Capitals End Hawks Winning Streak

The Chicago Blackhawks four-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night as the Blackhawks ran into trouble well before the puck even dropped. A flu bug swept through the room, leaving Chicago without forwards Ilya Mikheyev and defenseman Louis Crevier, while both goaltenders were also sidelined by illness. That forced the Blackhawks to scramble, calling up Kevin Korchinski, Drew Commesso, and even dressing an emergency backup goalie.

Despite the chaos, the night still carried a boost of energy with Connor Bedard returning to the lineup. It didn’t translate on the ice, though. Washington struck for three goals in the first period, taking the air out of the building early. Alex Ovechkin capped the night with his fourth goal in the past three games, while Chicago never fully recovered.

“Yeah, I just didn’t think we had it,” head coach Jeff Blashill admitted afterward, pointing to the late call-ups and players battling sickness, noting that Commesso was put in a tough spot despite battling hard.

Game Summary

It was a tough night for the Blackhawks, starting with a difficult situation for Drew Commesso, who was forced into the crease with no real preparation. The lack of rhythm showed early. Washington opened the scoring at 4:03 of the first period when Anthony Beauvillier beat Commesso on a backhand to make it 1–0.

The Capitals then struck twice in the final five minutes of the period. Connor McMichael scored his sixth of the season on a breakaway, and just 3:47 later, Ethen Frank added his seventh on a wrist shot to give Washington a commanding 3–0 lead after one. Chicago had more chances early, but the Capitals made the most of theirs.

The Blackhawks showed some pushback in the second period. Oliver Moore, who has been playing well lately, scored his fifth goal of the season on the power play to cut the deficit to 3–1. The goal also marked Nick Lardis’ first NHL assist, and Moore now has goals in back-to-back games. Any momentum was short-lived, though. Washington quickly restored its three-goal cushion when Justin Sourdif scored his ninth of the season at 12:38.

McMichael and Ryan Leonard picked up their second points of the night, while Sourdif continued his strong stretch with four goals and eight points in his last five games. The Capitals also evened up the shot totals in the period. Commesso looked more settled, but the hole was already deep.

Chicago carried slightly better underlying numbers in the third period, finishing with the edge in shot attempts (33–30) and scoring chances (15–12), while shots on goal were even at 16–16. Still, Washington delivered the final blow at 13:33 when Alex Ovechkin scored his 19th of the season — his fourth goal in the last three games — beating Commesso through the five-hole. It was also a difficult night for Kevin Korchinski, who had a rough third period with turnovers and missed coverage that led to additional Capitals chances.

Both teams finished with 24 shots on goal, but the difference was opportunism. The Capitals capitalized on their chances, while Chicago couldn’t get the timely saves it needed. The loss snapped the Blackhawks’ four-game winning streak. One positive on the night: Connor Bedard looked healthy, confident, and dangerous in his return, generating chances and showing no signs of hesitation.

Inside the Locker Room

Connor Bedard returned to the Chicago lineup after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury suffered on Dec. 12 in St. Louis. The young center didn’t hit the scoresheet, but he showed flashes of his usual impact, finishing with four shots on goal in 17:07 of ice time.

“I felt fine,” Bedard said after the game. “It was kind of one of those games where the puck was bouncing around a little bit, tough to get a lot of crisp pucks. But I definitely have better, and we obviously have better as a team.”

Head coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged the difficult circumstances surrounding the night, with illness affecting several players and late lineup changes disrupting any rhythm.

“Yeah, I just didn’t think we had it,” Blashill said. “What’s the reason? We certainly talk about no excuses, but the reality is a lot of guys didn’t feel very good. You call up some guys late. ‘Spence’ got sick really late, and I thought Drew went in and played good, but that puts him in a tough spot.”

Blashill emphasized that nights like this are part of the NHL grind, especially with no time to reset before the next game.

“All that stuff, it is what it is,” he said. “It’s one of those nights that happens in the League. It happened to us tonight, and it’ll affect us again tomorrow in Nashville. We’ll have to find a way with the lineup. We have a good enough lineup to win hockey games — we just have to play better than we did.”

what a snipe!🎯 pic.twitter.com/XPw0gHOgAp
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 10, 2026

Notes

The Blackhawks dressed an emergency backup goalie for the game, with 45-year-old Dave Nozzolillo on the bench. A native of Upper Queensbury, New Brunswick, Nozzolillo previously played during the 2000–01 season at Lake Forest College, a Division III NCAA program located about 30 miles north of Chicago.

Forward Nick Lardis, 20, recorded the first NHL assist of his career in his 13th game, picking up a helper on Oliver Moore’s second-period power-play goal.

Chicago’s five-game point streak came to an end with the loss (4-0-1).

In his return to the lineup, Connor Bedard skated on the second line alongside Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis, showing speed and confidence despite not finding the scoresheet.

Game Stats

Stat	Capitals	Blackhawks
Shots on Goal	24	24
Faceoff Win %	46.2%	53.8%
Power Play	0/3	1/4
Penalty Minutes	6	8
Hits	13	23
Blocked Shots	9	6
Giveaways	17	19
Takeaways	5	5
CF%	48.75%	51.43%
HDCF%	46.67%	53.33%
xGF%	51.35%	48.65%

Three Stars of the Game

⭐ Connor McMichael (WSH)
1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS

⭐⭐ Martin Fehérváry (WSH)
0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS

⭐⭐⭐ John Carlson (WSH)
0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS

Analytics & Takeaways

From an analytics standpoint, the line of Landon Slaggert, Nick Foligno, and Kirby Dach was Chicago’s best trio on the night. They posted a 62.5% CF, 58.3% HDCF, and a strong 76.29 xGF, clearly driving play when they were on the ice. Slaggert was especially noticeable, finishing with five shot attempts and five hits. Over his last three games, he has been playing stronger, more confident hockey for head coach Jeff Blashill.

Blashill also shuffled his lines during the game, switching Connor Bedard with Teuvo Teräväinen at one point as he looked for a spark. The line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Dickinson, and Ryan Donato struggled to generate momentum and did not have a strong night overall.

The bigger picture, however, tells the real story. With several players sidelined by the flu and others clearly not at 100 percent, the challenge became overwhelming for the Blackhawks against a structured and opportunistic Capitals team. It was a difficult night for both Drew Commesso and Kevin Korchinski. Expectations remain high for the former seventh-overall pick, but one tough game does not define a career, especially under these circumstances.

Offensively, Bedard and Bertuzzi led Chicago with four shots on goal each. Bedard did not look rusty in his return and created chances, particularly on the power play. Some decision-making moments were off, but after missing more than 12 games, that is part of the natural process of getting back up to game speed.

On the back end, the pairings of Wyatt Kaiser with Artyom Levshunov and Matt Grzelcyk with Kevin Korchinski combined for a minus-10, reflecting how difficult the night was defensively as Washington capitalized on key chances.

Chicago is back in action on the second half of a back-to-back in Nashville. With illness still working its way through the locker room, the lineup remains uncertain and availability will likely be decided close to game time. Competing through adversity will be the next test for this group as they look to push through difficult circumstances.