks up 1-0.

Second period

In the second period, Bedard got going on offense. Sam Rinzel flipped a puck deep into the Flames’ zone. Bedard outskated the defenseman and poked the puke through Wolf’s five hole for the goal.

Late in the second period, the Flames answered with a goal from Matt Coronato. Coronato got his first goal against the Hawks after being denied 11 times in their first matchup.

Third period

Rasmus Andersson tied the game at 2-2 with an early goal. With the Hawks reeling, Bedard recaptured the lead with a nasty shot from the right circle. Bedard was setup by a slick cross-ice pass from Ryan Greene.

Oliver Moore added his second goal of the season. Moore blazed his way past the Flames and had the puck go off his leg for the goal.

With the Flames desperate to make a comeback, they pulled Wolf late in the game. Bedard was able to hoist a shot from his own end for the empty-net goal. The empty-netter cemented the victory and gave Bedard his second hat trick.

Analysis

Bedard and the Blackhawks are buzzing right now. In the last 10 games, Bedard has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points with two hat tricks. He had zero hat tricks in the NHL before this season. In addition to all the points, the Hawks are winning games. They are 6-2-2 in their last 10.

Rinzel had a point in his return to the ice. The young defenseman was given a mental reset after some struggles. The reset seemed to work as he was better in his own end in this one.

In addition to Rinzel recording a point, Greene and Moore contributed points. Greene is such a solid player who can play the wing with Bedard or center the third line. Greene has a goal and assist in his last two games. Moore affected the game with his speed. He blasted by the defense for his goal. He also chipped in an assist on the Donato goal.

After the game, there was scrum that involved Rinzel and Colton Dach. Dach had taken expection to a hit Adam Klapka delivered to Connor Murphy earlier in the game. Klapka also hit Rinzel with time expiring that caused the scrum. Mutiple Hawks and Flames recieved game misconducts. Chicago has not taken kindly to other teams taking shots at their guys and have defended themselves all year.

The Hawks’ next games is Thursday against the Seattle Kraken. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CST.