A double first came Thursday at the United Center in the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens. Switzerland’s Philipp Kurashev scored the first overtime winner in the NHL and Germany’s Lukas Reichel made his league debut. It was the Blackhawks’ third win in a row.
However, it took a while before Kurashev and his teammates were able to celebrate the decisive goal in the additional shift. The reason: The referees took a close look at him twice. First, they checked to see if the puck had fully crossed the line before Montreal’s goal was unhinged by two visiting players, and second, if Kurashev was in an offside position. Finally, the redeeming message came over the microphone that the goal counts.
For Kurashev, the minutes of waiting brought with them a roller coaster ride of emotions, as he described after the game. “At one point I thought, yes, they’ll give the goal and then again, oh no, now they’ll look something up. But thank God they recognized it in the end. Of course I’m happy about that,” said the man from Davos. Things have been going much better for him recently after being temporarily transferred to the AHL branch in Rockford in early December. In the twelve appearances since returning to the Blackhawks’ NHL team, the 22-year-old center has six points (three goals, three assists).
Reichel showed no signs of nervousness during his first appearance in the NHL. He stood on the ice for 15:55, including 1:19 on the power play, and had three shots at the Canadiens’ goal. The joy of his successful debut was written all over the face of the 19-year-old from Nuremberg after the end of the game. “I had a lot of fun out there. And getting my first win in the first game sounds really good, I think,” he said proudly.
Playing alongside Patrick Kane, his childhood hero, the debutant impressed with his speed and technical ability. “He did a great job. I’m happy for the lad,” Chicago interim coach Derek King praised the rookie. Reichel is a dynamic player who feels more comfortable with each day in the team and in the league.
He was particularly impressed by the speed with which the young attacker went to work. “He can skate. You could see that today. It allows him to pull back the opposing defense and gives his linemates the space he needs. It was a pleasure to watch him put the pucks on Kane,” King continued .
The game started well for the Blackhawks. Dominik Kubalik made it 1-0 in the first third with a solo effort. In the second period, however, the hosts let the reins slip a bit, which the Canadiens promptly took advantage of. Jeff Petry and Mike Hoffman made the score 2-1 for the guests. In the last round, Kane equalized. For the right winger it was the first goal in 14 games. In doing so, he created the conditions for Kurashev’s decisive action in overtime.
The Blackhawks had to do without their forwards Kirby Dach and Dylan Strome for a short time. Both were placed on Covid protocol ahead of the Montreal game. Defenseman Seth Jones was absent for the same reason.
With the success, the Chicago representation improved their match record to 14-18-5. With 33 points from 37 games, she is in seventh place in the Central Division. Despite the winning streak, the gap to the ranks that entitle direct entry into the Stanley Cup Playoffs is still considerable. The Blackhawks are 14 points behind third place, which is currently held by the Colorado Avalanche. To make matters worse, almost all competitors have played fewer games than Chicago.
The Blackhawks will play their next game on Saturday (8:30 pm ET; NHL.tv; Sun. 2:30 pm CET) in front of their home crowd against the Anaheim Ducks. This is followed by a short trip to the east of the USA, where they have to deal with the Seattle Kraken on Monday.
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