Blackhawks lose to Bruins despite Marc-Andre Fleury’s heroics

The Chicago Blackhawks proved how bad of a hockey team they really are on Tuesday night when they allowed the Boston Bruins to walk all over them at the United Center. The Hawks have had some good moments in 2021-22 but that game was an accurate visual of what this team is.

As bad as they played, they collected a standings point as they lost to the Bruins in overtime by a final score of 2-1. They had a chance to win the game that they played so poorly in thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury who had one of the best games of his NHL career.

Fleury made 46 saves on 48 shots. Unfortunately for him, one of those shots that he didn’t save was the overtime game-winning goal by Matt Grzelcyk. Taylor Hall found Grzelcyk with a very nice pass and he did not miss the open part of the cage.

Linus Ullmark also played well for the Bruins even though he only faced 20 shots. There were some high danger chances made by top Blackhawks players and he was there when needed. As a result of both goalies playing well, it was 0-0 after two periods of play.

The Chicago Blackhawks were dominated by the Boston Bruins and still almost won.

Patrice Bergeron scored his 17th of the season at 4:43 of the third period. Just under five minutes later, Brandon Hagel scored his 21st of the season to get the game tied. It remained that way until the Bruins found a way to beat Fleury one more time in overtime.

It is a little strange that the Hawks are letting Fleury continue to steal them games. If they didn’t have him, they would have a much better chance of landing Shane Wright in the 2022 NHL Draft.

We would also be getting the opportunity to watch a future Hall of Fame goalie play in the playoffs if they sent him to a contender. It will be interesting to see if they make that move before Monday’s trade deadline.

The Bruins beating the Hawks was their second win against them in three games. Last week, David Pastrnak’s late goal gave the B’s a regulation win at the TD Garden over the Blackhawks. To be honest, it isn’t even a little bit surprising.

There were some Blackhawks players that had good games despite the lack of offense. Both Kirby Dach and Seth Jones were outstanding in their quest to help their goalie get the win. For Boston, Taylor Hall, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron were the most impactful forwards. The entire Bruins defense deserves credit for the way that they protected the house.

We won’t see these two teams meet again until next year which is sad because it is always fun to watch. The Hawks are going to try and build for the future at the trade deadline while the Bruins are going to try and add a piece for their postseason run. At a minimum, seeing Fleury play for Chicago has been a treat this season.