ANAHEIM, Calif. — In San Jose, the Chicago Blackhawks lost a game to the Sharks they probably should’ve won. In Los Angeles, they won a game against the Kings they admit they probably deserved to lose.
In Anaheim, they dispensed with good or bad luck and just executed according to plan, flustering a Ducks team 4-2 on Sunday at the Honda Center.
The Hawks capped a five-game road trip with their first back-to-back wins — coming during a back-to-back — and finishing 3-2-0 on the trip.
“It’s good,” said Connor Bedard, who had three assists in the game. “Obviously it’s been a long trip and you’re feeling it at the end, so it’s good that we’re able to dig deep here and get a couple (wins).”
The Ducks took 11 of the first 12 shots on goal.
Last season’s Hawks might have wilted in the face of such pressure, as would Sunday’s netminder, Arvid Söderblom.
But he didn’t buckle at all. He held steady until the Hawks could get their act together — which they did after surviving a questionable hooking penalty on Lukas Reichel.
Defenseman Isaak Phillips earned his first point of the season, roofing a goal off Bedard’s feed.
Later, Reichel got his revenge by drawing a tripping penalty, and Teuvo Teräväinen capitalized on it with a power-play goal with 3 minutes and 16 seconds left in the frame.
In the second period, Tyler Bertuzzi blasted Radko Gudas from the back and drew an interference penalty when Jackson LaCombe retaliated.
On the power play, Bedard served up Seth Jones for his second goal of the season (both on the man advantage).
Special teams had been a struggle in recent games, but the power play and penalty kill were humming to the tune of 2-for-2 and 1-for-5, respectively.
The Ducks made a late surge, as expected, and Brock McGinn put them on the board midway through the third.
But when Ryan Donato jammed in a goal from the crease to make it 4-1 with 2:17 left on the clock, it made Mason McTavish’s power-play goal with 6 seconds left irrelevant.
Coach Luke Richardson said, “That’s a good step to not just win yesterday with a good comeback win and then just relax and just be happy with that. We’re not satisfied, and I think that’s a good step for a professional sports team.
“Never satisfied, you go right after the next one and we got four really big points, two big wins in California and we’ll take that home with us.”
Here are seven takeaways.
1. Now the Hawks can do what they couldn’t last season: Win three in a row.
Tank Season Part 2 was hard to watch last year, but it boggles the mind that the Hawks never strung three wins together.
In fact, they only won two consecutive games three times.
“The goal is to win every game, and the only two-game win streak is pretty tough,” Bedard said. “So we obviously want to improve that, but we’ve got to just keep rolling.
“We can’t be satisfied with two, we’ve got to get more.”
Their first opportunity comes Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings.
2. Arvid Söderblom sizzled in this one.
“It makes the game feel a little slower. I play a little calmer, let the game come to me instead of chasing it.”
—Arvid Soderblom on improving on the “small details” pic.twitter.com/W5uenkH8gy
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) November 4, 2024
Söderblom’s previous start came Oct. 19 against the Buffalo Sabres, so it had been a long layoff.
“I wouldn’t say ‘nervous,’ but it’s always a little, I wouldn’t say ‘rusty,’ but a little different,” he said.
Söderblom survived 30 of 31 even-strength shots on goal and four of five penalty kills.
“He was unbelievable,” Bedard said. “We had some breakdowns, and he was always there to make a big save.”
What’s more, the defense blocked 26 shots to help him out.
Söderblom said, “We’re playing much better defense this year, both taking away rebounds, blocking shots and keeping them to the outside. It’s more comfortable being goalie this year for sure.”
What’s really striking is how much Söderblom looked the part, sliding to block attacks from the sides and plucking shots from the rips at him out of mid-air. He never looked flustered.
And it bears out in his numbers through three starts: a 2.35 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, compared to a 3.92 GAA and .879 save percentage last season.
Richardson blamed some of the goalie’s struggles last year on a defense that had to rely heavily on depth or inexperienced players.
“There were goals coming from areas where we really don’t want to let in on the backside,” he said. “It makes a goalie not feel comfortable and they kind of shrink into the net.”
Söderblom said he has been learning and fine-tuning “small details.”
