In a Sunday matinee between two rebuilding franchises, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists while Ryan Donato scored twice on the power play to help the Chicago Blackhawks snap a seven-game losing streak with a 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on March 23.
The first period looked more like the Wild West than a hockey game, with six goals scored between the Blackhawks and Flyers. Jamie Drysdale opened the scoring for Philadelphia with a goal just four minutes into the game, but Patrick Maroon and Joe Veleno quickly responded to take the lead before Travis Sanheim buried his seventh to tie it 2-2. Oh, and all of that came in a span of 4:14.
Related: Blackhawks Getting Pat Maroon’s Invaluable Presence & Leadership in His Final Season
Bobby Brink and Connor Bedard exchanged goals to close out the first frame, with the two teams tied at three.
The Blackhawks took over the game in the second period, with Bertuzzi scoring his 19th of the season a few minutes in and Donato scoring his 24th and 25th goals of the season on the power play. Travis Konecny potted his 24th, but the Blackhawks had a 6-3 lead and never looked back.
A Lukas Reichel goal early in the third period sealed the deal, and Chicago defeated the Flyers 7-4, earning their first win since March 7.
Spencer Knight, playing in his seventh game with the Blackhawks since being acquired in the Seth Jones trade with the Florida Panthers, stopped 24 of 28 shots to earn his third win with Chicago. He is now 14-12-1 with a .908 save percentage (SV%) and 2.50 goals-against average (GAA) this season.
Related: Flyers’ Konecny Breaks Slump But Still Has Work to Do to Finish Strong
As for Ivan Fedotov, the Russian netminder stopped just 22 of 29 shots and was on the ice for all seven goals the Blackhawks scored. He is now 5-12-3 with an .884 SV% and 3.03 GAA in 24 appearances with Philadelphia.
The Blackhawks are now 21-41-9 with 51 points and a minus-61 goal differential, last in the Central Division and second last in both the Western Conference and the NHL. They’re 2-6-2 in their last 10 games.
Meanwhile, the Flyers have now lost five straight and are 27-35-9 with 65 points and a minus-47 goal differential, last in the Metropolitan Division and second last in the Western Conference. They’re 1-8-1 in their last 10 games.
The Blackhawks will play the other three games of their four-game home stand this week, hosting the New Jersey Devils, Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club.
As for the Flyers, they’ll travel north to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs before flying back to Philadelphia to face the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres.
