Saad scores hat trick in Blackhawks 6-1 win over Detroit

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Brandon Saad was the major contributor of the night for the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night. His preseason hat trick led the way to their massive 6-1 defeat of the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center. Their constant offensive rushing and their opponent’s struggling to clear the threats earned a third straight loss on the week.

Detroit came up short in their first two games this preseason with another one on the road. With the lineup forming into play against the Blackhawks, coach Jeff Blashill hoped to get some production going against their Original Six rivals and see further scoring. Detroit put together seven goals combined and with the lamp being lit, the hopes of doing so against Chicago would be seen.

The Blackhawks came out in force getting action in front of Petr Mrazek in net for the Red Wings. He didn’t realize he had the puck but stopping them early was key. The Red Wings were rewarded with a power play 29 seconds in but were unable to convert against the PK unit and Corey Crawford in net. After making a good kill, they returned to the offensive side of the game preparing to take it to Detroit. At 5:28, Ryan Hartman got the Chicago’s first goal with the puck hitting Mrazek’s right pad that slid behind him and into the empty net.

Detroit gained another chance to even the score but their attempts were cut short by Chicago’s defense. After a few minutes, the Blackhawks began to slowly show pressure in the Detroit end; hunting for a chance to strike. They set up firmly around the center where their attempts nearly paid off but a stop by Mrazek allowed Detroit to regroup. They continued to face a Chicago team that consistently brought pucks to the Red Wings.

Detroit saw time falling off the clock and very much behind the pace that Chicago was on. They found time to pressure Crawford and the Blackhawks taking their scoring chances but coming up empty. Chicago took another two shots on net but were held in the final seconds that saw the Red Wings playing their fourth man advantage that rolled into the second.

Not much came from the minimal time left on the Chicago penalty bringing things back to status quo for the Blackhawks. In the fourth minute, Brent Seabrook made a push all on his own to score the team’s second goal after the Red Wings handed them a man advantage. They gained a sizable lead two minutes later with a turnover in the neutral zone that turned into a three man play. It ended with Alex DeBrincat scoring on a centering shot. The Red Wings suffered on the defense as Richard Panik fired one hitting the pad of Mrazek but the rebound got to Saad making it a huge 4-0 run. The Red Wings challenged the call for interference but officials quickly came back to make it a good goal.

Not wanting to end the period on a bad note, Detroit managed to get one behind Crawford with Michael Rasmussen scoring on a second chance shot after David Booth nearly had the goal himself. With the worry of the shutout out of the way, the Red Wings continued to get power plays but couldn’t get anything from their fifth. A good chance came to them on their sixth attempt with Chicago taking another man off the ice. With a minute left and up two men, the Red Wings struggled only to fail on the entirety leading to further problems.

The Blackhawks increased their grip on victory with Saad scoring his second of the night at 16:57 to make it a heavy 5-1 score. The last minutes went off the clock swiftly with Crawford still on top of his game bringing an end to 40 minutes. Detroit had plenty of pucks as they outshot Chicago but the margin of victory was all but glued to the Blackhawks.

The third period saw the Blackhawks picking right where they left off with Saad on the hunt for a hat trick. Prior to the two-minute mark, he got it done with Panik and Jordan Oesterle in tow to make it 6-1. Despite the massive gap in front of them, Detroit didn’t stop playing the game with 18 minutes still on the clock. They kept the speed going even with Crawford out and goaltender Colin Delia having taken over for Chicago.

Mrazek remained between the pipes as he tried to not let any more goal gets behind him but the support in front of him wasn’t up to par as the time passed by slowly for them. The end came near with the Blackhawks clearly getting the result they wanted while so holding the Red Wings to their losing streak. While Delia earned a perfect shutout in the third period, Crawford’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed as he stopped 30 of 31 for a .968 save percentage.  

With plenty of time to work out the kinks, the Red Wings would earn another chance at vying for a victory when they hosted the Boston Bruins on Saturday.