For the fourth straight game, the Chicago Blackhawks found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard as they fell 3-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
The two teams were tied up after two periods of play, but a redirected goal from Radko Gudas proved to the difference as the Flyers vaulted past the Detroit Red Wings to get into the Eastern Conference’s second wild card spot.
Patrick Kane notched his 90th point of the season thanks to a second period assist, and Jonathan Toews reached the 25-goal plateau for the eighth time in nine career seasons as the Hawks failed to take an opportunity to gain ground on their Central Division opponents.
Early in the game, the Blackhawks gave up a power play opportunity to the Flyers, but it was Chicago that managed to take advantage. Artem Anisimov made a shot block near the blue line and shoveled a pass to center ice, and Marian Hossa collected the puck and fired a shot past Michal Neuvirth’s right pad to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
After the Blackhawks failed to score on a 5-on-3 power play, the Flyers took advantage and knotted things up late in the first period. With two Flyers skaters screening Scott Darling, Andrew MacDonald fired a shot toward the net, and Ryan White deflected it home to tie things at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period, the Blackhawks’ newly configured top line pressured the Flyers to their limit, and the defending champions ended up scoring. Kane and Toews both generated shots close to the net, and the Hawks’ captain ultimately capitalized as he flicked a top-shelf shot over Neuvirth to make it a 2-1 game.
The Flyers responded later in the second period, with Brayden Schenn notching a goal. Claude Giroux made the play happen as he drove hard into the offensive zone, and after turning around in the slot, he found an open Schenn for a one-timer goal to make it a 2-2 game.
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The third period got off to a slow start, but the Flyers ultimately found the goal they needed. Gudas hammered a shot toward the net, and after it took an unfortunate bounce off of Christian Ehrhoff, it evaded Darling and gave Philadelphia a 3-2 victory on the road.
