SALT LAKE CITY — The Chicago Blackhawks came into Delta Center on a losing streak, with none of the Hawks showing any flashes outside of two Connor Bedard goals. They were in desperate need to change the tides of a season that’s slipping away.
The Hawks had to flip the script in their kryptonite setting — a back-to-back. They’ve suffered shutouts, multigoal losses and embarrassing showings in those second games this season.
Bedard carried the team out of the Olympic break, and that made a nagging question louder. Could the Hawks produce outside of No. 98?
Well, yes. In Salt Lake City, at least.
“It’s something we probably haven’t had enough of, just scoring in general, (so) to get that is real important,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “They had some efficient shifts where they weren’t out there long but they were able to connect.”
The Utah Mammoth faithful had nothing to cheer for as the Hawks saw three unusual suspects send their pucks into the net. The white sweaters seemed to be having fun out there.
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“I think more importantly, it was just a really good win all around,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “It didn’t feel like we gave them many chances, it felt like we played a really solid team game and everybody contributed.”
The Hawks (23-28-9) made easy work of the Mammoth in a 4-0 win on Sunday. It’s their first victory out of the Olympic break and it snapped a three-game losing streak.
Utah (31-24-4) had its chances, but the Hawks defense was solid from start to finish. It was a similar defensive effort to the one on Saturday versus the Colorado Avalanche, but the Hawks were able to extend the lead before any funny business ensued.
“I thought we played really good defensively overall, but I thought we did that the other night, as well,” Blashill said. “As I said after the last game, as the game went along, I thought we did a better job of breaking the puck out, (and) we showed some of those (clips) before the game, and we carried that forward today.”
Vlasic may have played the best game of his five-year career. He notched an assist, blocked two shots and led a ferocious shutdown of the NHL’s fourth-best 5-on-5 offense (136 full-strength goals).
It was a 180 from the Avalanche game. He said to blame the Denver altitude for that.
“Sometimes the legs are going, sometimes they’re not,” Vlasic said. “I was skating the puck well and taking the chances when they were given to me, (it) felt like my legs were chugging along tonight.”
Teuvo Teräväinen opened the scoring at the end of the first period (19:05) off a nifty Tyler Bertuzzi assist. He scored his 11th and 12th goals of the season against the Mammoth.
Team captain Nick Foligno scored his 250th career goal unassisted at 11:38 in the second period, while Landon Slaggert joined the scoring party (13:07) after Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka failed to make a glove save.
“The Slaggert goal, that was execution off the faceoff that led to that goal,” Blashill said. “(Foligno’s) great hands around the net, that was (his) 250th, what a great number for him.”
The Hawks have the best penalty kill in the NHL, and they added another layer to the unit with a shorthanded third-period goal. That was courtesy of Teräväinen, the Olympic bronze medalist’s second goal of the game.
Goalie Arvid Söderblom saved all 22 shots taken against him in Utah. It was the first shutout of his career.
“It’s been a long time coming and a lot of ups and downs, but to finally get it done felt great,” Söderblom said. “The guys did a great job in front today, (and) I thought we played our defensive system flawlessly.”
Added Blashill: “It’s the life of a backup goalie sometimes, you get some tough games, and we’ve kind of hung him out to dry a few times, to be honest with you. Everybody is really happy for him, he’s a great teammate, he’s a great professional, goes about his business and does his job, so guys were eager on the bench to try to get that done for him.”
The Hawks improved to 15-2-2 when leading after two periods. The Mammoth fell to 5-18-1 when trailing into the second intermission.
It’s the first of three games against Utah in the next 11 days. The Mammoth play at the United Center on March 9.
The first of those matchups set the tone for the Hawks, and the two Central Division games have increased importance.
“It’s a division rival, we’re excited to keep playing them,” Vlasic said. “It’s nice to get some games against a similar team and you’re able to get some pre-scouts and things like that.”
Defenseman Sam Rinzel missed his second straight game due to illness. His status for March 3 in Winnipeg is unknown.