The Chicago Blackhawks opened the scoring but the Dallas Stars scored five unanswered goals, giving the Stars a 5-1 victory and handing the Blackhawks their fourth straight loss.
Stars’ forward Matt Duchene, who at 33 is leading Dallas in scoring with 33 points, scored his 14th goal of the season in the final frame. With two assists earlier in the game, he now has three three-point games in 2024-25.
Related: Blackhawks Roundtable: Reichel, Sorensen, Most Underrated Player, Trade Targets
Jamie Benn, Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston each scored their eighth goals of the season, respectively. Forward Evgenii Dadonov scored his 10th and is now two goals short of tying his 12-goal total from the 2023-24 season.
Blackhawks’ forward Connor Bedard scored midway through the first period on the power play, giving him 10 goals on the season. He leads the club with 32 points, scoring 10 goals and adding 22 assists.
Chicago played with lots of energy through the first half of the game, controlling play and generating scoring chances on Stars’ goaltender Jake Oettinger. But Blackhawks’ forward Tyler Bertuzzi was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit delivered on Dallas forward Colin Blackwell.
Tyler Bertuzzi was given a five-minute major and game misconduct for this hit on Colin Blackwell. pic.twitter.com/y4BszMOh3g
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 30, 2024
Robertson would score to make it 2-1 Stars, and Dallas never looked back.
Oettinger stopped 24 of 25 shots, improving his record to 17-9-1 with a .905 save percentage. Meanwhile, Blackhawks’ goalie Arvid Soderblom drops to 5-9-1 in 16 appearances.
Related: Sabres Goal Explosion Overtakes in 6-2 Win Over Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are now 12-23-2 with 26 points, last in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. They’ve now lost four straight games and are 4-6-0 in their last 10. Their next game is Dec. 31 when they host the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, in the NHL Winter Classic.
Meanwhile, the Stars improve to 21-13-1 with 43 points, fourth in the Central Division and currently holding on to the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas is now 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. Their next contest is Dec. 31 when they open a three-game home stretch, hosting the Buffalo Sabres.
