Jason Dickinson leads Blackhawks to much-needed win as distractions swirl originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks needed a win more than they needed air. They got it on Black Friday, ending a five-game losing streak by rallying from a two-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime.
“I’m smiling,” Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said as he stepped to the podium for his postgame press conference.
The Blackhawks entered Thanksgiving on a five-game losing streak, with the most recent loss being an embarrassing 7-3 shellacking to a Columbus team that had lost nine in a row. It came on the heels of the team mysteriously scratching Corey Perry, whose status remains unknown, followed by the news that Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
The Blackhawks desperately needed some positive energy inside the locker room, and boy did they get it on Friday. Jason Dickinson recorded a hat trick and Kevin Korchinski scored the overtime winner, sending the 20,238 fans at the United Center home happy.
“That was a blast,” Dickinson said after the win. “I felt like the energy was there, the emotions were in it. Everybody was having fun out there.”
It was the first hat trick of Dickinson’s NHL career, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. He now has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his last nine games after going eight straight without one. He strapped Chicago on his shoulders
“It felt pretty amazing,” Dickinson said of his hat trick. “The puck laid up nicely in the slot to finish it off and luckily it went in.”
The Blackhawks have done a decent job of playing up to their opponents this season. Their struggles have oddly come against non-playoff teams.
Arizona handed Chicago its worst loss of the season earlier in October with a final score of 8-1. They had a deflating 4-2 loss in Nashville last weekend, too, before falling to Buffalo and Columbus, the latter of which was easily the worst of the season.
The Blackhawks clawed back against Toronto after a tough first period and showed they can hang with some of the top teams if they’re on their A-game.
“Just kind of channeling our emotions and showing up to each game, whether they’re top of the league or bottom of the league, you’ve got to bring the same attitude, same work ethic,” Korchinski said. “Tonight we brought the work ethic, the emotion that we needed and we came out with a win. It’s a huge stepping stone for us and we can…