Boqvist nets first NHL goal in OT victory
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Blackhawks desperately needed some good feelings, some droughtbusting goals and, most important, two points in the standings Sunday.
They succeeded on all three counts.
Adam Boqvist scored his first NHL goal, Robin Lehner continued his Vezina Trophy-level play and
Patrick Kane struck in overtime as the Hawks edged the Ducks 3-2.
‘‘We just could not seem to put it together as far as results go, and ultimately they’re what allow you to kind of breathe easy and gain a little confidence in your game,’’ coach
Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘It’s not like we were outstanding tonight, but we got some points in the bank, and hopefully we can build on that.’’
Boqvist, a day removed from his NHL debut, ripped a top-corner snipe past Ducks goalie Ryan Miller to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. It couldn’t have been a prettier first goal, and Boqvist followed it up with another solid all-around performance in 15:44 of ice time.
‘‘It’s happened so quick and everything,’’ a grinning Boqvist said afterward. ‘‘There’s so much in my head right now. I got called up four days ago, so I’m just going to go with the flow.’’
After the Ducks erased a 2-0 deficit to force overtime, Kane converted a spinning pass from
Jonathan Toews 24 seconds into the extra period to give the Hawks the victory. Toews, who has been in a slump for most of the early part of the season, also was credited with an assist on Boqvist’s goal and suddenly finds himself on a twogame
points streak.
The Hawks have earned points in three of their last four games — a strange reality, considering how dismal things felt entering the day.
The victory even seemed to provide a decent blueprint for success moving forward: Try to put together at least two periods of responsible puck play and rely on Lehner, whose save percentage is up to .939 after stopping 36 of 38 shots, to survive the other period.
‘‘It’s always nice to score, nice to score in overtime, nice for the team to get a win,’’ Kane said. ‘‘Three out of four points in this California swing so far. It’s a good start.’’
PK streak snapped
The Hawks had killed 15 power plays in a row — their longest such streak since January 2018 — until the Ducks struck for a tying powerplay goal in the third period.
That breakdown, however, doesn’t undermine how improved the penalty kill has been overall.
‘‘Early on some pucks were going in the net, but we always felt that it looked way better,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘Much more under control, a lot of little things that make up a good penalty kill, whether it’s the clears or whether it’s the sorting, blocking shots. Obviously, goaltending has been a factor.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of those ingredients, so that’s one area of our game that we like.’’
Gilbert scratched again
Defenseman Dennis Gilbert didn’t play in either leg of the weekend back-to-back.
With eight healthy defensemen on the roster and Boqvist so far proving he belongs in the NHL, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gilbert reassigned to Rockford of the American Hockey League at the end of the road trip.
Gilbert still has benefitted from this longer NHL stint. He has grown close with defenseman Erik Gustafsson, sitting with him on team flights, and has become less ‘‘afraid to make a mistake,’’ he said.