Blackhawks capitalize on Foligno's confidence boost in shootout victory over Capitals.
In a thrilling game that went down to the wire, the Chicago Blackhawks edged out their opponents, Washington Capitals, 3-2 in a shootout. The turning point came when captain Nick Foligno, who had been 0-for-13 in his career, made good on his word after jokingly calling for more opportunities.
Foligno's confidence boost was evident as he stepped up to the faceoff dot and buried the sixth-round winner, sending the Hawks' bench into a frenzy. Coach Jeff Blashill attributed Foligno's newfound success to him embracing the shootout and letting go of his previous fears.
"It's funny," Blashill said. "You do something like that, and you see some stuff. Nick and I have talked about it: When you're young, you fret over the shootout. The shootout can be a psychological barrier sometimes. I think he's gotten to the point where he's like, 'I'm just going to go and see what happens.' Good for him."
The Blackhawks' victory was not without its challenges, however. Fellow veteran Andre Burakovsky scored in the fifth round to keep the Hawks alive, but Foligno's score proved to be the difference-maker.
"We didn't give him a chance to second-guess it," Foligno said. "I just jumped right on the ice. It felt good to score that for the guys, obviously. That was fun."
The Blackhawks have been on a roll since the Christmas break, earning two of their last three victories via shootout. They desperately needed some success in overtime and shootout games after starting the season 1-6 in them.
Coach Blashill has been credited with making key adjustments to the team's strategy, including giving more opportunities to newly converted center Oliver Moore and playing a more predictable game in the neutral zone and 'O' zone.
"We're building more of an offensive zone identity, which I think we needed to do, regardless," Blashill said. "We had a lot of success off the rush, but it's hard to just live in the rush, especially if you want to ever become a really good playoff team."
As for Foligno, he believes that the team's newfound identity has helped them become more well-rounded and better equipped to succeed without key players like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
"We're building ourselves again, realize how we need to play and get to that identity," Foligno said. "These are hard-fought wins. We knew that we were not going to outscore teams by seven without those two guys in the lineup. But we have enough skill."
The Blackhawks' victory was also thanks in part to a stellar performance from goalie Spencer Knight, who saved 32 of 34 shots in his sharpest performance in a while.
"It's always fun winning," Knight said, reflecting on their previous loss to Alex Ovechkin in April, which included the record-tying goal.
In a thrilling game that went down to the wire, the Chicago Blackhawks edged out their opponents, Washington Capitals, 3-2 in a shootout. The turning point came when captain Nick Foligno, who had been 0-for-13 in his career, made good on his word after jokingly calling for more opportunities.
Foligno's confidence boost was evident as he stepped up to the faceoff dot and buried the sixth-round winner, sending the Hawks' bench into a frenzy. Coach Jeff Blashill attributed Foligno's newfound success to him embracing the shootout and letting go of his previous fears.
"It's funny," Blashill said. "You do something like that, and you see some stuff. Nick and I have talked about it: When you're young, you fret over the shootout. The shootout can be a psychological barrier sometimes. I think he's gotten to the point where he's like, 'I'm just going to go and see what happens.' Good for him."
The Blackhawks' victory was not without its challenges, however. Fellow veteran Andre Burakovsky scored in the fifth round to keep the Hawks alive, but Foligno's score proved to be the difference-maker.
"We didn't give him a chance to second-guess it," Foligno said. "I just jumped right on the ice. It felt good to score that for the guys, obviously. That was fun."
The Blackhawks have been on a roll since the Christmas break, earning two of their last three victories via shootout. They desperately needed some success in overtime and shootout games after starting the season 1-6 in them.
Coach Blashill has been credited with making key adjustments to the team's strategy, including giving more opportunities to newly converted center Oliver Moore and playing a more predictable game in the neutral zone and 'O' zone.
"We're building more of an offensive zone identity, which I think we needed to do, regardless," Blashill said. "We had a lot of success off the rush, but it's hard to just live in the rush, especially if you want to ever become a really good playoff team."
As for Foligno, he believes that the team's newfound identity has helped them become more well-rounded and better equipped to succeed without key players like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
"We're building ourselves again, realize how we need to play and get to that identity," Foligno said. "These are hard-fought wins. We knew that we were not going to outscore teams by seven without those two guys in the lineup. But we have enough skill."
The Blackhawks' victory was also thanks in part to a stellar performance from goalie Spencer Knight, who saved 32 of 34 shots in his sharpest performance in a while.
"It's always fun winning," Knight said, reflecting on their previous loss to Alex Ovechkin in April, which included the record-tying goal.
. Blashill makes some solid points about him just letting go of his fears and embracing the opportunity. It's amazing how a few good performances can change the team's dynamic 
. And Spencer Knight, man... he was on fire tonight 
! The way they're building that offensive zone identity is giving me hope for their playoff run 
️. I'm all in on this team now 
. Like, yeah he scored, but so did Andre Burakovsky in the 5th round and that one didn't get all the attention 
. I'm not saying it wasn't cool for Foligno to finally break through, but let's not forget about the rest of the team who had a solid game 
. Coach Blashill makes some good points though, like they needed to find an identity and play more consistently 
. But do we really need to build up players like Oliver Moore just because they can shoot? I mean, is that what it takes to be a playoff contender? 
! He was getting roasted for being 0-for-13 and all, but he took that confidence boost to heart and made it happen 
. The Hawks' bench must've been going wild when he scored that winning goal, that's some serious momentum 
. And let's not forget goalie Spencer Knight's stellar performance, 32 saves and counting 
! The Hawks are on fire right now, and I'm excited to see what the rest of the season holds 
️
The Capitals were so close but that final shootout win had me jumping out of my seat 
Foligno's confidence boost is everything, I mean who else can say they went from 0-13 to a game winner in the playoffs? Mind blown 
And that goalie performance from Spencer Knight was insane! 32 saves out of 34 shots is crazy 
Blashill's coaching is spot on, btw - giving Moore more ice time and playing more predictable hockey in the neutral zone has made all the difference. It's about time they figured out how to win those close games, though. They still have some work to do if they wanna make it past round one in the playoffs... 
. I mean, 0-for-13 and he just breaks through with a winner in the shootout? That's what it means to be clutch 
. Foligno's like "I got this" and the whole team feeds off that energy 
. Coach Blashill making those key adjustments has definitely paid off - I'm loving the more predictable game plan, it's easier to watch and execute now 
. And let's not forget about Spencer Knight's stellar performance! He's on fire 
.
. At first, you're skeptical, but then you realize that sometimes it takes a little bit of courage to break free from your own fears and doubts 
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, keeping his team sharp and focused through these tough games 
.
And let's not forget about Spencer Knight, he was on fire today 
. The Blackhawks need to focus on winning games without relying on a shootout every other night, it's not exactly the most convincing way to build an identity...
. The team's been on fire lately, especially since the Christmas break 
