The Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens matchup was set to be an interesting one. Considering the Blackhawks had recently come off an embarrassing 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at the New Year’s Eve Winter Classic, the team has been grappling with what has been going wrong amidst their five-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens were on a three-game winning streak and have won 7 of their last 10 games. However, the story of the game is that Blackhawks’ prospect Colton Dach made his NHL debut against his older brother and former Blackhawk, Kirby Dach, which was fun for both teams.
Yet, the most fun was on the Blackhawks’ side as they were able to secure two points in an eventful 4-2 win.
Canadiens and Blackhawks Battle Hard To Start
The Blackhawks had a terrible effort at the Winter Classic, but that was not the case against Montreal. Both teams came out physically and energized. There were 13 hits in that period. Jason Dickinson had the most hits on the Blackhawks (3), while defenseman Mike Matheson had the most hits (2) for the Canadiens. There was even a fight between Pat Maroon and Arber Xhekaj within the first six minutes of the game.
Besides the physicality, both goaltenders were strong. The Blackhawks scored 1-0 early after Frank Nazar drew two Montreal penalties, giving Chicago a five-on-three power play for two full minutes. Tyler Bertuzzi took advantage. However, Sam Montembeault stopped a grade-A chance by Jason Dickinson, and Arvid Soderblom stopped a good chance by Cole Caufield.
Caufield, the Canadiens top goal scorer, eventually tied the game 1-1 after being left alone in front.
The first period was a bit sloppy at some points, with some missed chances and passes. Montreal took four penalties, but it was entertaining.
Soderblom Beat Montreal in Huge Second Period
The second period was the story of Montreal. Nick Foligno was able to take advantage of a shot from Wyatt Kaiser to make it 2-1, but after that, Soderblom stood on his head. He continues a strong season.
Montreal had so many chances. The final minute of the second period looked like a Canadiens’ power play where the Hawks could not get the puck out of the zone, and Soderblom made the stops, including a big one on Habs’ captain Nick Suzuki.
It seemed like the game could have been 4-2, or 5-2 Montreal. But the Blackhawks owe a…
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