“It makes the game feel a little slower,” he said. “I play a little calmer, let the game come to me instead of chasing it, and then we’re playing better defensively this year, as well.”
Rebound control usually had been his Achilles’ heel but it appears he has a handle on it this season.
“When you play a little calmer … it’s easier to get control of the puck instead of having bounces all over the place,” Söderblom said. “That’s what I’ve been working on, and it’s been working early on here.”
3. After a couple of failed breakaways, is Connor Bedard nearly at his breaking point?
In the second period, Bedard got a breakaway chance but Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov hoofed it and rode him into a collision in the crease with goal Lukas Dostal.
On another breakaway with 4 minutes and 5 seconds left in the frame, Bedard tried to deke Dostal to no avail and broke his stick in frustration.
“I guess (make) a different move?” he said, searching for answers. “But it’s been tough for me to put them in. Might need a little magic here soon.”
Bedard has been getting antsy with just three goals under his belt, but he’s just going to have to be patient, be happy with the three helpers and ride this out until the goals start coming in bunches.
Richardson said, “He was moving his feet better (than the Kings game) and playing a smarter game where he was above and made them try to go through us, and it created a couple of breakaway chances.
“I know he gets a little frustrated not scoring on those, but I think just getting them is going to get him back into that zone where those are going to be money.”
4. Well, there was that almost-goal.
Connor Bedard on whether he or Ryan Donato scored: “Not a clue”
On not scoring on a couple breakaways: “Might need a little magic here soon.” pic.twitter.com/s4AUHFkpsh
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) November 4, 2024
That would be Donato’s third-period goal.
He, Bedard and Philipp Kurashev were all hacking at the puck amid a mass of bodies in the crease, then it finally went in.
Scorers initially awarded it to Bedard, but then changed it to Donato.
“Not a clue” who really scored, Bedard said with a smile. “Yeah, I don’t know. They’d have to watch it. Maybe I think (Donato) or (Kurashev), one or the other.”
5. The penalty kill needed a resurrection and got it.
It used to be the more reliable special teams unit but had been in a skid lately.
After the Buffalo Sabres game on Oct. 19, the Hawks’ sixth of the season, the penalty kill ranked sixth in the league (87.5%).
Over the next six games, the penalty kill allowed seven goals in 19 opportunities, and its ranking dropped to 23rd (74.3%) heading into Sunday’s matchup.
The Hawks have spent nine of their first 13 games on the road, so they haven’t had a lot of practice time.
But “that’s really no excuse,” Richardson said. “Sometimes we make a little bit of an alteration, depending on the team that we’re playing and what they’re doing, but I think it’s more about us right now.”
He said the PK needs to win more puck battles and limit early goals.
In Los Angeles on Saturday, the Hawks gave up a power-play goal on the Kings’ first chance.
On Sunday, the Hawks limited the Ducks to one goal in five power plays.
“(Assistant coach Kevin Dean) had a good meeting this morning and said we have to get back on being more aggressive,” Richardson said.
“I thought we were aggressive on the entries. There were a couple faceoff wins that I would like to see better clears. Other than that, I thought the aggressiveness didn’t really let them have a lot of looks on the inside.”
6. What happened with Craig Smith?
With a minute and 7 seconds left in the second period, Chicago’s Pat Maroon and Anaheim’s Ross Johnston squared off.
However, once the dust settled, referees hit Smith with a 10-minute misconduct penalty.
Richardson, who looked annoyed and perplexed while hearing the explanation, relayed what he had learned after the game.
“Still not sure,” he said. “I guess they said he was questioning on different calls and then they didn’t call the Maroon one, but we got called on some other ones.
“I just think they felt it was a little bit aggressive, but Craig said he wasn’t swearing or yelling. That’s just one of those things.”
It ultimately didn’t hurt the Hawks, but who says there are no bad questions?
7. Who knew Ryan Donato could dance on ’em?
Donato’s little deke-and-dump on Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper still boggles the mind and tickles the fancy.
Who knew he had that quill in his quiver?
“We thought he was shooting,” Richardson said before the game. “And so when he starts taking on a deke, we’re like, ‘Ah, I think he’s a shooter.’
“But it was a great deke. The ice was a little rough at the end of the game, so a lot of those guys had success shooting. So maybe he surprised the goalie with something different.”