Blackhawks ravage Red Wings 6-2 on Suter hat trick

Pius Suter #24 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period at the United Center on January 24, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Pius Suter had quite a day on the ice that beat down the Detroit Red Wings Sunday at the United Center. The 24-year-old centerman recorded his first career goal and hat trick that assisted the Blackhawks to a 6-2 rout. 

Detroit’s missing links and lack of special teams caused them to flop against Chicago Friday night in a 4-1 loss. With COVID-19 protocols breaking apart the luck they had back home, coach Jess Blashill hoped to have a better output from the lineup he could put together. Standing in their way was Lankinen who made 31 saves and allowed just one goal from the Red Wings. With his skills taking care of business, it would be a challenge for Detroit to break him just right and open the flow of scoring chances in their matinee matchup. 

Detroit got a power play 90 seconds into the game, but despite shots from captain Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, nothing got behind the Chicago netminder. At 4:42 when play returned to even strength, a drive from Patrick Kane bounced off the pads of Jonathan Bernier giving up a scoring chance. It was there that Suter scored his first NHL goal. He earned his second on the man advantage that occurred five minutes later. The Red Wings couldn’t clear the puck while under pressure, leading Suter to notch Chicago’s sixth game streak scoring on the power play. 

Chicago remained in dictation of the period where they doubled the shots on goal than what Detroit put together. The Blackhawks got another power play later on in the period, but the Detroit line at the time did work to prevent the game from getting out of hand. They earned a second man advantage in the final seconds but took half of it into the second stanza, hoping to make a difference. Chicago outshot Detroit 13-5 despite winning one of every three faceoffs taken. 

Detroit had their chances to score increase as Chicago suffered another penalty 12 seconds after the opening faceoff. With a 5 on 3 advantage, Detroit set up a scoring chance with Filip Hronek setting up Larkin with a snapshot that went off Tyler Bertuzzi for his second. It was Detroit’s sixth shot that soon had them adding more against Lankinen. 

Bernier faced some tough shots against the Blackhawks but made the necessary stops to keep his team within reach. Detroit created momentum, showing determination with getting the game even. Chicago gave them very little time to pressure the team’s defense or Lankinen, overturning play back to their offense. With less than three minutes to go, a shot from Connor Murphy through traffic found its way behind Bernier recording his second for a 3-1 lead. Their statement lasted for the remainder of the period to sour Detroit through 40 minutes. 

 Things only got worse as the third got underway, with Mattias Janmark scoring 58 seconds after the faceoff at center ice. It was his second of the season and one that set their offense on fire. They dictated well through the period until a penalty to Duncan Keith gave Detroit a chance to convert on the power play. Bertuzzi took credit for it with a rebound shot with Larkin setting up the opportunities. 

Under a minute later, Suter made his mark with a third, clinching the hat trick on a loose puck. Suter skated it in, snapping a shot past the glove of Bernier that made it 5-2. Chicago had the game locked up, but there was still time on the clock to make Detroit’s day a bad one. With 4:05 left on the clock, Philipp Kurashev got in on the fun scoring an unassisted drive into the net for his second. The Blackhawks continued to pursue the puck and pressure the Detroit zone until the horn sounded to end their misery. They outshot the Red Wings 37-25 having found their niche at home with a second victory. Lankinen made 25 saves in what was a performance from his to be commended.