In Chicago, Pavel Zacha scored for the Boston Bruins in the third period to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 lead over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
On any normal night this season, that might have been the end of the effort from Chicago.
Not Tuesday.
The Blackhawks reeled off four unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 win over Boston.
Taylor Raddysh scored a hat trick in the third for Chicago.
“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Raddysh said. “We came in here knowing they were going to be a pretty hard team to play. I feel like we did a pretty good job at getting all four lines going and just everyone coming to work. I was fortunate the puck went in. It obviously feels good when that happens.”
Petr Mrazek got the start for the Blackhawks, and made 16 saves before leaving the ice ice midway through the middle frame. His mask was knocked off on a shot. He reportedly left the game with a groin injury.
“Very similar injury to earlier in the year, but not as severe,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “So, that’s good news. But we’ll have to reevaluate him tomorrow morning and get him checked out properly. As of now, he’s probably not going to start the [upcoming five-game] trip with us, but they think he’ll probably join us on the trip, so that’s the good news.
“Doesn’t seem to be as bad, they said, so I think they just said he pulled himself because he knows it could get worse if he stayed in. It could have been really bad, so I think it was a smart call to get him out. Of course, Alex is the type of goalie that can go into a situation like that, the way his play is and his manners, he can handle that situation, so it worked out well.”
Alex Stalock yielded three goals, and made 23 saves in relief.
Through the first 40 minutes, the two teams traded goals for a 2-2 tie headed to the third.
MacKenzie Entwistle gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead, and Hampus Lindholm tied it for Boston, 1-1, in the second period.
Chicago regained the lead on a marker from Joey Anderson , 2-1.
Boston replied again with a strike from Trent Frederic.
Bruins dropped to 50-11-5 on their third loss in four games.
“You get humbled in this league if you don’t put on your work boots and don’t come to play together as a team,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “That mental focus has been there. Now it’s two stretches that we haven’t had it. First one, I thought it was physical fatigue. This one, there’s no reason for physical fatigue, and we look like we’re tired.”
Boris Katchouk also scored for Chicago in the third, his strike came between the first and second goals from Raddysh .
“I think Taylor’s a smart defensive player and now with [linemate Jason] Dickinson out there, they were going out next if we didn’t get that empty-netter,” Richardson said. “That’s the responsibility that he’s earned. He’s going to make the right plays. He’s not going to ice the puck or miss his check defensively. So, he’s got 20 goals, which is the first time for him, I believe, and a really fun night to have a hat trick. More importantly his all-around game is excelling. It’s good to see.”
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Linus Ullmark made 23 saves in the Boston loss.
“It’s our starts,” Bruins forward Charlie Coyle said. “Our starts are kind of killing us. It got covered up there in that first Detroit [Red Wings] game [Saturday] because we ended up winning, so maybe you don’t think about it as much.
“That next game [a 5-3 loss on Sunday at Detroit], it’s the same thing. Bad start and we’re behind the eight-ball. Today, probably could have been a little better as well. It’s a shame because there’s no excuse for that. We had the day off [Monday]. We should be coming in ready to go and have that great start.”
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