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Sunday\u2019s Blackhawks game had a familiar rhythm to it. The Hawks scored first for the 20th time this season and gave the lead back to the Islanders before the end of the first period.<\/p>\n
The game see-sawed, but somehow, the Hawks found themselves with a lead headed into the third period. During the second intermission, the Hawks knew they were in a familiar position. The Hawks were fed up with coming up short and watching opposing teams capitalize off their mistakes and snatch away victories.<\/p>\n
But after the Islanders scored 47 seconds into the period to tie the game again, it looked like the Hawks would fade again in the third period. But instead of faltering, they stood tall and star Connor Bedard\u2019s shot from the slot found the back of the net for the go-ahead goal with 54 seconds left before defenseman Connor Murphy\u2019s empty-net goal added insurance to the lead.<\/p>\n
Bedard said he shot it at goalie Ilya Sorokin\u2019s chest and \u201csomehow it kind of found its way in.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The bounces worked in the Hawks\u2019 favor in their 5-3 win against the Islanders that snapped a two-game losing streak.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the third period \u2014 in between intermissions \u2014 that was something that everybody was just kind of piping up,\u201d said defenseman Alex Vlasic, who finished with two assists. \u201cEnough of what\u2019s happened the last week or so \u2014 I guess all season, honestly, just with the way that we\u2019ve been able to blow leads \u2014 and so today, for us to do that, everybody had to bear down and make the simple play.\u201d<\/p>\n
After coming apart in third periods in the previous two games, the Hawks were able to keep the game within distance. They never let the Islanders gain the upper hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things, the randomness of the game,\u201d interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cI thought [Saturday] we played better and didn\u2019t get the result, and today we kind of did bend a little bit, but we never broke. We didn\u2019t play our best game but found a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Hawks certainly had a breakdown on the Islanders\u2019 goal in the third period, allowing the Islanders to tie the game 3-3. The Hawks got caught in a tough change that allowed defenseman Noah Dobson to have a ton of open ice to get to a high-percentage area. Those types of gaffes typically led to a cavalcade of mistakes for the Hawks.<\/p>\n
The Hawks aren\u2019t built to make a playoff push, but with several young prospects on the roster, the Hawks needed to see more resiliency out of this group and they answered that call on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we\u2019re struggling to find wins, and so everything we can get is important for us,\u201d Vlasic said. \u201cIt was one of those games where, similar to the last few, where we get the lead and find a way to give it up. And for us to find that extra gear in the third period and not back down and get that goal back was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday was the Hawks\u2019 first win at home since Nov. 27 against Dallas. Given that many of their fans can\u2019t watch their games, they understand how important any win is, particularly wins at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fans are coming out every game and supporting us, giving us a lot of energy,\u201d Bedard said. \u201cIt\u2019s so much fun to play here. Just to get a win for them and celebrate at the end of the game like that is great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was really good tonight so hopefully he can build off this,\u201d interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cWe all know that he\u2019s better than he\u2019s played, and he knows that and we\u2019ve had conversations about that. so, really good response from him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things, the randomness of the game,\u201d interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cI thought [Saturday] we played better and didn\u2019t get the result, and today we kind of did bend a little bit, but we never broke. We didn\u2019t play our best game but found a way to win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","category-nfl","category-san-francisco-49ers"],"yoast_head":"\n