4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 43 overtime loss: ‘We couldn’t hold on to a lead’
Jan 21, 2025
The Chicago Blackhawks squandered two leads and couldn’t hold the Carolina Hurricanes at bay during a 4-3 overtime loss Monday at the United Center.
Goalie Petr Mrázek faced 48 shots — the most the Hawks have allowed this season — and made 44 saves.
“He was awesome,” Taylor Hall said. “He’s been really good for a huge portion of this season. That would’ve been a nice win to get for him, especially playing his former team.
“We got just a bit overwhelmed by their shot quantity and how much time they spent in our end. We couldn’t hold on to a lead.”
The Hawks fell victim to the usual culprit — they stumbled during a two-goal second period for the Hurricanes — but give them style points for this one.
During a power play, Connor Bedard tried to split defenders at the blue line, but Jaccob Slavin stripped him to start the counterattack. Seth Jarvis finished the rush with a toe-drag short-handed goal.
Six minutes, 1 second later, Jesperi Kotkaniemi tied the score at 2 on a short-range shot off Eric Robinson’s pass.
Ryan Donato reclaimed the lead for the Hawks on a wrister off Hall’s feed from below the goal line with 29 seconds left in the second period, but Jordan Staal tied it again on an oddball goal with 6:23 left in regulation.
A puck battle ensued in front of Mrázek — without the puck. It sat undetected underneath him for a few moments until players noticed. TJ Brodie tried to protect Mrázek from behind, but Staal fished out the puck to tie the game.
Sebastian Aho finished off the Hawks with the only shot in overtime, 59 seconds in.
Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said Mrázek “made some spectacular saves there. So tough.”
Here are four takeaways from the loss.
1. Philipp Kurashev had a nice night — and it’s about time.
Pat Maroon’s back pain meant Kurashev was back in the lineup, and he took advantage of his furlough from the doghouse with a goal and an assist.
His previous goal came Nov. 10 against the Minnesota Wild.
“Yeah, I liked him,” Sorensen said. “Really good response from him.”
Said Kurashev: “It’s definitely nice for me personally, but now I’ve got to do it again and try to help the team win.”
2. Ryan Donato has been a dynamo for the Hawks.
Kurashev, Donato and Hall — let’s dub them the “trade bait” line — accounted for two of the Hawks’ goals.
Donato has been the engine for any line on which he has played.
“I’ve turned into a pretty good playmaker over the course of my career,” Hall said, “and Donny has a real feel for where to go. When he does get chances, they tend to go in at a pretty good rate. If he’s in the slot, he’s also got a real heavy shot.
“(Donato has) added a bit of playmaking to his repertoire as well. That was a really good pass to Kurshy. He’s had a few of those this year where he’s made a pinpoint pass on the back door.”
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Donato is tied with Tyler Bertuzzi for third on the team in points (27), and his 14 goals trail only Bertuzzi (17). Donato is on pace for 24 goals.
“He’s having a pretty good year and he knows where to go to get those scoring opportunities,” Kurashev said. “He has a great shot and made some nice plays to me as well. It was fun playing with him.”
3. Connor Bedard has enjoyed his lack of line dancing.
Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard reacts toward referee Ian Walsh after being called for a hooking penalty against the Hurricanes during the second period Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the United Center. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
We saw the merry-go-round with Bedard’s lines, part of what got coach Luke Richardson fired, but Sorensen won’t fall into the same trap.
“Last game we felt like four lines were going pretty well, so there’s no reason to change things,” he said. “Sometimes if you feel like one line may not be working, you don’t necessarily want to break apart a line that’s working to help another line. Sometimes that line needs to figure it out for themselves.”
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Bedard plays a great pitch-and-catch game with Bertuzzi at the net, but now Frank Nazar looks like the other side of Bedard’s coin.
“I’ve been with them for a while now, a good stretch of games,” Bedard said before the game. “You start to figure out what each other likes to do and I feel like we’re building that every game.
“Frankie’s been great the last two games. He’s brought a lot to our line. And he’s really fun to play with, so I’m excited to keep building that chemistry and getting to know their games more — and vice versa.”
They had several great chances against the Hurricanes — including a third-period two-on-none with Bertuzzi and Nazar, who should’ve drawn a hooking call on Jalen Chatfield — but they couldn’t punch one in.
“A couple of them, we’d like to see them be a little bit more attack mentality and shoot the puck a little bit more and not try to make that extra pass at times,” Sorensen said. “But they did have some good looks.”
4. Teuvo Teräväinen faced his old team at the right time.
Teräväinen reflected on his eight seasons in Carolina before the game.
“Had a good time, just a lot of good memories,” he said. “Same guys there I feel like (have been there) for a long time, so I got to know them really good.”
He entered the matchup having his best month since leaving Carolina: three goals and nine assists in eight games and scoring at a 37.5% clip.
Teräväinen, who was held without a shot on goal Monday, called the Hurricanes a “high-pressure” team.
“They’re trying to make the other team make some mistakes,” he said, “and whenever they get those turnovers, they can make you pay.”