Blackhawks Goaltending, Effort Shines in 4-2 Win Against Canadiens – The Hockey Writers NHL News Latest News, Analysis & More

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens matchup was set to be an interesting one. Considering the Blackhawks had recently come off an embarrassing 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at the New Year’s Eve Winter Classic, the team has been grappling with what has been going wrong amidst their five-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens were on a three-game winning streak and have won 7 of their last 10 games. However, the story of the game is that Blackhawks’ prospect Colton Dach made his NHL debut against his older brother and former Blackhawk, Kirby Dach, which was fun for both teams.

Yet, the most fun was on the Blackhawks’ side as they were able to secure two points in an eventful 4-2 win.

Canadiens and Blackhawks Battle Hard To Start

The Blackhawks had a terrible effort at the Winter Classic, but that was not the case against Montreal. Both teams came out physically and energized. There were 13 hits in that period. Jason Dickinson had the most hits on the Blackhawks (3), while defenseman Mike Matheson had the most hits (2) for the Canadiens. There was even a fight between Pat Maroon and Arber Xhekaj within the first six minutes of the game.

Besides the physicality, both goaltenders were strong. The Blackhawks scored 1-0 early after Frank Nazar drew two Montreal penalties, giving Chicago a five-on-three power play for two full minutes. Tyler Bertuzzi took advantage. However, Sam Montembeault stopped a grade-A chance by Jason Dickinson, and Arvid Soderblom stopped a good chance by Cole Caufield.

Caufield, the Canadiens top goal scorer, eventually tied the game 1-1 after being left alone in front.

The first period was a bit sloppy at some points, with some missed chances and passes. Montreal took four penalties, but it was entertaining.

Soderblom Beat Montreal in Huge Second Period

The second period was the story of Montreal. Nick Foligno was able to take advantage of a shot from Wyatt Kaiser to make it 2-1, but after that, Soderblom stood on his head. He continues a strong season.

Montreal had so many chances. The final minute of the second period looked like a Canadiens’ power play where the Hawks could not get the puck out of the zone, and Soderblom made the stops, including a big one on Habs’ captain Nick Suzuki.

It seemed like the game could have been 4-2, or 5-2 Montreal. But the Blackhawks owe a lot to their backup goalie, who kept their lead. Chicago did have some chances, like from Frank Nazar, but Montreal had the better looks and the big edge in the period, as they outshot the Blackhawks 19-8.

Blackhawks Made Statement in Third Period

Just as Soderblom was the star of the second period, he was also the star of the third period that solidified the Blackhawks win. Maroon, who had the fight earlier in the game, brought his team some insurance making the game 3-1 after a good rush to the net from him, Craig Smith, and Ryan Donato.

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However, the game got interesting after Canadiens’ Emil Heineman scored a power-play goal to make the game 3-2. It seemed like it could have been another one of those third period collapses, but then Foligno scored again to make the score 4-2, that was the nail in the coffin for Montreal.

Again, Montreal had their chances, as they had 40 shots on goal in the game. Defenseman Alex Vlasic stopped a potential goal, but the Habs got goalied, and the Blackhawks scored on the chances they needed to to take the game. Their persistence that has been recently lacking, paid off.

Regarding Colton Dach, he had a solid debut, with five shots on goal and five hits in over 11 minutes of ice time. Darren Pang said on the broadcast that Kirby was poking fun after Colton drew a cross-checking penalty in the first period. It wasn’t a “friendly” game, but it was a family friendly game between the two brothers, which is what Colton said their mom wanted.

The Blackhawks got the boost they desperately needed, while the Canadiens will look to quickly right their ship against the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night (Jan. 4).