After a four-game homestand in which they went 1-3-0, the Chicago Blackhawks traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to face the surging Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, Jan. 22. They were riding the momentum of a 2-0 shutout win over Jonathan Toews and the Winnipeg Jets from Monday night (Jan. 26), and were looking to add another in the win column.
Add it they did, with an exciting 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes. Here are some key takeaways from the Blackhawks’ second consecutive win.
Blackhawks Lines & Pairings vs. Hurricanes
Ryan Greene – Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky
Ilya Mikheyev – Frank Nazar – Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato – Oliver Moore – Nick Lardis
Landon Slaggert – Nick Foligno – Colton Dach
Alex Vlasic – Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk – Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight/Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Sam Lafferty, Teuvo Teravainen (upper body), Jason Dickinson (illness)
Related – Brooke’s Blackhawks Notebook: Toews’ Return & the Hunger for Greatness
Frank Nazar, who’s been out with a broken jaw since Dec. 20, returned to the lineup for this contest. Andre Burakovsky was back as well, after missing the last contest due to illness. Jason Dickinson was expected to play, but ended up being a late minute scratch due to illness.
Depth Scoring Wins the Day
The Blackhawks had a tough time keeping up with the Hurricanes in this contest. They were basically outshot, out chanced and out maneuvered throughout most of this contest. But they stuck with it, and capitalized on their chances. Ilya Mikheyev got the scoring started for both sides with a shorthanded goal on the Hurricanes’ first power play. It set the tone for the night that the Blackhawks weren’t going to back down.
a shorthanded goal to open the scoring✅ pic.twitter.com/RjdXY3AQa2
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2026
This was Mikheyev’s ninth goal of the season and his first shorthanded goal.
The second goal of the night scored by the Blackhawks came from none other than rookie Nick Lardis. If this wasn’t a beautiful play I’m not sure what is.
Nick Lardis from Ryan Donato and Oliver Moore pic.twitter.com/hGZ3hh70ob
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 23, 2026
Moore made the play along the wall to Donato, who made a beautiful pass to Lardis, who was right in front of the net for the finish.
The third Blackhawks’ goal in regulation time came from veteran depth defenseman Connor Murphy. He pulled off a move from his younger days.
GOAL: Connor Murphy SHOWS OFF THE HANDS in tight to score the go-ahead goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gpEmsM9kUl
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026
This was just Murphy’s second tally of the season, but it was an excellent clutch goal to take a 3-2 lead in the third period. Murphy was assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Mikheyev on the tally.
Penalty Kill Comes Through, Again
The Blackhawks’ penalty kill has been phenomenal all season, as they’ve adapted to Blashill’s more aggressive PK system. Case in point, Mikheyev’s shorty. But over and above that, the Blackhawks were 5-of-5 on the PK, against a team that’s ranked 13th in the league on the power play.
The Blackhawks usurped the Colorado Avalanche on this night. They are officially first in the NHL on the PK, allowing just 24 goals against in 161 tries, for an 85.1% on the PK. Pretty impressive. Blashill addressed the contributions of the penalty kill after the game.
We got good killers. I’ve said it all year. Up front, we’ve got guys like Mikheyev, who is as good a killer as there is in the league. On the back end those guys are so long. Murph’s (Connor Murphy) always been a good killer, Vlas (Alex Vlasic), Crevs (Louis Crevier), Kais (Wyatt Kaiser), all those guys do a good job. So I think we got good killers. They understand our plan and they execute.
Having good special teams can be the difference between winning and losing games, and not allowing a single goal on five power play tries definitely made an impact in this one.
Moore Wins It on His 21st Birthday
Well, this was pretty much the story of the night. Rookie Oliver Moore had a phenomenal outing against the Hurricanes, on his 21st birthday to boot!
When Nazar was out of the lineup, head coach Jeff Blashill experimented with Moore playing the center position. It was an immediate success. Moore was able to much more effectively utilize his speed down the middle, and Blashill therefore wants to keep him there.
Related – Blackhawks’ Center Dilemma: Who Fits Best Down the Middle?
As noted above, Moore and his linemates combined for a goal (by Lardis) in this contest. But Moore also engaged in his first NHL fight, sticking up for his buddy Lardis because of a hit he received from Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin. Plus, he won the game with his goal in the sixth round of the shootout. I guess we’ll have to start calling this an “Oliver Moore hat trick”!
you’re invited to Moorsey’s bday celebration🎁👇 pic.twitter.com/ef0alE3vcy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2026
All in all, Moore contributed an assist, two shots on goal, three shot attempts, a fight, the shootout winner and went 6-of-13 (46%) in the faceoff circle in 12:51 minutes of ice time. This now 21-year-old has a bright future ahead of him, and we all got a glimpse of it on this night.
Other Notes From Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes
- Nazar didn’t contribute any points in his return, but he did contribute four shots on goal, seven shot attempts, one hit and won 6-of-9 faceoffs (67%) in a healthy 18:30 minutes of ice time. Solid return as he gets his legs back under him.
- Defenseman Artyom Levshunov has had his ups and downs this season, and this game was a down game. His irresponsible pinch led directly to a goal against in the second period. The 20-year-old’s ice time was limited for the rest of the game; he only played 16:37 minutes. Blashill said, “There’s been nights where he’s played really good, he’s played a lot, and tonight wasn’t his night. And I thought Louie was going.”
- Blashill is referring to D-man Louis Crevier, who logged 22:21 minutes of ice time in this contest. In that time, he recorded one shot on goal, seven shot attempts, five hits and four blocked shots. “Louie” is feeling it right now.
- Spencer Knight just continues to do his thing in net. He stopped 28-of-31 shots, including 18! high danger chances, for a .903 save percentage.
Related – The Blackhawks Can’t Be Sellers at the 2026 Trade Deadline
The Blackhawks now head back to Chicago for a very quick turnaround, as they face the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning in the second half of back-to-back contests on Friday, Jan. 23. On Sunday (Jan. 25), they’ll host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
Can they carry this gutsy win over into the weekend?! Be sure to tune in to find out!
