3 Takeaways From the Blackhawks’ 4-3 Overtime Win over Jets

The Chicago Blackhawks won in overtime against the Winnipeg Jets 4-3. It’s their first game that went past regulation and it ends with a win on home ice. The forward lines were very consistent with generating chances throughout the game, but it ended with a young defenseman scoring the overtime winner.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday night’s win.

Youth Core Is Reunited

This was the first game after a two-game suspension for forward Frank Nazar. He used his speed to generate a breakaway chance with under five minutes left in the first.

This was the first game with both Nazar and Connor Bedard in the lineup since the end of last season, so Nazar’s first goal after suspension was huge. His line of Ryan Donato and Oliver Moore was also really good in the win.

“I thought [Donato and Moore] were really good tonight, and I tried to chip in when I can,” Nazar said. “I thought Dono was moving his feet, protecting the puck, making good plays. And same with Mooresy, right? He’s skating and he’s above everyone, and that frees other guys up around him, and he’s winning battles, and that’s the biggest part. So I thought those two guys were great.”

Bedard, Nazar and defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who scored the overtime winner, were the three stars of the game.

History for a Franchise Icon

When it’s all said and done, Patrick Kane is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and will go down as the greatest American-born skater of all time.

Bedard scored his first goal as Blackhawks captain and Kane got the assist, which put him at the top with the most assists by a U.S.-born player in NHL history with 895, passing Hall of Famer Phil Housley.

“To be included in a moment like that and to get to score that for his accomplishment is pretty unbelievable,” Bedard said. Their chemistry is one of the most intriguing storylines to watch as Bedard gets back into game shape.

Even with this being his second game back, he already looks capable of making an impact. You combine that with Kane’s vision and passing, that gives Chicago another creative option.

Chicago has now won both games where Bedard is in the lineup. “You’re going to play up to the level of your teammates, and he brings us up a notch out there,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “It’s just good to have him back,” (from ‘Here comes the sun: Connor Bedard is back, and the Blackhawks along with him’, New York Times, Oct. 14, 2026).

It Was Artyom Levshunov and Spencer Knight’s Night

A rough loss against the Carolina Hurricanes left the Hawks to search for answers as the homestand continued.

Spencer Knight stopped 31 of 34 shots, including a crucial overtime save on Neal Pionk that kept Chicago alive. He got the left pad out and brought an already electric United Center up to its feet.

Moments later, Levshunov went the other way and scored the winner. It was a great show of patience for the young defenseman with a toe-drag wrist shot, with Bedard and Kane getting the assist.

This was a game-winning performance in the truest sense. Chicago gave up too many opportunities late, but Knight’s composure prevented those mistakes from becoming a loss.

It was 3-1 after the first period, a period that started with a lot of penalties. Donato also had a good goal in the opening period, held the puck long enough to get it past Jets goalie Stuart Skinner.

Chicago needs its young defensemen to become difference-makers, not just reliable defenders. Levshunov delivering in a high-pressure 3-on-3 situation is an encouraging sign of his offensive potential and confidence.

Their next game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday (Oct. 17) will be another test of this team, hoping the winning momentum over the past two games will carry into another divisional opponent.