On Friday night, we saw the Calgary Flames attempt to extend their first winning streak of the season to three in a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
While the Flames were heating up, the Blackhawks had been cooling off, losing three straight games. However, they were coming in off a comfortable three-goal victory against the Vancouver Canucks, and maybe they’re heating back up after a strong showing against the Flames.
Game Recap
To kick things off, the Blackhawks opened the scoring three-quarters of the way through the first period on a goal that Tyler Bertuzzi redirected into the net with his leg off an incredible pass from Connor Bedard through traffic.
It was the lone goal of the opening frame, and the Blackhawks’ 1-0 lead held all the way through the second period.
In the third, the Blackhawks started to pull away. A minute into the final frame, Bedard fed Bertuzzi on a two-on-one rush, who finished off his second goal of the game. His eighth goal of the season passes Bedard for the team lead in scoring.
The Blackhawks then scored their third straight unanswered goal as Bedard found himself with the puck on an odd-man rush again. This time, he set up Andre Burakovsky, who beat Dustin Wolf, giving Bedard his third primary assist of the night.
Despite a late power-play chance, the Flames failed to get on the board. To cap off the Blackhawks’ 4-0 shutout win, Bedard stripped Morgan Frost of the puck and went in all alone, finishing off the breakaway, putting a great move on Wolf to conclude his four-point night.
In the victory, Spencer Knight made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season. Regardless of the result, both teams are coming out with injury concerns, as Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks’ 2022 first-round pick, and Zayne Parekh, the Flames’ 2024 first-round pick, both left the game with injuries.
The Blackhawks will look to finish their road trip on a three-game win streak in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, while the Flames will head out on the road for a matchup with the Minnesota Wild that same day.
