Thanks to Nick Foligno for fattening up his brother, Marcus didn't really turn out to be a factory on ice.
But one Blackhawks player who capitalized upon the overtime opportunity was Philipp Kurashev.
Kurashev connected on a shot that made it past Matt Boldy and Filip Gustavsson with ease. He clutched it quickly, but went top-shelf, and ended the Wild's chances at winning the game.
The Blackhawks started overtime play with determination, but Bedard's line was unable to produce any significant offense, unfortunately.
The goal was Kurasehv's 3rd goal of the season, and a game-winning goal, with an assist by defenseman Seth Jones.
The Blackhawks played a better game tonight, with a 51.9% face-off percentage, which led to the Hawks controlling the play tonight.
Mrazek made 32 saves tonight giving up only 1 goal, with a .970 save percentage.
Now if Luke Richardson could place Kurashev on Bedard's wing, to take advantage of the chemistry the two built last season.
Instead, we've seen Lukas Reichel on the 1st line, and while this could be Richardson testing out what kind of capabilities he has, why isn't he focused on keeping the pairs that work together?
Philipp Kurashev's goal tonight gives him a total of 4 points( 3 G, 1 A) in 15 games. Could we see the start of a breakout with Kurashev?
We believe that Kurashev should be reunited with Connor Bedard, and Richardson isn't utilizing him correctly.
POLL | ||
Do you think Philipp Kurashev belongs on the 1st line with Connor Bedard? | ||
Yes | 133 | 85.3 % |
No | 23 | 14.7 % |
List of polls |