Fresh off snapping a five-game skid in a contest dripping with postseason implications for their opponent, Ilya Mikheyev etched his name twice onto the scoresheet, delivering a decisive blow that not only propelled the Blackhawks to a 3-1 victory over the Penguins, but also slammed the door on Pittsburgh's playoff aspirations for the third consecutive year on Sunday, April 6th at United Center. Despite Chicago's triumph, Rickard Rakell managed to light the lamp for the Penguins, tying his career high of 34 goals set in the 2017-18 season. The Blackhawks had been eliminated for the fifth consecutive season after falling 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings. On Tuesday, April 8th, the Penguins and Blackhawks meet again in Pittsburgh at PPG Paints Arena.
Chicago Blackhawks Lineup:
Donato - Bedard - Mikheyev
Teravainen - Nazar - Bertuzzi
Slaggert - Moore - Kurashev
Reichel - Veleno - Foligno
Vlasic - Rinzel
Korchinski - Murphy
Kaiser - Levshunov
Knight
Soderblom
Pittsburgh Penguins Lineup:
McGroarty - Crosby - Rust
Rakell - Malkin - Koivunen
Heinen - Lizotte - Acciari
Koppanen - Hayes - Dewar
Grzelcyk - Letang
Timmins - Karlsson
Graves - Shea
Nedeljkovic
Jarry
Frank Nazar opened the scoring after a scoreless first frame, late into the second period with 1:05 left to play. He took a return pass after skating into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 rush with Teuvo Teravainen, firing a wrister past the stick of Alex Nedeljkovic to put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 on the first shorthanded goal of his career, as well as his ninth goal of the season during a Penguins' power play.
Speeding past Connor Timmins, Ilya Mikheyev made it 2-0 at 10:20 of the third period for his 19th goal of the season. Connor Bedard, who took a pass from Sam Rinzel, set up Mikheyev when he made a pass to him. Mikheyev got ahold of the puck on the right wing, flying past Timmins, and sent a wrist shot under Nedeljkovic's blocker. With his assist on the second Hawks tally, Rinzel recorded his first NHL career point. Rickard Rakell brought Pittsburgh within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 5:24, after some passing back and forth. Ville Koivunen had handed the puck over to Bryan Rust, who sent it to Rakell, who scored while down on one knee in the slot. With 56 seconds remaining in regulation, Mikheyev sent home his second of the night and his 20th of the season when he took a pass while driving down toward the empty Penguins' net from Nick Foligno, who grabbed the puck along the right boards after it was sent down from Joe Veleno for the 3-1 final.
Ilya Mikheyev on the Blackhawks' game: "I think we have more advantage during each game. Sometimes we crack in the third period, but it takes time for learning for young guys and for everybody. We need to be patient and maybe sometimes play more simple."
Sam Rinzel on the past few games: "I feel like I'm getting a bit more comfortable. I think I'm learning every game. Like my first period today, I need to be a little more crisp with passes; they were a little off to start the first period. But obviously, you make a mistake. But I think it's as long as I'm playing confident with my feet, things happen. I felt a little snakebit kind of the first couple games, had a lot of chances and stuff, but just being patient with it and trusting the process is good for me."
Notes:
- Spencer Knight made 28 saves for Chicago, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves for Pittsburgh.
- The Blackhawks lost five straight and 11 of 12 and are 22-45-10.
- The Penguins are 31-35-12.
- Sidney Crosby's point streak ended at 12 games.
- Connor Bedard: two-time 60-point scorer in the NHL... He became the sixth active player to record a 40-assist season as a teenager, joining Crosby (84 in 2006-07 and 63 in 2005-06), Patrick Kane (51 in 2007-08), Clayton Keller (42 in 2017-18), Mitch Marner (42 in 2016-17), and Anze Kopitar (41 in 2006-07).
- Rutger McGroarty has three points in his past four games, recording a goal and two assists.
- Ville Koivunen has two points in his past four games, picking up a pair of assists.
- Sam Rinzel has played in four NHL games, making his debut on the 30th of March.
- The Penguins played without Philip Tomasino in their lineup, as he's being evaluated for an upper-body injury.
Sidney Crosby talks about Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's record for the most goals in the NHL.
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