I’m not going to assume Anton Frondell scoring just ten seconds into his game at the World Juniors on Saturday served as any motivation for the Blackhawks to get off to a quick start, but Chicago took a lead just 73 seconds into the game tonight. Dylan Strome tied the game for Washington less than four minutes later and the teams took a tie score to the room after 20 minutes.
The Blackhawks got the first power play of the game early in the second period and made it count to take a 2-1 lead. The crossbar got a lot of action in the second period but Washington couldn’t put on into the Chicago net, and the Hawks took their one-goal lead to the third period.
There were some missed calls both ways tonight, some more egregious than others. In the middle of the third period, Ryan Leonard got position in front of the Blackhawks’ net and redirected a shot in to tie the game at two. That’s where the score remained thru the end of regulation, so we once again got five free minutes of hockey.
The Blackhawks got a power play with 54 seconds left in overtime but weren’t able to score; more of a sense of urgency would have been nice. So we got a skills competition to decide this contest. The shootout went six rounds and the Blackhawks emerged victorious!
Star 1: Bertuzzi — Greene — Burakovsky
The top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Greene and André Burakovsky was really good again tonight. At the end of the second period, 10 of the Blackhawks’ 38 shot attempts came from Greene and Burakovsky (five each). Eight of the Blackhawks’ 17 scoring chances were from Greene and Burakovsky (four each). At 5-on-5, this line was on the ice for a 13-6 shot attempt advantage and 8-4 shot on net advantage by the end of the second period.
When regulation ended, this line had 11 combined shots on net; the Blackhawks had 31 as a team. Bertuzzi and Burakovsky had the assists on the Blackhawks’ go-ahead power play goal in the second period. And Greene was great in the faceoff circle (won 9 of 15 in regulation).
Star 2: Teuvo Teräväinen
Remember when I wrote about how Teräväinen broke a 13-game goalless streak with his goal against the Islanders? And then he scored again against the Stars? Well… now he’s not only going to represent Finland in the Olympics, but Teräväinen has scored in three consecutive games.
Nice finish by Turbo from a tough angle t.co/7Rx5x8V12g pic.twitter.com/icLIeYYHjV
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 4, 2026Star 3: Ryan Donato
Donato had two points in December (one goal, one assist). He matched that with two assists in the win against Dallas on New Year’s night. Tonight, he scored his tenth goal of the season to get the Blackhawks on the board early in the first period. The Hawks need Donato to find the back of the net; tonight’s marker was just his second since Nov. 28 (16 games).
GOAL: Ryan Donato tips in Ilya Mikheyev's shot to open the scoring! pic.twitter.com/NXG5FLuGiD
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 4, 2026Key Takeaways
Tom Wilson had a rough first period. First, an angel got its wings when Louis Crevier caught him awkwardly as they were battling for position in front of the net.pic.twitter.com/LlA0jQjFuu
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 4, 2026 Then Wilson was on the wrong end of a big reverse hit by Connor Murphy behind the net. He didn’t put much weight on his right leg as he went off the ice and headed straight to the room. Wilson did not return to the game.Tom Wilson takes a hit from Connor Murphy and is being helped to Washington's locker room after falling awkwardly on his right leg. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/K4qDiCB1qJ
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 4, 2026 Spencer Knight was really good tonight, stopping 31 of 33 in regulation. s behind him deserve an honorable mention as well. Greene personally had a strong first period. He was tied for the team lead with two shots on net and won five of six faceoffs. He had two grade-A chances in the first and Natural Stat Trick had him with a team-leading three individual scoring chances in the first period. Greene was on the ice for a team-high 0.94 expected goals for thru two periods and had won 7 of 8 faceoffs. Landon Slaggert had a good first period as well. He set up Greene for one of his shots and was credited with two individual scoring chances and one high danger scoring chance in only 3:46 on the ice. He was on the ice for a 0.51 expected goals for and a team-best 97.61 expected goals for percentage in the first period. Artyom Levshunov was credited with two blocked shots and two takeaways. He only had one takeaway; a more efficient night. Nothing to see here… definitely not Alex Ovechkin hacking Alex Vlasic in the midsection with the puck nowhere to be found in the third period. No penalty needed to be called here, right? Moments later the Caps got their first period play of the game. Because of course.Ovechkin's swung his stick wildly and hit Vlasic who labored to the bench pic.twitter.com/T1xp2Criad
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 4, 2026Hence then, the article about blackhawks 3 capitals 2 so three stars key takeaways was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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