Burakovsky, Nazar get redemption in OT victory over Mammoth

For whatever reason, the Chicago Blackhawks have the Utah Mammoth’s number as they improved to 3-0-0 on the season after tonight’s 3-2 overtime win. They have outscored the NHL’s newest team 10-3 in the first three meetings.

The Blackhawks got off to a slow start, fell behind 1-0, and didn’t get their first shot on goal until 12 minutes into the game. After that, they tilted the ice in their favor. They dominated the second period and evened up the game. In overtime, Frank Nazar ended the game with a power-play goal moments after fumbling the puck on a breakaway.

The physicality and ire were raised in this game. I would expect Thursday’s season series finale to be a fun one, as the Mammoth do not want to get swept by the Blackhawks.

Burakovsky Gets the Monkey Off His Back

One of the biggest points of dissension among Blackhawks fans recently has been Andre Burakovsky’s long leash on Connor Bedard’s line. He entered tonight’s game with just one assist in his last 19 games, and yet he’s still getting top-line minutes.

Blashill likes to refer to scoring chances created when talking about his team, and he’s said that Burakovsky has created more chances than he has allowed of late. The Blackhawks have been out-chanced 433-357 with Burakovsky on the ice. In the six games since the Olympic break, it's been a little better with a 40-32 disadvantage. That number is a little skewed after Sunday’s game, where the Dallas Stars had a 10-2 scoring chance advantage with Burakovksy on the ice.

Now, those numbers don’t exactly prove Blashill right. To be fair, as he’s explained, the Blackhawks have their own internal analytics. Those numbers could be different from the ones I used from Natural Stat Trick.

Burakovsky’s night got off to a promising start. He jumped on a pass in the neutral zone, which directly led to Wyatt Kaiser drawing a penalty a few moments later. Unfortunately, on the ensuing power play, he was set up beautifully by Frank Nazar and could not convert on this golden scoring chance.

The Blackhawks tilted the ice in their favor during the second period, and it looked like they were going to have nothing to show for it. Then Burakovsky got a fortunate bounce off the end boards and used a semi-Michigan motion to score his first goal since Jan. 7.    

"If he wasn't working as hard as he's worked,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “If he wasn't caring as much as he's cared, maybe we don't keep him up there. Eventually, it felt like it was going to happen for him, and I'm glad it did."

The top line was very good tonight, driven by Bedard’s two assists, five shots on goal, and 11 shot attempts. The trio produced seven scoring chances while allowing only four, and had a 2-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. You’d like to see more than just the two shot attempts from Burakovsky, but he scored on one and should have scored on the other. A positive night that hopefully gets him going again. At least, it will quiet the critics for one night.

Commesso Slams the Door Shut

The last time we saw Drew Commesso in the Blackhawks’ crease, he shut out the Nashville Predators on Jan. 12. He was a nice rebound after giving up five goals on 24 shots the night before against the Washington Capitals. If it weren’t for illness, Commesso likely wouldn’t have played in the NHL this season.

Both goaltenders fell ill in January, leading to his first call-up, and Spencer Knight has been sick since Friday, leading to his third start of the season.

Commesso’s numbers in Rockford have been pedestrian this season after such a strong second half last year. He has just nine wins with a 3.07 goals-against average (GAA) and .899 save percentage (SV%). Granted, goaltending numbers in the AHL should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are playing behind AHL defenses. However, seeing his GAA rise by over half a goal and his SV% dip by .012 is not ideal in his third professional season.

He needed to be sharp early, as Kevin Stenlund snuck in behind the defenders, but Commesso made a nice play to disrupt his shot and push the puck harmlessly wide.

You can’t pin either of Utah’s two first-period goals on Commesso. The first came on a late redirect, and the second was a 2-on-1 in which he nearly made the save. After the second goal, Commesso was confident and solid in the crease. He made 24 saves for his second win of the season. Both goals against came on high-danger shots, so he made all the saves he was supposed to. I think it's time to let him be the team’s No. 2 goaltender, but that probably won’t happen until next season.

“Drew’s demeanor is very good,” Blashill said. “I thought coming out of camp that we had a number of good goalies. Obviously, Sodie and Knighter have played very well for us, and I’m fully confident of Drew coming in and playing well.”

Nuggets & Tidbits

• The buzz from the win was killed a bit after the game when Blashill said Oliver Moore will miss “significant” time. He said the young forward will be reevaluated in a month, so his season is likely done. Hopefully, the injury isn’t serious enough to keep him out of training camp in September.

• We mentioned Bedard’s big game, and he hit two milestones with his two assists.  The first was his 116th career assist, surpassing Eddie Olczyk for the most by a Blackhawks player 20 or younger. With the helper on the overtime goal, he recorded his 44th career multi-point game, tying Denis Savard for the most in team history for a player 20 or younger.

• One of the trendy things to do online these days is to criticize Nazar. Some of the criticism is fair, as this has been a disappointing season for the second-year pro. But to declare a contract extension that hasn’t even kicked in yet as a mistake is jumping the gun. The game-winner extended his point streak to four games, with two goals and six points. That should quiet the critics for a bit.

• Andrew Mangiapane is quickly becoming a fan favorite in Chicago. He plays a simple and fast north/south game and is willing to go to the front of the net. He’s also great at getting under the opponent’s skin. He wasn’t afraid to get in Utah captain Clayton Keller’s face after a whistle to try and wake his teammates up.

Later in the opening frame, Mangiapane scored his first goal with the Blackhawks. The play was so simple and yet so effective. He went to the front of the net, where he stopped and had Ryan Donato’s pass bank off him into the net. I’d love to see more Blackhawks use this simple approach in the offensive zone.

Tonight was an emotional one, the first game at the United Center since the passing of Troy Murray. Even though he hasn’t been at a game all season, tonight his loss felt real for the first time. There was always a slim feeling of hope that you’d see him again, getting out of the elevator to the press box. Walking by the WGN radio booth and seeing the flowers and his jersey really made reality sink in. He’s not coming back.

During the first television timeout, the Blackhawks play a heartfelt and moving tribute to Muzz. I’ve met a lot of hockey people over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as respected, admired, and universally loved as Troy Murray. He was truly one of a kind and will never be forgotten.