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Game 47: Hawks 5, Preds 4
April 22, 2021, 3:57 AM ET [146 Comments]
Theo Fox
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The Blackhawks staged a thrilling comeback to finally defeat the rival Predators in overtime. While Chicago gained 2 standing points and some ground on 4th place, Nashville also came away with a point as well.

After the Hawks scored the opening goal, the Preds answered back with 4 consecutive tallies including one with a few ticks left on the clock to end the 2nd and another within the first minute of the 3rd.

However, the Hawks stormed back with 4 of their own. Threes were wild in the latter part of the game as the Hawks bagged a trio of goals in 3 minutes in the 3rd before sealing the deal at the 3:00 mark of OT.

The star of the show was Brandon Hagel who notched 2 assists and the OT GWG which was the second heroic winner of his career and in the span of 10 days (first time was in Columbus with a 4-3 OT win on April 12).

Getting little defensive support for much of the contest, Malcolm Subban did everything he could to keep his team in the match by standing tall in net with 36 saves including a few stunning ones.

Despite the victory, team defense was still porously horrid with too much puck watching, poor positioning, and lack of finish to rub the puck carrier out of plays in order to neutralize offensive threats.

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Starting Lineup

The starting lineup saw the return of Adam Boqvist on the blueline and Hagel up front while Dylan Strome was scratched in favor of the 11F/7D format:

And the starters for the opening shift:

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Scoring Recap

1st Goal: Suter (1-0)

After Vincent Hinostroza pressured Roman Josi to the boards and lifted his stick, Hagel picked up the loose puck, worked it down low, and fed Pius Suter with a pass across the slot to slip past Juuse Saros.

2nd Goal: Tolvanen (1-1)

Connor Murphy couldn't contain Viktor Arvidsson allowing him to wrap the puck around to the slot where Eeli Tolvanen tucked it in. It didn't help that Riley Stillman and David Kampf both failed to cover Tolvanen.

3rd Goal: Sissons (1-2)

Colton Sissons knocked down an airborne puck in the neutral zone then burst his way up the middle past Murphy, dragged Brett Connolly behind him, and powered a shot past Subban for the unassisted goal.

4th Goal: Granlund (1-3)

In the closing seconds of the 2nd, the Predators mounted a 4-on-2 against Duncan Keith and Murphy that ended with Mikael Granlund performing a curl and drag to deke around Murphy for the marker.

5th Goal: Kunin (1-4)

Besides Keith chasing Josi and Murphy being incapacitated as he struggled to see after trying to get his helmet back on, all Blackhawks forwards simply watched the puck and made zero effort to defend.

6th Goal: Kalynuk (2-4)

(No video available)

Patrick Kane and Hagel cycled the puck around the right circle before Kane tethered the puck to a pinching Wyatt Kalynuk on a backdoor play to get in behind Erik Haula and fool Saros on the left flank.

7th Goal: Hinostroza (3-4)

(No video available)

Nikita Zadorov hit Hinostroza with a stretch pass who split 3 Nashville defenders then teamed up with Kirby Dach on a perfectly executed give-and-go to pull the Hawks within one of knotting the game up.

8th Goal: Kubalik (4-4)

Murphy dumped the puck that Connolly retrieved but temporarily gave it away to Ryan Ellis. However, Suter picked Ellis' pocket behind the net then set up Dominik Kubalik in the high slot tie the game at 4 apiece.

9th Goal: Hagel (5-4) OT

The Hawks completed the comeback through patience and skill as Hinostroza and Hagel worked as a duo to transition the puck over the full length of the ice before Hagel exploited Saros up high.

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Game Notes

Hits to Separate

One area of the game that the Blackhawks need to refine is delivering hits to separate puck from opponent. The first goal allowed started with Murphy not connecting with a hit to eliminate Arvidsson.

Impotent Power Play

The Chicago power play continued to spiral downward after going 0-for-4 including what could have been a pivotal 4-minute man advantage after Alex DeBrincat got a high stick to the mouth that drew blood.

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Player Notes

This is the second time in 2 weeks that Calvin de Haan has injured his hip.

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Roster Updates

More thoughts on this developing story about Jonathan Toews in the next blog.

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Rockford Updates

The IceHogs play a back-to-back set in Des Moines battling the Wild on Friday and Saturday.

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See you on the boards!

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