The Chicago Blackhawks gave new meaning to “rolling lines” Thursday because all four forward lines were rolling during a 5-1 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.
Jonathan Toews missed the game with a non-COVID-19-related illness, so a lot of the usual combinations were jumbled for this matchup.
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You couldn’t tell by looking.
The second line struck first. Taylor Raddysh opened the scoring in the first period with his first goal since Jan. 14 and was assisted by Max Domi and Philipp Kurashev.
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The Flames’ Jonathan Huberdeau tied the game with 28 seconds left in the period.
But the Hawks broke the game open with three second-period goals.
Boris Katchouk continued a nice run for the fourth line, scoring a goal off a feed from Luke Philp — the rookie’s first NHL point.
Jason Dickinson, centering the top line in place of Toews, lifted the puck past Jacob Markström with help from Patrick Kane and Andreas Athanasiou.
Thirty seconds later, Sam Lafferty one-timed a short-side shot behind Markström, who came out to defend Colin Blackwell before he dished to Lafferty. MacKenzie Entwistle also was credited with an assist.
Connor Murphy added an empty-netter with 43 seconds left.
Fourth-line center Reese Johnson was the only forward who didn’t register a point.
Jaxson Stauber made 34 saves and faced three penalty kills, the last a six-on-four Flames advantage. He earned a second win in just his second NHL game, having beaten the St. Louis Blues on Saturday in his debut.
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The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 15-28-4. They’re 7-5-0 in January.