Chicago Blackhawks: Sweep Red Wings for first wins of 2021

The Chicago Blackhawks are all the way back. Kind of. They might still be a lousy hockey team but they had a really good weekend against the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings are nothing special at all but the Hawks aren’t either. In fact, the Wings looked much better to start the season but the Hawks were able to get their first two wins of the season against them. They also snapped their streak of giving up five goals a game.

The Chicago Blackhawks took both weekend games against the Detroit Red Wings.

In the first game on Friday night, the Hawks were still winless at 0-3-1. It was a tough start but they were able to get the victory. Kevin Lankinen made the start in goal and he was very good. Patrick Kane, Dylan Strome, and Alex DeBrincat did an awesome job carrying the offense. Ian Mitchell was also able to grab his first NHL point with an assist on Calvin de Haan’s second-period goal.

Getting that win propelled them into their rematch on Sunday. Pius Suter scored his first career goal to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. About five minutes of game time later saw him score his second career goal to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. That certainly isn’t a bad start to a game and he capped it off with the Hat Trick goal late in the third. He was the star of their second straight win.

Suter’s game was very noticeable in the second game this weekend. He was great playing with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat as the top center. It was a nice switch as Dylan Strome moved down to the second line. The three of them had great chemistry in this game.

Suter’s second goal came on the second power-play unit which was great to see. The Hawks have had some struggles as a whole but they currently have one of the best power plays in the NHL. If Suter and the rest of the second unit are able to help it out as well, this team might really be able to take advantage of the man-advantage.

The penalty kill has been a major issue so you can’t say that their special teams are great but the power play has certainly been carrying its weight. The Red Wings were able to score a couple of power-play goals which is something that the Hawks really need to work on.

The Blackhawks are back on the road following this game. They are heading down to Tennessee for a two-game set against the Nashville Predators. As we are seeing this season, a lot of the schedule is playing the same team more than one time in a row. Well, not only are the Blackhawks playing the Predators in two straight games, they are on back to back nights.

That is certainly a big challenge for them so hopefully, they can carry some of the momenta from this big sweep of the Red Wings. If they are able to keep their forward lines the way they are, that might add some scoring depth against a Nashville team that has a solid defense. This is their chance to show they weren’t only good because they were playing Detroit.