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Game 53: Hawks 3, Canes 6
May 5, 2021, 3:00 AM ET [134 Comments]
Theo Fox
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Generally a much better start by the Blackhawks but the 2-0 lead evaporated as the Hurricanes stormed back with 4 unanswered goals before potting a few more into empty nets at the end of the game.

The flaws that have exposed the Hawks all season -- application of poor fundamentals, lack of defensive structure, and incapacity to stage consistently solid breakouts -- still did the team in last night.

Alex DeBrincat showing off his versatility by scoring a shortie was a highlight but the most notable play of the game was Mike Hardman scoring his first NHL goal on a MacKenzie Entwistle rebound shot.



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Starting Lineup

The starting lineup with Collin Delia getting his first start since January 17 as well as Riley Stillman back in for Nicolas Beaudin and Entwistle a late add to replace Kirby Dach:

And the starters for the opening shift:

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Scoring Recap

1st Goal: DeBrincat (1-0) SH

Using his aggressiveness on the backcheck as well as his speed, DeBrincat forced Sebastian Aho to cough up the puck, raced down the left flank with it, warded off Dougie Hamilton, and beat Petr Mrazek with a wicked snapshot from in close.

2nd Goal: Hardman (2-0)

Two Blackhawks rookies notched their first NHL points as Entwistle blazed around Jaccob Slavin, took the puck hard to the net, and got an initial shot off that led to a juicy rebound in front for Mike Hardman to clean up with some peanut butter.

3rd Goal: Niederreiter (2-1)

Managing the puck behind the net, Morgan Geekie preoccupied Duncan Keith and waited to tether a pass to the slot for Nino Niederreiter to bang home after he snuck in behind Ian Mitchell and Dylan Strome who took too long to sort out coverage.

4th Goal: Svechnikov (2-2)

Right after a faceoff, Andrei Svechnikov executed a give-and-go with Slavin at the top of the zone before heaving a shot on net that Nikita Zadorov unfortunately tipped along the way to change the puck's direction and throw off Collin Delia.

5th Goal: Svechnikov (2-3)

Slavin made a diving attempt to clear his zone knocking the puck to Teuvo Teravainen in the neutral zone who then sent Svechnikov off to the races with Mitchell in tow before roofing a backhander past Delia. Mitchell incurred a delayed penalty.

6th Goal: Teravainen (2-4)

Aho and Svechnikov transitioned the puck up ice and danced with it along the right boards drawing the Chicago defense towards them which permitted Teravainen to break free to the slot for the tally as Patrick Kane stared at him from the side.

7th Goal: DeBrincat (3-4)

Kane hovered below the blueline dangling the puck waiting for an opportunity to open up which was in the form of a drop pass to DeBrincat who arrived late on a line change, darted to the right side, and sent a laser from the top of the circle.

8th Goal: Necas (3-5) EN

(No video available)

Martin Necas blocked a Wyatt Kalynuk shot from the point, recovered the puck, and flipped a long-range backhander to the empty net.

9th Goal: Niederreiter (3-6) EN

(No video available)

The Canes won a board battle in the right corner of their defensive zone and worked the puck to Niederreiter for another free throw.

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Game Notes

One in a Million

Just watch. More like one in a trillion.

Good or Bad?

Cool to watch but is this good or bad defense?

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Player Notes

Hardman & Entwistle

Good ol' Tuomo Ruutu. And whatever happened with MagJo?

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Roster Updates

Kirby Dach

More in tomorrow's blog with thoughts about Dach's situation as well as Adam Boqvist's.

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Prospect Updates

Slava Demin

After 3 years at the University of Denver, Slava Demin has a chance to finish his NCAA career strongly at a new school.

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See you on the boards!

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