Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 4th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The Chicago Blackhawks' third losing streak of at least three games this season has been lopsided of late.
The Blackhawks will return home Wednesday night to face the Boston Bruins on the heels of consecutive three-goal losses against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs.
An empty-net goal late in the third period Monday sealed a 4-1 victory for the Maple Leafs.
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"Second and third period, we created chances," Chicago forward Lukas Reichel said. "It wasn't Grade A, but we were in the offensive zone buzzing, we went to the net, but unfortunately we didn't get a good bounce to put (enough) in.
"We just have to find ways to win the game when it's 2-1 or when we are down one goal. It's pretty tough right now."
Reichel scored the lone goal for Chicago on Monday, trimming the deficit to 2-1 at 3:26 of the third period. The Maple Leafs' Fraser Minten regained a two-goal advantage for his team just 21 seconds later.
"We had some great chances. We worked them down low pretty good. That was the game plan," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "Unfortunately, we just didn't connect on a few of them. There were a couple loose pucks in there that we couldn't get our hands on. ... There were a couple tough bounces on us tonight."
Boston will aim to stretch its winning streak to a season-best three games as it continues a run of three games in four days.
The Bruins defeated the visiting Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Tuesday after Pavel Zacha scored on a return feed from David Pastrnak at 2:15 in overtime.
"It's really important," Zacha said. "It's one of those games where you have to win those if you want to have a good season. So that was something. We had a good penalty kill, something we can build on, and now we have to play better the next game."
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Boston improved to 5-2-0 since Joe Sacco took over as interim coach after Jim Montgomery was fired last month. Zacha credited a shift in mindset for helping the Bruins build and sustain momentum.
"I think there's been a little more shot volume, a little more structure in the defensive zone," he said. "I think that has helped this team be really good defensively and then go from there. I think that's working for us."
Added Nikita Zadorov, who scored Boston's first goal Tuesday: "I think we're playing with passion. I think we're playing with pride. I think we're playing for each other. I thought we were disconnected before. That's what wasn't working. I don't think we fixed much Xs and Os."
Blackhawks leading scorer Connor Bedard (19 points) saw his three-game point streak end against the Maple Leafs.
Bedard recorded one goal and a minus-1 rating in two games against the Bruins last season.
Boston Bruins vs. Chicago Blackhawks Recap OCT 24TH 2023
Three players scored and Jeremy Swayman pitched a 23-save shutout to lead the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Pavel Zacha, Matthew Poitras and Trent Frederic all lit the lamp for Boston, which finished off a four-game road trip and improved to 6-0-0 for only the second time in franchise history. The Bruins are in their 100th season.
The shutout was the 10th of Swayman's career in only 91 regular-season games.
All 18 Boston skaters were credited with at least one of the Bruins' season-high 43 shots on goal. Eighteen came in the second period.
Zacha's first goal of the season at 3:50 of the second period stood as the game-winner. The last two Boston goals came within a 56-second span early in the third.
A 19-year-old rookie, Poitras has now scored three times over his past two games.
Chicago did not register double-digit shots in any frame, finishing the game with only 23 as a team.
Petr Mrazek stopped 40 shots for the Blackhawks, who have been shut out twice during their current three-game skid.
The hosts looked to take a 1-0 lead at 12:54 of the first before a coach's challenge for offsides wiped away star rookie Connor Bedard's third NHL goal -- an open one-timer off Charlie Coyle's turnover.
The Bruins took advantage of the momentum shift and went ahead early in the middle period.
Zacha's tip-in score off a Kevin Shattenkirk point shot highlighted Boston's dominant run of 14 consecutive shots on net that lasted over nine minutes.
In the third, Poitras doubled the Bruins' lead at 4:06 when he poked a puck free in his own zone and shot home a breakaway goal as he closed in on Mrazek.
The line of James van Riemsdyk, Coyle and Frederic teamed up to produce the second of Boston's quick-fire goals. After Coyle's shot from the left wing, van Riemsdyk corralled the puck and fed a backhand pass to Frederic to finish at the opposite post.
Bruins forward Jakub Lauko was cut near the eye by a skate late in the third. Boston coach Jim Montgomery said Lauko ended up being OK, but he did need stitches next to his eye.