Local Sports

Blackhawks Down Coyotes

Alex DeBrincat scored his 40th goal of the season with 37 seconds left in overtime, giving the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night.

 

Jake McCabe, Dominik Kubalik and Alex Vlasic also scored for Blackhawks, who won for the second time in 12 games after squandering a 3-1 lead in the final 10:18 of regulation.

 

Barrett Hayton, Nate Smith and Anton Stralman scored for the Coyotes, who have lost eight in a row and 15 of 17. Arizona has 13 goals during its losing streak and entered the game last in the league at 2.43 goals per game.

 

Kevin Lankinen had 32 saves for the Blackhawks, who have not won in regulation since March 23.

 

DeBrincat has two 40-goal seasons in his first five, the first coming when he had 41 goals in 2018-19.

 

Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka made 34 saves in his 49th game, a franchise record for rookie goaltenders. He is the first rookie in NHL history with four games of at least 46 saves.

 

Smith's first career goal, in his fifth game, pulled the Coyotes within 3-2 midway through the third period.

 

Stralman tied the game at 13:23 of the third, sending a wrist shot high on the stick side after a Chicago giveaway as the teams skated 4 on 4 after coincidental minor penalties at 12:15.

 

Arizona had won the last two in the season series and was attempting to beat Chicago three times in a season for the first time since 2011-12.

 

McCabe opened the scoring 42 seconds into the game when he flipped in a rebound through traffic from the slot. McCabe started the play with a pass from the right circle in front of the net. Vejmelka got his stick on Jonathan Toews' shot but left it in front.

 

Kubalic made it 2-0 when he converted a rebound from point-blank range at 15:32 of the first. Vejmelka stopped Tyler Johnson's shot from the slot, but the Coyotes failed to clear the puck, leaving Kubalic with an open net.

 

Hayton cut the Blackhawks' lead to 2-1 at 12:43 of the second period when his rebound shot trickled through Lankinen's pads. Lankinen was caught on the wrong side of the net, but recovered to make a sprawling glove save on Nick Schmaltz's wraparound. The puck came loose and Hayton scored, and the goal was upheld after review.

 

Vlasic made it 3-1 when he was credited with his first career goal on a shot from the left circle appeared to carom off Schmaltz in the crease and found the net at 16:25 of the second period.

 

The Blackhawks play at Los Angeles on tonight.

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