Following an unexpected 5–2 win in Edmonton on Saturday night, the Chicago Blackhawks traveled to Calgary to face the unbeaten Calgary Flames in a Tuesday night game. The Flames, who boasted an impressive average of 5.33 goals per game over their first three matches, would pose a significant challenge for Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek. Calgary Head Coach Ryan Huska chose Dustin Wolf to start in goal for the Flames.
Here’s the lineup from Luke Richardson for the matchup.
First Period
The game opened with exciting end-to-end action, keeping fans entertained. Chicago failed to capitalize on their lone power play opportunity of the period, and shortly after, Calgary took a 1–0 lead when forward Matt Coronato scored his first goal of the season at the 16:01 mark. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson’s shot deflected off the net, and Mrazek, who was out of position, allowed Coronato to retrieve the puck off the end boards and score, despite defenseman Alex Vlasic’s attempt to assist.
Just 10 seconds later, captain Nick Foligno won a faceoff back to Alec Martinez in the offensive zone. Martinez passed the puck to Seth Jones, who took a shot that Foligno deflected on his way to the net, just as he should after winning the faceoff. Foligno’s goal was his second of the season, tying the game at 1–1, which was the score at the end of the period.
Second Period
In the second period, Chicago faced a challenging situation as Philipp Kurashev, Connor Bedard, and Foligno were all penalized. Although the Blackhawks managed to kill off the first penalty, they couldn’t capitalize on the 6-on-4 opportunity when Foligno was called for a slash against Jonathan Huberdeau while Bedard remained in the box. Andrei Kuzmenko scored for the Flames with assists from Huberdeau and Connor Zary.
After two periods, Chicago led in shots on goal 22-20, while Calgary had a slight edge in scoring chances at 25-20.
Third Period
The Blackhawks appeared fatigued from their journey and couldn’t even the score during Foligno’s second drawn penalty of the game when Brayden Pachal was penalized for high-sticking. Despite some back-and-forth play, the Flames sealed their victory when Coronato netted his second goal after the Blackhawks pulled Mrazek for an extra attacker.
In total, Mrazek had a commendable performance, stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced in the Flames’ 3–1 win.
Analysis
Foligno was prominent throughout the game, earning his second goal of the season. He won six out of ten faceoffs and drew two penalties, demonstrating his leadership on the ice. Early in the season, he has been performing well.
The Blackhawks entered the match with a strong power play but failed to score on both attempts. After the game, Foligno expressed that he believed the team played well enough to win but lost the power play battle, as the Flames converted one of their three chances.
Chicago will return home to face the San Jose Sharks for a 7:30 p.m. CDT game on Thursday.
