CHICAGO — In an exhilarating display of skill and determination, Connor Bedard scored the winning goal just 54 seconds before the final buzzer, while Arvid Soderblom made an impressive 30 saves. This performance helped the Chicago Blackhawks secure a 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
Teuvo Teravainen shone brightly for the Blackhawks with a goal and two assists in their first match of a three-game homestand. The team also saw contributions from Taylor Hall, Ilya Mikheyev, and Connor Murphy, all of whom found the net in this exciting matchup.
Bedard’s decisive moment came when he netted his seventh goal of the season, breaking a tie late in the game. His shot, taken from the low slot, managed to slip just past the grasp of Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin, who appeared to inadvertently contribute to the puck’s entry into the net while scrambling to recover.
Prior to this win, the Blackhawks faced a rough patch, having lost seven of their last eight games, including a 4-1 defeat in New Jersey just a day before.
On the other side of the ice, the battling Islanders were missing key player Bo Horvat due to a lower-body injury but still managed to send three players—Simon Holmstrom, Ryan Pulock, and Noah Dobson—onto the scoreboard. Sorokin finished the game with 18 saves.
Interestingly, just days earlier, the Islanders triumphed over the Blackhawks with a 5-4 victory on Thursday.
The momentum swung in favor of Chicago when Teravainen scored during a 5-on-3 power play with just 4:41 left in the second period, lifting the Blackhawks to a 3-2 lead and marking Teravainen’s seventh goal of the season.
However, the Islanders leveled the game again early in the third period thanks to Dobson’s fourth goal, which came just 47 seconds into the third. Despite Chicago’s challenge for goaltender interference, the goal was upheld.
Takeaways from the game included the resilience of the Islanders, who repeatedly fought to regain the lead, though they faced a tough loss in the first match of their three-game trip. They had previously won three out of their last four games.
For the Blackhawks, defenseman Alex Vlasic had a strong showing with two assists, further solidifying his role on the team.
A crucial moment in the match occurred as Chicago, which has historically struggled to seal games, found its footing when Murphy sealed the victory with an empty-net goal just 11 seconds from the end of regulation, marking Murphy’s first goal of the season.
An impressive statistic emerged from the game as Chicago successfully killed off their last 25 consecutive power plays over the last nine games, with New York failing to capitalize, going 0 for 4 with the man advantage.
Looking ahead, both teams will return to action on Tuesday night. The Islanders will travel to Carolina, while the Blackhawks will host the Washington Capitals.
