Oliver Moore, who was flattened in a second-period fight, had the final say by producing the decisive tally in the sixth round of the shootout as the Chicago Blackhawks topped the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Ilya Mikheyev collected a goal and an assist, while Nick Lardis and Connor Murphy each scored for the Blackhawks, who won their second straight game. Spencer Knight made 28 saves, with 23 of those coming across the first two periods.
Defenseman Joel Nystrom’s first career goal was among Carolina’s highlights, while Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake also scored. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots, but the Hurricanes’ three-game winning streak ended.
Chicago’s Connor Bedard and Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov also posted tallies in the shootout. The Blackhawks improved to 3-3 in shootouts.
Moore, playing on his 21st birthday, lost a scrap againt Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin.
The Hurricanes went 0-for-5 on power plays, so combined with giving up the short-handed goal it was a rough night on special teams.
Murphy’s second goal of the season came with 6:22 remaining in regulation as the defenseman delivered just seven games after his first tally.
That momentum didn’t last because Blake countered 42 seconds later, depositing the puck after teammate Logan Stankoven’s wraparound put the puck in the crease.
Mikheyev opened the scoring with a short-handed goal 11:12 into the game.
Just 1:38 later, Nystrom’s goal came off a feed from Jesperi Kotkaniemi. It came in Nystrom’s 36th game.
Lardis regained the lead for the Blackhawks 4:35 into the second period, but Staal pulled the Hurricanes even by firing a shot without defensive pressure shortly before the midway mark of the period.
Carolina held a 25-12 edge in shots through two periods, but put only two shots on net in the first 14 minutes of the third.
With 16 goals, Blake is within one goal of his total from his rookie season a year ago.
–Field Level Media
