After a four-game homestand in which they went 1-3-0, the Chicago Blackhawks traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the surging Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, January 22. They were coming off a 2-0 shutout win over Jonathan Toews and the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night (Jan. 26) and were looking to add another to the win column.
Add to that they did, with a thrilling 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes. Here are some key takeaways from the Blackhawks’ second straight victory.
Blackhawks lines and pairs vs. Hurricanes
Ryan Greene – Connor Bedard – Andre Burakovsky
Ilya Mikheyev – Frank Nazar – Tyler Bertuzzi
Ryan Donato – Oliver Moore – Nick Lardis
Landon Slaggert – Nick Foligno – Colton Dach
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk – Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight/Arvid Soderblom
Scratched: Sam Lafferty, Teuvo Teravainen (upper body), Jason Dickinson (illness)
Related – Brooke’s Blackhawks Notebook: Toews’ Return & the Hunger for Greatness
Frank Nazar, who has been out since December 20 with a broken jaw, returned to the line-up for this match. Andre Burakovsky was also back after missing the last match due to illness. Jason Dickinson was expected to play, but illness left him in trouble in the late minute.
Deep scoring wins the day
The Blackhawks had a hard time keeping up with the Hurricanes in this game. They were effectively out of touch, haphazard and maneuvered for most of this match. But they persevered and took advantage of their opportunities. Ilya Mikheyev got the scoring going for both sides with a shorthanded goal on the Hurricanes’ first power play. It set the tone for the night that the Blackhawks would not relent.
a short goal to open the scoring✅ pic.twitter.com/RjdXY3AQa2
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2026
This was Mikheyev’s ninth goal of the season and his first shorthanded goal.
The second goal of the evening, scored by the Blackhawks, came from none other than rookie Nick Lardis. If this wasn’t a beautiful piece, I don’t know what is.
Nick Lardis by Ryan Donato and Oliver Moore pic.twitter.com/hGZ3hh70ob
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 23, 2026
Moore made the play along the wall to Donato, who made a beautiful pass to Lardis, who was right in front of the net for the finish.
The Blackhawks’ third goal in regulation time came from veteran depth defender Connor Murphy. He took a step out of his younger years.
GOAL: Connor Murphy SHOWS HANDS TIGHT to score the go-ahead goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gpEmsM9kUl
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 23, 2026
This was only Murphy’s second goal of the season, but it was an excellent goal to take a 3-2 lead in the third period. Murphy was assisted in the count by Tyler Bertuzzi and Mikheyev.
Criminal murder is coming through again
The Blackhawks’ penalty kill has been phenomenal all season as they have adapted to Blashill’s more aggressive PK system. An example of this is Mikheyev’s shorty. But on top of that, the Blackhawks were 5-of-5 on the PK, against a team that ranks 13th in the league on the power play.
The Blackhawks took on the Colorado Avalanche this night. They are officially first in the NHL in PK, having conceded just 24 goals in 161 attempts, good for 85.1% on PK. Pretty impressive. Blashill discussed the contribution of the penalty kill after the game.
We have good killers. I’ve been saying it all year. Up front we have guys like Mikheyev, who is as good a killer as there is in the league. Those guys are so tall at the back. Murph’s (Connor Murphy) has always been a good killer, Vlas (Alex Vlasic), Crevs (Louis Crevier), Kais (Wyatt Kaiser), all those guys do a good job. So I think we have good killers. They understand our plan and execute it.
Having good special teams can be the difference between winning and losing games, and not allowing a single goal on five power play attempts certainly had an impact in this one.
Moore wins it on his 21st birthday
Well, that was pretty much the story of the evening. Rookie Oliver Moore had a phenomenal performance against the Hurricanes, on his 21st birthday to boot!
With Nazar out of the lineup, head coach Jeff Blashill experimented with Moore playing center. It was an instant success. Moore could use his speed in the middle much more effectively, which is why Blashill wants to keep him there.
Related – Blackhawks center Dilemma: who fits best in the middle?
As noted above, Moore and his linemates combined for a goal (by Lardis) in this match. But Moore also took part in his first NHL fight, standing up for his friend Lardis over a hit he took from Hurricanes’ Alexander Nikishin. Furthermore, he won the match with his goal in the sixth round of the shootout. I think we should start calling this an “Oliver Moore hat trick”!
you’re invited to Moorsey’s birthday celebration🎁👇 pic.twitter.com/ef0alE3vcy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 23, 2026
Overall, Moore had an assist, two shots on goal, three shot attempts, a fight, the shootout winner and went 6-for-13 (46%) in the faceoff circle in 12:51 minutes of ice time. This now 21-year-old has a bright future ahead of him, and we all got a glimpse of it tonight.
Other notes from Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes
- Nazar didn’t contribute any points in his return, but he did contribute four shots on goal, seven shot attempts, one goal and won 6 of 9 faceoffs (67%) in a healthy 18:30 minutes of ice time. Solid return as he gets his legs back under him.
- Defenseman Artyom Levshunov has had his ups and downs this season, and this match was a down game. His irresponsible pinch movement immediately led to a goal conceded in the second period. The 20-year-old’s ice time was limited for the rest of the game; he only played 16:37 minutes. Blashill said, “There’s been nights where he’s played really well, he’s played a lot, and tonight wasn’t his night. And I thought Louie was going to go.”
- Blashill is referring to D-man Louis Crevier, who logged 22:21 minutes of ice time in this game. In that time, he recorded one shot on goal, seven shot attempts, five hits and four blocked shots. “Louie” feels it now.
- Spencer Knight just keeps doing his thing in net. He stopped 28 of 31 shots, including 18! high danger odds, for a save percentage of .903.
Related – The Blackhawks can’t be sellers at the 2026 trade deadline
The Blackhawks now head back to Chicago for a very quick turnaround as they face the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning in the second half of back-to-back games on Friday, January 23. On Sunday (Jan. 25), they will host the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
Can they take this courageous victory into the weekend?! Make sure you tune in to find out!
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