The Chicago Blackhawks came into the United Center fresh off back-to-back blowout losses. It was a rough West Coast trip for the Hawks and it looked like the tank was on empty.
They needed to bounce back against the visiting — and fellow centennial celebrating — New York Rangers. The Hawks responded by keeping their foot on the gas for 60 minutes en route to arguably their best game of the season.
The Hawks (13-11-6) cruised past the Rangers 3-0 on Wednesday. They denied New York every chance to make the game competitive while piling on goals.
“I thought we played some pretty good games (this season), but (tonight) was certainly a complete game,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “First (period) was really good, the second was fine. I thought the third, outside of the penalties, we did a really good job.”
Defenseman Louis Crevier put the Hawks on the board with a shorthanded goal at 7:08 in the second period. He found himself alone on the blue line during the Rangers’ power play and scored his third goal of the year.
“That was pretty fun, (I was) a little bit mad at first because I thought I could have had an easier break,” Crevier said. “I don’t get too many looks like this.”
Connor Bedard joined the scoring party with his 19th goal of the season at 14:27 in the same period. The center, who had two points in the game, collected a pass in front of the net by André Burakovsky and made short work of goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
Spencer Knight earned his second shoutout of the season and seventh in his career. He saved 21 shots, tied for the second-fewest shots he’s seen this season.
It was a great bounce back for him after allowing six goals to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. But the goaltender calmly dismissed the idea.
“It’s not really a bounce back to me, it’s just another day,” Knight said. “You’re going to have games where that happens.
“You can’t overanalyze it, just take what you can from the game and move on. Every game is a new game, that’s how I approach it.”
The Hawks assigned defenseman Sam Rinzel to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs on Monday. The roster move made the team run a traditional six-defensemen lineup for just the fourth time this season.
It’s an adjustment, but the defensemen didn’t show any flaws with the lineup. Matthew Grzelcyk — who spent time in the top power-play unit — had the primary assist on Crevier’s goal.
“A good thing is we’ve all played with each other and all have a little bit of chemistry, being out there in different situations,” Grzelcyk said. “As a D corps, it was probably one of our better games, using our feet to our advantage and gapping up.”
The Hawks had their chances to run up the scoreboard, but the Rangers (15-13-4) avoided catastrophe to start. Shesterkin saved two Burakovsky shots to keep the first period scoreless.
The Rangers came into the United Center with 12 road wins this season, the most in the NHL. They’re just 3-8-3 at Madison Square Garden.
Next up is another back-to-back for the Hawks as they travel to play the St. Louis Blues on Friday and host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. The last back-to-back was ugly, but it also brought lessons that the team will use this time around.
“A back-to-back isn’t ideal, (but) as a young team, we’re going to work hard and stick to the game plan,” Knight said. “Take in all the experience that we can and just keep building.”
The win may have been extra special for Blashill, who turned 52 on Wednesday. He didn’t show it, as expected.
“Our focus is going to St. Louis and playing a team that’s played pretty well overall the last little bit,” Blashill said. “Coming back here, we’re going to have to talk about how you play to be successful.
“We have a lot coming. It’s just the reality of the league, so we have to be able to handle it.”