Since the Christmas break, the Blackhawks seem to have a better idea of what they must do to compete without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.
It’s still a challenge every game to execute the plan, but at least they’ve halted their free-fall and gotten their wheels back on the road. On Thursday, they beat the Stars for the second time in a week, holding on to win 4-3.
“I thought we were really good the majority of the night,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I loved the speed at which we played. I loved how connected we were. I loved our third period.
“We’ve been in those spots a few times this year where it’s a tough back-to-back for [our opponents] and we let teams off the hook. We didn’t tonight.”
New dad Ilya Mikheyev scored twice to help the Hawks build a 4-1 lead, and then they survived a late Stars push with the goalie pulled. Blashill noted even that could be beneficial since it’ll give the Hawks an opportunity to review five-on-six defense, which they haven’t substantially practiced.
For now, the Hawks have pulled out of last place in the Western Conference — ahead of the plummeting Jets and in-flux Canucks — with another back-to-back set looming on their own schedule this weekend.
“Just like we played today, we need to do that on a regular basis and not just go one good game, then maybe two bad and then one good,” said Andre Burakovsky, who had two primary assists.
Power back on
The power play offers a prime example of the Hawks’ recent improvement. After going 1-for-18 in the first seven games without Bedard — a “rough” stretch, Blashill admitted — it has gone 3-for-6 over the last two games, including two conversions Thursday.
Artyom Levshunov picked a corner for his long-awaited second goal of the season in the first period, and then Teuvo Teravainen buried a centering pass 13 seconds into the second period.
GOAL: Artyom Levshunov finishes off an amazing sequence in the O-zone with a snipe. What a shift. pic.twitter.com/uwHGQ55GAw
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 2, 2026
Levshunov is the X-factor on the top unit as its quarterback, and he’s getting increasingly comfortable in that role. He’s playing the best hockey of his young NHL career, skating with his head up and holding onto the puck with confidence.
“Arty has done a really good job on his five-on-five game, and that’s mirrored his power-play game,” Blashill said. “It looks like he’s attacking the game offensively more…and he’s shown that real good poise up at the blue line.”
Blashill mentioned they’ve made small tweaks to both the arrangement of the power-play formation and Levshunov’s shooting mechanics, which have helped.
Bigger fish
The Hawks have struggled in both overtimes (2-4) and shootouts (1-3) this season, but Blashill isn’t devoting too much thought to that. He has bigger fish to fry at this stage of the rebuild, where — as he mentions frequently — the process matters more than the results.
“Right now, do we want to get more points in overtime? Yes,” Blashill said. “Are there other things…we need to continue to get better at? 100%. Building to make sure we have that foundation in place to be the type of team we want to be, there’s a lot of work we’re putting in. And unfortunately in this league, you only get so much time in practice.”
During three-on-three play this season, the Hawks have actually outshot their opponents 20-19 but have a 25-17 disadvantage in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.
Dickinson’s brain
Jason Dickinson survived his latest injury scare Tuesday and was back in the Hawks’ lineup against the Stars franchise that originally drafted him in 2013.
In the two teams’ meeting in Dallas last weekend, Dickinson scored his prettiest goal in a while by gathering a loose puck near the defensive blue line, slicing through the Stars in the neutral zone, pushing back their defense and sniping a long-distance shot over Jake Oettinger.
Yet after the Hawks’ shootout win that night, he still nitpicked himself for other mistakes. That’s just how his brain works, for better or worse. He opened up about that afterward.
“Unfortunately, I don’t savor it enough,” Dickinson said. “I let the bad sit with me longer than I let the good. I came out of that game like, ‘Yeah I had the goal, and it was a nice goal,’ but I was still sitting there hating myself for a bunch of other plays. It’s just who I am; it’s how I process [things].
“I’ve done a better job of not letting it get me down, but if I’m not focused on those things, then I don’t feel like I’m getting better in those areas. That just seems like a waste to me.”