The Blackhawks aren’t back to championship contenders yet.
But don’t tell that to the packed house that got to celebrate their 3-2 comeback victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night at the United Center.
The Hawks gave up a game-tying goal in the last minute of the first period and lost a second-period challenge; the Leafs’ go-ahead goal stood. But they scored twice in the third period, continuing a seasonlong trend: 30 of their 59 goals have come in the third period.
Teuvo Teravainen tied the game off a Frank Nazar assist, and Colton Dach redirected Louis Crevier’s shot with less than five minutes to play, enough to win yet another one-score game.
Nine of the Hawks’ 18 games have been decided by one goal.
“We’re pretty comfortable with one-goal games,” Teravainen said. “I feel like every game’s so tight. Some days, it feels like we have our legs better and some days not.
‘‘But still, we’re finding ways to do something right.”
It keeps adding up to better-than-expected outcomes for the Hawks, who were tabbed as one of the worst teams in the league before the season began.
Instead, things are going swimmingly for a young team with big dreams of getting the franchise back to its winning ways. They’re 9-5-4 (22 points).
“All of us in here know we can do anything we put our minds to, and that’s how we’re going into each game,” Nazar said. “We’ve played some great teams, and we’ve stuck right in there with a ton of them.”
Rinzel gets ‘reset’
Defenseman Sam Rinzel was kept out of the lineup as the Hawks try to find a way to get him back on track.
“We have to look at it and say, ‘His game has kind of diminished a bit in the last little bit, so how can we get him back to being one of our best defensemen?’ ” coach Jeff Blashill said.
“And sometimes, in my experience, it’s to take a breath and just reset yourself.
“In order to climb out of it, sometimes you’ve got to decide, ‘OK, this is rock bottom. Let’s climb out of it now.’ That’s our plan with him.”
Nazar returns
Nazar was a game-time decision, but he was back on the ice for the Hawks after missing the previous two games and had a big impact.
Nazar had an assist, snapping a streak of five games without a point after he notched 11 in his first 10 games this season.
“[Nazar] played really good,” Teravainen said. “He’s fun to play with. He’s easy to play with.
‘‘He works hard. He’s fast. And he plays the right way, too.”
“I just hate watching from the stands,” Nazar said.
Foligno to miss extended time
Captain Nick Foligno left the ice after blocking a shot with his hand, and he’s expected to be out for a while.
“Probably, if I was to estimate, it would be, like, four weeks,” Blashill said after the game.
“It might be a little less; it might be a little more. I don’t love putting a timeline on it. It’s not six months, but it’s not two days, either.
“He’s a tough, tough, tough customer. So when he came off like that, I knew he was in trouble.”