Blackhawks lose to Dallas Stars, drop third straight game
CHICAGO (AP) — Roope Hintz extended his scoring streak to four games with his third career hat trick and the Dallas Stars beat Chicago 5-2 on Thursday night in the Blackhawks' first home game since the Patrick Kane trade.
Jamie Benn snapped a tie in the third period and Matt Murray made 19 saves in his NHL debut, helping Dallas (33-16-13) to its third win in four games. The Western Conference leaders also beat Arizona 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Back at home after Kane was dealt to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, Chicago (21-35-5) dropped its third straight game. The Blackhawks showed a Kane tribute video during the first period, and fans thanked the three-time Stanley Cup champion with chalk messages in a United Center parking lot.
Chicago played without Max Domi, who was scratched for what the team said was "roster management." The veteran forward also could be on the move ahead of Friday's trade deadline.
The Blackhawks trailed 2-1 after the first period, but Seth Jones scored 26 seconds into the second on a shot through traffic from outside the right circle. It was the seventh goal of the season for the All-Star defenseman.
The Stars went ahead to stay when Benn scored his 25th goal from in close just 45 seconds into the third. He has six goals in his last 10 games.
After Chicago came up empty on a power play, Esa Lindell and Hintz added empty-net goals.
Dallas jumped in front on Hintz's 27th goal 10:21 into the first period. With Caleb Jones in the penalty box for high-sticking, Joe Pavelski was stopped by Mrazek, but the center got the puck back and set up Hintz in the left circle.
Cole Guttman scored his third goal when he knocked home a rebound at 15:54, but the Stars got another power-play opportunity when Jarred Tinordi was sent off for tripping. Hintz then made it 2-1 on a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Miro Heiskanen.
Dallas has scored at least one power-play goal in four of its last five games. Before its current run, it had an eight-game stretch when it went 1 for 25 with the man advantage.
MORE MOVES
The Blackhawks made two minor trades, and they recalled forward Lukas Reichel from Rockford of the American Hockey League. The 20-year-old Reichel, one of the team's top prospects, skated for about 17 minutes in his fifth game with Chicago this season.
"I don't know how long this will be, but the plan would be, at some point, he'll probably play playoff games in Rockford and that's a huge experience for guys at the pro level to go out and battle there," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said.
Chicago acquired Maxim Golod from Anaheim for Dylan Sikura in a swap of minor league forwards, and it also got forward Anders Bjork from Buffalo in exchange for future considerations.
UP NEXT
Stars: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Blackhawks: Host the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.