chicago_suntimes
For Wyatt Kaiser, Tuesday night's game-winning goal for the Blackhawks felt like déjà vu. The defenseman slid down the left side, took a pass from Frank Nazar in the slot, and fired a shot through the five-hole of Kings goalie Anton Forsberg to put Chicago ahead 2-1 with under 13 minutes remaining. The team held on for a crucial win, and the play was nearly identical to Kaiser's goal last December in Los Angeles, which also stood as the game-winner in a 2-1 Blackhawks victory.
The coincidence wasn't lost on Kaiser or Nazar. "I was laughing; Frank was laughing," Kaiser said, noting that the five-hole has become his preferred target in the NHL. That goal last December ignited a quietly impressive stretch in which Kaiser scored five times in six weeks—a notable hot streak for a Blackhawks defenseman given the team's limited offensive contributions from the blue line in recent seasons.
Now, Kaiser hopes for another pattern repeat. His game has steadily improved as the season has progressed, and he appears poised for another hot streak or at least a stretch of lock-down defensive play. When dialed in, his lateral quickness and agility allow him to close off and suffocate opposing forwards in a unique and frustrating way. His gap control often dictates his effectiveness, and it was on full display Tuesday. About two minutes after his goal, he made a crucial play at the defensive blue line to deny a potential Kings breakaway.
Key Analysis
Coach Jeff Blashill was effusive in his praise. "Kaiser was excellent tonight," Blashill said. "His compete was unreal. He's played a number of good games in a row now. To start the year, didn't have his A-game by any stretch. I think he's gotten back to being smart and efficient with the puck and competing. When he does that, he's a really good player."
The compete level was high for the entire Blackhawks roster on Tuesday, perhaps the highest it has been all season. It remained consistent outside of the first five minutes. "We've talked a lot about the mentality of, 'Hey, the systems can be the systems. But if we're not winning battles and out-competing the other team and wanting it more, it doesn't really matter,'" Kaiser said. "So we've been really trying to emphasize, 'Win your battles, compete, beat the other guys.' You saw a little bit of that tonight. Hopefully we'll continue to build off that."
Even Connor Bedard embodied that mindset with an essentially game-clinching play in the final 20 seconds. He aggressively blocked a shot to clear the defensive zone, then got to the puck first and drew a penalty. "Bedard gets knocked about defense more than he should," Blashill said. "There's a reason why he's out there at the end of the game. Because when the game is on the line, he is hyper-competitive. He's a hyper-competitive player, man. I'll go to war with that kid anytime. And that block is indicative of that."
Blashill also dramatically shuffled the forward lines, yielding one trio that particularly clicked: Nazar centering Oliver Moore and Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks outshot the Kings 10-1 with them on the ice. Flipping Kane and Bedard to opposite sides of the power play ignited that unit as well, as they broke a long power-play drought with Roman Kantserov's tying goal late in the second period.
Originally reported by chicago_suntimes.