They booed Connor Bedard. Every time he touched the puck, 98 heard it from the fans in Montreal. Which is hilarious honestly because they should be booing their own recent No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky but hey, if they think Bedard’s home country fans giving him the road treatment is going to have an impact on the kid I wish them the best of luck.
Petr Mrazek carried the Blackhawks through a scoreless first period that was fast but sloppy on both sides. The Hawks had three empty power plays in the opening 20 minutes and killed two Montrea🌊l advantages. The Habs out-shot the Hawks 12-9 in the first and a few of those nine were really good looks that Mrazek kicked to the side.
For as good as Mrazek was in the opening period, the first goal of the night is one he would probably like back. Kevin Korchinski kept Cole Caufield wide and the puck hit Mrazek in the shoulder but popped over him and into the net. Montreal doubled their lead later in the second when the Habs got a 3-on-2 break and Tanner Pearson converted. Seth Jones‘ effort on the third Montreal goal — a short-handed breakaway for Sean Monahan — was pathetic. The entire second period was just ugly.
The Blackhawks got another power play with 21.8 seconds left after a rough sequence for Bedard, so they pulled the goalie and had a 6-on-4 while chasing just one goal. Chicago couldn’t get a shot through and took their second loss in three games to start the season. Credit the Blackhawks for fighting to the end once again; they out-shot the Habs 17-9 in the third period.
Star 1: Tyler Johnson
The first two periods were so bad I was honestly thinking MacKenzie Entwistle might be my No. 1 star if it continued through the full 60 minutes. But 35 seconds into the third period during a 4-on-4, Tyler found a loose puck in front of the net off a Jones shot and got the Blackhawks on the board. At the time of the goal, Tyler was tied with Bedard for the team lead with four shots on net and he had been skating a lot at center because Lukas Reichel was ๊a no-show🌳 in the first two periods. When the Blackhawks pulled the netminder late in the third, Johnson scored a second time to get the Hawks within one.
Star 2: Petr Mrazek
The first couple goals for Montreal he would probably like to do over, but he was really the only reason this game wasn’t a blowout early. The Blackhawks had five (5) power play and had 14 total shots on goal in the first two periods. The offense was non-existent and the defense was starting to scramble as the skaters in front of Mrazek got more desperate.
Star 3: Ryan Donato
Donato has been able to hang with Bedard early this season and their line was the Blackhawks’ most consistent offensively in the game. Donato skated 21:09 and won two of seven faceoffs. The line of Donato, Bedard and Taylor Raddysh was on the ice for a team-leading 9:14 at 5-on-5 and was the only line with a positive shot differential in the game (according to ♐).
