Blackhawks beat Maple Leafs, but lose their captain

The Chicago Blackhawks pushed their point streak to five games with a come-from-behind win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ryan Green put the home team up early in the first period, before the Maple Leafs scored back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead into the third period.

Once again, the Blackhawks were able to rally and get two third-period goals. They tied the game with a highlight-reel goal by Teuvo Teravainen, set up by a fantastic pass by Frank Nazar. Colton Dach scored the eventual game-winning goal by redirecting a Louis Crevier shot from the point.

“We’re pretty comfortable with one-goal games,” Teravainen said. “I feel like every game’s so tight. Some days, it feels like we have our legs better, and some days not. But still, we’re finding ways to do something right.”

Nick Foligno Lost to Injury

Late in the second period, Nick Foligno blocked a Jake McCabe shot with his left hand and immediately went to the locker room. He did not return to the game, and head coach Jeff Blashill had some bad news during his postgame press conference.

“Nick is going to be out for an extended period of time,” he revealed. “Probably if I were to estimate, it’d be four weeks, but it might be a little bit less, a little bit more. I don’t love putting timelines on it. It’s not six months, but it’s not two days.”

Anytime you lose your captain, it’s a big blow. Foligno has been an important player for Blashill to start the season. Not only does he provide vocal leadership on and off the ice, but he’s been trusted on the penalty kill and with critical defensive zone shifts.

The fourth line was having a fantastic night before the injury. Foligno, Landon Slaggert, and Sam Lafferty were hellacious on the forecheck. They started the extended offensive zone shift that eventually led to the Blackhawks' first goal.

Training Wheels Removed from Artyom Levshunov

The last few games for Artyom Levshunov have shown why he was the second overall pick of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Ever since he got promoted to the top power-play unit, he’s played the best hockey of his young career. The confidence boost he received by earning extra trust from the coaching staff has given his game a significant jolt.

The young blueliner was noticeable from the very start, as he tried very hard to get his first NHL goal. He capped off a 1:08 shift in the offensive zone by taking control of the puck and finding Green for the game’s opening tally.

The assist was his 10th of the season, which leads all NHL rookies, including some guy in Montreal. He led all players with a career-high 21:34 of ice time and got promoted to the top pairing with Alex Vlasic. He had four shots on goal, two hits, and four blocked shots. He created three individual scoring chances, two of which were high-danger.

After the game, Blashill said Levshunov is at his best when he’s “attacking the game.” He was on the attack all game long. While he still had a handful of shaky moments, those are coming far less frequently. The progress he’s made from being a healthy scratch for the home opener to tonight has been remarkable.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• Can we marvel about the game-tying goal for a moment? Nazar outworked Philippe Myers, who was victimized on the Greene goal, then made a ridiculous backhand pass right on the tape to Teravainen. From there, Teuvo undressed Rielly and went top shelf on Joseph Woll for his fourth goal of the season.

• Crevier continues to be a pleasant addition to this young defensive corps. With his helper on Dach’s game-winning goal, he has three assists in the last two third periods. He started the season as someone we were all comfortable with scratching regularly, to a guy that you can’t take out of the lineup.

• Blashill challenged the Maple Leafs’ second goal by Reilly for a missed stoppage of play with a high stick. Despite the replay clearly showing William Nylander hitting the puck with a high stick, the goal was allowed to stand. Not sure why challenges are even a thing if the officials still get the calls wrong. The situation room said Nylander’s stick was “not above the normal height of his shoulders when he contacted the puck.” Ok, then.

• The Blackhawks had 20 giveaways and only four takeaways against the Maple Leafs. That is not a recipe for sustained success. The puck management must be better than that. Seven players had multiple giveaways, with Matt Grzelcyk leading the way with three. They got away with it on Saturday, but they will lose more games than they win with puck management that poor.

• A meme is officially dead when an NHL head coach uses it, right?