The Chicago Blackhawks will look to close a five-game trip on a high note when they face the Ducks on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
It will be the second half of a back-to-back for the Blackhawks, who rallied for a 4-3 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Chicago trailed 2-0 after two periods and was down 3-2 when Tyler Bertuzzi scored with 31 seconds left in regulation.
The Blackhawks were outshot 23-8 through two periods, and while they were scrappy in getting 11 shots in the third, they still allowed 12. They were outshot 5-2 in overtime and finished with just 21 shots on goal.
“We know we can and need to play better, but to find a way to come back in this game and get it done is a testament to the guys in here and honestly probably to the hockey gods, too,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. “We probably deserved to win in San Jose and didn’t. Here we probably didn’t, but we got the win.”
Chicago has won two of its past three games to bring a 2-2 record on the road trip into the finale. The Blackhawks hope to turn things around after going 3-7-1 in October, and getting a victory to kick off November is a good start.
“Once guys got emotionally engaged in the game (against the Kings), we started playing the way we need to play,” Foligno said. “It wasn’t perfect, but that’s OK. We’re looking for results right now. It matters to know how to win.”
Ryan Donato scored the deciding goal in the shootout, and though it won’t count in his total tallies, it’s just the latest in what has been a strong start to the season for the journeyman forward. He has six goals and eight points in 10 games thus far and is 10 goals shy of his career high reached in 2021-22 (with the Seattle Kraken) in 74 games.
The Ducks will begin a six-game homestand on Sunday after going 1-2-1 on a road trip against Metropolitan Division opponents. They dropped the first two against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils before beating the New York Islanders and falling in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Anaheim, which like Chicago is still in rebuild mode, is second-to-last in the Pacific Division but is a surprising .500 on the season at 4-4-2. Goalie Lukas Dostal has been key to that as the starter in John Gibson’s absence, doing his part for a team that ranks last in the NHL with 22 goals scored.
Among goalies with at least three games played, Dostal ranks first with a .945 save percentage and second with a 1.99 goals-against average.
“There’s a connectivity that older teams have that usually reflects experience,” Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. “They understand what’s going to happen before it happens, when all the young guys, they don’t know. They have to learn by doing, right? Our best player has been our goalie. Let’s be honest. We’re 4-4-2 and could easily be (worse) if he’s not playing how he’s playing.”
–Field Level Media