Blackhawks come out on top in goalie duel with New Jersey

The Chicago Blackhawks earned their second win in a row over the New Jersey Devils in a goalie duel. This is another step in the right direction.

The Chicago Blackhawks went into their game against the New Jersey Devils following up a thrilling victory over the Boston Bruins the night before. They blew a 3-0 lead but won in overtime so you knew they would have some extra pep in their step in Newark. The game didn’t have as much offense as you would have thought though as both goalies played really well. The Blackhawks defeated the Devils in a shootout by a final score of 2-1.

MacKenzie Blackwood and Corey Crawford each allowed just one goal to give their teams a chance. Then when it got to a shootout Crawford made one extra save to earn Chicago the victory. Neither goalie allowed a goal at even strength as Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal for New Jersey and Alex DeBrincat scored a power-play goal for Chicago. It is clear that special teams and goaltending were a major factor in the Hawks getting the game to a shootout where they were able to seal the win.

New Jersey is one of the teams in the NHL that is currently underachieving. They had a lot of high hopes going into the season but haven’t lived up to the hype. They were also without Nico Hischier who is one of their best players because he was sick. With that said, it is impressive that the Blackhawks were able to take four points out of four against a Devils team that has a lot of talent following the best team in the NHL in the Boston Bruins.

The Blackhawks have Saturday off as they had a back to back on Thursday and Friday. The Arizona Coyotes come to the United Center on Sunday night for a battle of two very different teams. The Coyotes are going to likely be in the playoffs for the first time since 2012 while the Hawks are struggling to be a playoff team. This game should be a battle of good goaltending and a top-heavy forward group on each side.