Blackhawks' winning streak ends as rally falls short against Flames
The Blackhawks' three-game winning streak ended Saturday, but their increased offensive potency under interim coach Anders Sorensen hung around.
The Hawks mounted a third-period rally in a 6-4 loss to the Flames, cutting a four-goal deficit to one in time for a last-gasp shift in the offensive zone before an empty-net goal sealed their fate.
Connor Bedard, who had three points, set up two Tyler Bertuzzi tap-ins, then red-hot Ilya Mikheyev banged in a rebound with 1:08 left. It was the second time in two weeks under Sorensen that the Hawks cut a 5-1 deficit to 5-4. They also did it Dec. 12 against the Islanders.
The Hawks’ most impressive team stat from this generally vexing season also continued. They’ve been leading, tied or a goal down at some point in the third period in 33 of 34 games.
They were sloppy, however, while digging such a deep hole. The flip side of Sorensen’s offensive-oriented system changes is that neutral-zone turnovers are more likely to create odd-man rushes against, and that was the case against Calgary.
“We made too many mistakes that shouldn’t be made, and those are going to end up in your net,” Bedard told reporters in Calgary.
“We know we’re not going to quit or feel like the game’s over. We went into the third feeling like we had a chance. That’s the frustrating part, how much better we played in that period. If we played that way throughout the game, we probably win.”
Goalie Petr Mrazek had a mixed bag of results after missing a couple of weeks because of a minor groin injury, the flu and a family health issue. He made a miraculous stick save early but conceded several soft goals.
The Flames’ power play went 1-for-5, snapping the Hawks’ streak of 33 consecutive penalty kills. The opportunity they converted probably shouldn’t have been an opportunity at all, however.
Flames forward Martin Pospisil hit Bedard and Frank Nazar in the head but wasn’t penalized on either occasion. Ryan Donato was sent to the box instead for fighting Pospisil after the Nazar incident. Pospisil and Bertuzzi were ejected after a scrum in the final minutes.
Jones returns, too
Veteran defenseman Seth Jones, like Mrazek, also was rusty in his return to the lineup after missing 16 games.
He logged a team-high 26:42 of ice time but committed a turnover that led to a short-handed goal by the Flames. Sorensen put Alex Vlasic, who improved his power-play quarterbacking skills during Jones’ absence, back atop the first unit after that.
Jones said Friday that he played through a broken bone in his foot Nov. 14 in Seattle thanks to adrenaline, but he had a feeling after the game that it was a significant injury.
When it didn’t improve much after 3.5 weeks, he got frustrated — and worried about missing the Winter Classic — but he finally got over the hump the last 10 days or so.
Fact check
Some Hawks fans on social media insisted the team would be better off without Jones, but that’s simply incorrect. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Hawks have a .354 points percentage with Jones in the lineup (going 50-96-11) compared to a .333 points percentage without him (going 11-24-4).
They’ve also scored 43.3% of the goals during five-on-five play with Jones on the ice (outscored 136-104) compared to 37.3% of the goals without Jones (outscored 347-206).