Depleted Ducks shut out by Blackhawks, suffer third straight loss

Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal cannot stop a goal by Blackhawks left wing Brandon Hagel during the second period Saturday night.

By Matt Carlson

Associated Press

Jan. 15, 2022 Updated 9:39 PM PT

CHICAGO — Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 37 shots for his third shutout of the season, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Ducks 3-0 on Saturday night for their fourth consecutive win.

Brandon Hagel, Patrick Kane and Dominik Kubalik scored goals and Alex DeBrincat had two assists to help the Blackhawks improve to 14-9-3 under interim coach Derek King.

The 37-year-old Fleury recorded his 70th career shutout. The Blackhawks (15-18-5) played an up-tempo game — and one of their most complete efforts this season — but still needed the veteran to come through with timely stops after occasional breakdowns.

“It was scrambly at times, but I thought we showed a lot of composure,” King said. “We controlled it quite a bit. He made the saves when we needed him to.”

Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury saves a shot by Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale during the first period.

Defenseman Riley Stillman said the Blackhawks felt good, coming into this one on a roll, but were buoyed by Fleury.

“Flower is just unbelievable,” Stillman said. “He is unbelievable every night. The saves he makes. The athleticism he has. He’s a fighter, and he never stops. We know he’s going to stop the door for us every night, and that gives us confidence.”

Lukas Dostal made 33 saves as the depleted Ducks (19-15-7) lost their third straight and fell to 2-6-2 in their last eight.

Dostal, a 21-year-old Czech, was sharp in his second NHL start and third game with John Gibson and backup Anthony Stolarz both in COVID-19 protocols.

Ducks leading scorer Troy Terry also was in the protocols, and forward Sonny Milano sat out because of an upper-body injury suffered in a 7-3 loss at Minnesota on Friday night.

Still, the Ducks generated some terrific chances. They just couldn’t beat Fleury.

“The chances, they were there,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “They were in there behind the goalie. There’s not much more we can do to score other than finish it in the net. [Fleury] is excellent. He’s been that for a very long time. He still plays at a very high level and was excellent tonight when he needed to be.”

Chicago was short-handed too. Seth Jones sat out his third game in the COVID-19 protocols. Fellow defenseman Jake McCabe and forwards Kirby Dach and Dylan Strome also were in the protocols.

Dostal was flawless in the scoreless first period as Chicago outshot the Ducks 15-11. He made several tough saves, including two close-in on Jonathan Toews with just under five minutes left.

Hagel opened the scoring at 5:33 the second period, capping a wild end-to-end sequence.

Defenseman Jakub Galvas swept a loose puck off the Blackhawks goal line as the Ducks pressured on a power play after Chicago’s Erik Gustafsson went off for roughing at 3:23. Fleury made two more saves before Riley Stillman cleared a loose puck from midair in the crease out to center ice. Gustafsson jumped out of the penalty box and carried the puck to the left corner of the Ducks’ zone. He passed to Hagel, who trailed on the play and beat Dostal high on the stick side from the slot for his ninth goal.

Ducks defenseman Josh Manson, left, and Blackhawks left wing Jujhar Khaira battle Jan. 15, 2022.

Kane added a power-play goal at 4:22 of the third to make it 2-0. He connected for his ninth goal using a one-timer to complete a two-on-one break with DeBrincat.

Chicago’s star forward has goals in back-to-back games after not scoring in 13 straight.

“That’s vintage Patrick Kane,” King said. “He hangs around and he hangs around, and when he strikes, he strikes.

“We had contributions from everybody,” King added. “The guys that are supposed to have good games for you, they had good games.”

Eakins pulled Dostal for an extra attacker with 4:14 left in the third. Kubalik skated in after taking DeBrincat’s feed and slid in his eighth goal 53 seconds later.

Bench buds

Eakins and King have known each other for about 35 years but faced each as NHL coaches for the first time Saturday.

The two first met in a fight as opposing junior players in the Ontario Hockey League the late 1980s but became close friends when they skated for the Maple Leafs and were roommates in 1998-99. When Eakins was head coach of the AHL Toronto Marlies in 2009, he hired King as an assistant.

Dostal file

Dostal won his first start in his NHL debut Jan. 9, making 33 saves through overtime and two more in the shootout in a 4-3 win over Detroit at Honda Center.

He entered in relief of Stolarz on Friday in Minnesota.

Notes

The Ducks placed Stolarz and defenseman Cam Fowler in the COVID-19 protocols Saturday and recalled goalie Olle Eriksson Ek, right wing Vinni Lettieri and defenseman Greg Pateryn from the taxi squad. Blackhawks forward Brett Connolly entered the COVID-19 protocols Saturday.