Blackhawks gaining confidence, beat Stars again

For the second time in five days, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars 4-3. They didn’t need the shootout as they did against Dallas, beating them in regulation tonight. The home team got a pair of goals from Ilya Mikheyev, with solo tallies by Artyom Levshunov and Teuvo Teravainen.

Even though this game will go down in the record books as a one-goal game, it was not as close as the final score suggests. The Blackhawks were in control for much of this game, and two late 6-on-5 goals drew the Stars to within one late.

"We were really good the majority of the night,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “I loved the speed at which we played. I loved how connected we were. I loved our third period. When we play the way we're capable of, we still need to improve in our defending. But our speed & tenacity can be a good equalizer, and I thought that showed at times tonight."

Momentum Building for Artyom Levshunov.

The Blackhawks lost to the New York Islanders in a shootout on Tuesday night, but it was hard to feel bad about it because of the play of three young players. Oliver Moore, Nick Lardis, and Levshunov were the best three Blackhawks on the night.

Moore had the primary assists on both Blackhawks goals, including setting up Lardis’ power-play strike to tie the game in the final seconds of the second period. Levshunov didn’t find the scoresheet, but he looked as confident as ever with the puck and hit the post twice. Having these three players take steps forward is huge, as it will take a ton of pressure off Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar when they return. The progression of the future core players remains the main goal for this season.

This young trio has shown they can impact games, both collectively and individually. The key to long-term success in the NHL is consistently bringing a positive impact to every game. Of the three, Levshunov had the best night. He scored the game’s first goal on the power play and finished his night with seven shot attempts. His confidence is at an all-time high.

“Arty has done a really good job on his five-on-five game, and that’s mirrored his power-play game,” Blashill said. “It looks like he’s attacking the game offensively more, and he’s shown that real good poise up at the blue line.”

The line with Teravainen, Moore, and Lardis was not as dynamic tonight as they were on Tuesday, but they weren’t bad by any means. They had a 64.29 Corsi for percentage (CF%). They produced five scoring chances, but allowed three high-danger chances. The bottom line is they spent much more time playing with the puck than without, and that’s what you want from this group.

Top Pairing Struggling in Shut Down Role

Louis Crevier has been a nice story. Any time a seventh-round pick goes from the ECHL to becoming a regular in the NHL, you give them a ton of credit. There were very few expectations for him heading into the season, but he’s gone from a seventh blueliner to being paired with Alex Vlasic.

We’ve seen a lot of good from Crevier during the season. Sticking up for Nazar during the home opener and his shorthanded goal against the New York Rangers come to mind. However, we’ve seen plenty of areas that need improvement as well. There are many times on the ice where it looks like he is just relying on being the biggest guy on the ice as his best way to defend.

Crevier had a rough opening frame. On one shift, he was knocked to the ice by a much smaller Jason Robertson. Moments later, he was unaware of a Dallas forechecker and easily gave away the puck behind his own net. On Dallas’ first goal, he got too aggressive in the neutral zone and put himself out of the play. He left Jason Dickinson out on an island, and Mikko Rantanen did the rest of the work.

On Jason Robertson’s third-period goal, Crevier chanced the puck too high and was slow to recover, leaving the Stars’ top goal scorer with an easy chance. Vlasic was on the ice for all three goals against. On the final goal of the night, he fell to the pressure of the forecheck and coughed up the puck deep in the defensive zone.

I want to see this pairing play more to their size. They don’t need to be Scott Stevens on every shift, but rely on more than just their stick play and reach to defend. They need to use their size to their advantage and make life difficult in front of their goaltender. They are getting pushed off the puck and giving up inside position far too easily lately. This needs to improve. This pairing isn’t bad, we know they can do better.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• Mikheyev got the “new dad bump” with two goals, including the game-winner early in the third period. His first goal was a real beauty. He did an incredible job of using his body to shield the puck from Esa Lindell before tucking the puck into the net. He’s up to eight goals this season, but could easily have at least a half dozen more. Seeing him finish off two scoring chances was great.

• Tyler Bertuzzi, who had two goals in Dallas, picked up an assist on Teravainen’s power-play goal. He now has three goals and six points in his last four games against the Stars. He finished tonight’s contest with a game-high 10 shot attempts.

• Speaking of guys who like playing against Dallas, Ryan Donato had two assists on the night, giving him points in five of his last seven games against them. Overall, he has points in three of his last six games and is up to nine goals and 17 points on the season. The Blackhawks need him to pick up the offensive production even when they are back to full strength.

• The Blackhawks are now 9-2-1 when leading after two periods and 13-5-5 when they score at least three goals.