The Blackhawks aren’t feeling celebratory about tying their season-long point streak.
After all, the streak’s length is just three games, and the Hawks have won only one of the three. They blew a two-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes on Monday, following up an overtime defeat against the Predators and a victory over the Golden Knights.
The Hurricanes are always one of the NHL’s most trigger-happy teams and they justified that reputation Monday, peppering Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek with 91 shot attempts and 48 shots on goal.
Mrazek was spectacular at times, but Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal eventually poked in a loose puck Mrazek thought he had covered to tie the game with 6:23 left in regulation and Sebastian Aho blasted a one-timer past him 59 seconds into overtime.
“We didn’t support the puck well enough to break it out of our end and [our] wingers didn’t do a good enough job on the walls,” Taylor Hall said. “So [the Hurricanes] kept a ton of pucks in and…overwhelmed us at times throughout the game.”
Philipp Kurashev, making his return to the lineup, and Ryan Donato had each tallied two points on the Hawks’ fourth line.
Teuvo nostalgia
Hawks fans spent years missing Teuvo Teravainen before finally getting him back this season.
Now, the Hurricanes are the team missing Teravainen’s presence. The Finnish forward didn’t fit in their salary-cap situation last summer, so they had to let him walk after eight years in their organization, but their appreciation for him hasn’t waned.
“He’s one of the more talented players and certainly one of the highest-hockey-sense [players around],” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday. “He knows the game. Whatever situation you put him in, he’s probably the smartest guy out there.”
In Chicago, Teravainen got off to a hot start, then endured a drought and now has found a rhythm under interim coach Anders Sorensen.
He has 20 points in his last 17 games, but since 16 of those points are assists, the offensive surge hasn’t thrust him into the spotlight — which he doesn’t exactly enjoy anyway. He won’t be able to avoid it, however, as the Hawks’ lone representative in the 4 Nations Face-Off next month.
His defensive play has been solid, too, and he’s being used in a defensive role right now alongside Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev. He’s hard on himself and has admitted the Hawks’ losing ways are difficult for him to tolerate, but he hasn’t been the problem.
“[Teuvo’s] poise stands out,” Sorensen said. “He’s assertive, he knows where pressure’s coming from and he puts his body in a good spot.”
Notes
The Hawks have hired former Wild and Coyotes executive Chris O’Hearn as their new vice president of hockey operations, a source confirmed Monday. O’Hearn is known as a salary-cap and contract-negotiation expert. He joins Norm Maciver, Brian Campbell, Meghan Hunter and Mark Eaton in general manager Kyle Davidson’s inner circle.
Hawks forward Pat Maroon is day-to-day with a back injury, Sorensen said. Dickinson also left Monday’s game after taking a hard shot to his right forearm but “should be fine,” Sorensen said.