The Chicago Blackhawks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Sunday at the United Center.
Here are 10 observations from the win:
1. The Blackhawks fell behind 2-0 in the first period, which was a disappointing start. They responded with four unanswered goals, three of which came in the third period across 83 seconds (started by Ryan Donato) and two of which came in an 11-second span (Kevin Korchinski and Joey Anderson). It was bedlam at the United Center after that fourth goal.
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2. The building livened up in the third period when Johnson came to the defense of Bedard, who was pinned down by Calen Addison. I thought it was a pretty soft penalty call on Johnson, but Addison went off for roughing too, so I guess it canceled out.
3. Connor Bedard's line with Tyler Johnson and Philipp Kurashev had a rough first period. They turned it around in the second when the three of them teamed up for Chicago's first goal, and looked much better the rest of the way. Bedard also scored the empty netter with 0.3 seconds left after an unselfish play by Kurashev.
Chicago Blackhawks
4. Lukas Reichel was recalled after a month-long stint with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. It's only one game but he looked like a more confident player. I think some of that had to do with reuniting with Andreas Athanasiou, who was absolutely flying on his first few shifts. Feels like that rubbed off on Reichel a bit.
5. Jason Dickinson was extremely upset with himself in the first period when he overthought a 2-on-1 opportunity with Colin Blackwell. It looked like he was ready to shoot then at the last minute he wanted to pass but that option got taken away and then he was left without a shooting angle. On the next shift, the Sharks scored to make it 2-0, pouring salt on the wound.
6. Sharks goaltender Devin Cooley made his NHL debut in this game, and what's cool about it is he was on Chicago's development camp roster in 2019. A little bit of a full-circle moment for him. Overall I thought he looked good prior to the Blackhawks' third-period explosion. Loved the rookie solo lap for the 26-year-old, too.
7. Ryan Carpenter has five goals this season; five of them have come at the United Center against his former team. He scored seven of his 10 goals at the Madhouse on Madison during his three-year Blackhawks tenure. Something about this building.
8. The first whistle of the game didn't come until the 8:15 mark of the first period. I don't know how to prove this but I imagine that was one of longest stretches of the season without a whistle to open a game — not just Blackhawks but in the entire NHL.
9. The Blackhawks improved to 3-1-0 in their last four home games after going 1-6-3 at home in their previous 10. Finally, some positive energy at the UC again.
10. Zach Sanford was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks on Feb. 20. He cleared the next day. The Blackhawks had 30 days to send him to Rockford before he had to go through waivers again, and they finally did on Friday after recalling Reichel.
