Dominik Kubalik scores 2 power-play goals in the Blackhawks’ 4-0 exhibition win against the Blues
“Chelsea Dagger” played frequently during the Chicago Blackhawks’ “home” exhibition game Wednesday at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Hawks got second-period goals from Brandon Saad and Dylan Strome and a pair of third-period power-play goals from Dominik Kubalik in a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
It had been 140 days — a little more than 4 1/4 u00bd months — since the Hawks faced another team on the ice. That came on March 11, when they beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 at the United Center a day before the NHL halted the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That seems worlds away from Wednesday’s game. The Hawks were the designated “home team” but played in an empty arena in Edmonton, one of two designated hub cities with Toronto for the NHL postseason, as part of safety protocols the league and the NHL Players Association established to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to players and staff.
Artificial crowd noise and music were piped in during the broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago Plus.
After two weeks of training camp scrimmages, the Hawks were eager to see how they would fare against the defending Stanley Cup champions, even though the game was merely a warm-up for Saturday’s opening of a Stanley Cup qualifier series against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Hawks entered the game with questions about goaltender Corey Crawford’s readiness, the depth behind him, their anemic power play during the season, the defensemen’s readiness after several injuries and the inexperience of some of their core players.
One exhibition doesn’t settle all of those concerns, but the Hawks had to be pleased with what they saw.
Crawford, who tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t join the team until the last day of camp Saturday, stopped all 11 shots he faced in about a period and a half.
The Hawks scored two goals on 13 shots against the Blues’ Jordan Binnington, who ranked third in the league in save percentage (.912). Saad tipped in Jonathan Toews’ pass, and less than two minutes later, Strome put one in off a Patrick Kane assist. Both passes came across the crease in front of Binnington.
Malcolm Subban took over for Crawford with about 10 minutes left in the second, and less than a minute later he stopped Jordan Schwartz on a two-on-one break. Subban finished the game and had 10 saves.
The Hawks couldn’t cash in on their first-period power-play chance, but Kubalik fired a shot point-blank past Jake Allen off Kirby Dach’s assist in the third. Kubalik struck again seven minutes later with a man advantage off Toews’ assist.
The Hawks masterfully killed two penalties, preventing the Blues from getting off a shot against Crawford.
The Hawks now turn their focus to the Oilers, their draw in a best-of-five play-in series beginning Saturday. On Tuesday night, Connor McDavid scored two goals in the Oilers’ 4-1 exhibition win against the Flames.
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