Andre Burakovsky scored the winning goal on a third-period power play, Ilya Mikheyev had two goals and Spencer Knight made 22 saves to help the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the visiting Utah Mammoth 3-1 on Monday.
Chicago earned its first victory on the heels of three straight one-goal defeats to start the season.
Burakovsky put the Blackhawks ahead for good at 8:55 of the third. After Chicago won a puck battle along the boards, Nick Foligno backhanded a pass to Burakovsky, who converted a wide-open opportunity in front of the net.
JJ Peterka scored for the Mammoth. Utah goaltender Vitek Vanecek stopped 11 shots.
The Mammoth went 0-for-3 on the power play compared to 1-for-3 for the Blackhawks.
Mikheyev opened the scoring at 9:21 of the second period, corralling a pass down low and rushing the net before jamming the puck past Vanecek at the near post. Mikheyev tried a similar move moments earlier and was denied.
Jason Dickinson, who returned to the lineup after missing one game with an upper-body injury, recorded the primary assist on the play.
Utah dictated the pace throughout the second period, registering six shots on goal compared to zero for Chicago in the first seven-plus minutes. The Mammoth outshot the Blackhawks 13-3 in the frame and 23-14 for the game.
A prime Utah scoring chance dissolved shortly before Chicago’s initial goal, as Dylan Guenther, darting toward the crease, was unable to get a stick on Peterka’s pass from the left wing.
The Mammoth later benefited, however, when the roles were reversed. Peterka netted the tying goal at 1:02 of the third period, scoring on a wrist shot from the low left circle off a net-front feed from Guenther.
The score remained tied for nearly eight minutes before Burakovsky scored while skating in his 700th NHL game. The Blackhawks killed a penalty after Connor Bedard was whistled for holding with 8:19 left.
Mikheyev scored an empty-net goal with 5.1 seconds to play.
The game was briefly delayed in the first period following a short power outage at the United Center.
–Field Level Media
