Suddenly surging Blackhawks turn back Avalanche

[December 22, 2018]  Artem Anisimov scored a tiebreaking goal at the 1:19 mark of the third period to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory against the host Colorado Avalanche on Friday, giving Chicago its season-best third straight win.

Moments after the Blackhawks had finished killing an interference penalty against Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane fired a shot that was partially blocked.

The puck was redirected and spinning around near the goal line when Anisimov swooped in and poked it past Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer.

Colorado went on the power play at the 13:55 mark of the third period, but was unable to convert against Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia, who stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced.

Delia's final save was among his most dazzling, as he turned away a Nathan MacKinnon wrist shot from point-blank range with 10 seconds left. The Blackhawks' Connor Murphy slapped the ensuing rebound nearly the length of the ice, narrowly missing an empty net goal.

Playing the second leg of a road back-to-back, the Blackhawks opened the scoring on a goal from Alex DeBrincat at the 8:07 mark of the first period.

Moments after he had finished serving a Chicago penalty for too many men on the ice, the Blackhawks' Dominik Kahun raced out of the box, received a pass from Murphy and promptly found DeBrincat, who converted a 2-on-1 for his 16th goal of the season.

Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia (60) celebrates after defeating the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado earned the equalizer at the 2:58 mark of the second period with the teams at even strength when J.T. Compher, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, gathered an Alexander Kerfoot pass from behind the net and beat Delia for his ninth goal of the season.

An efficient Blackhawks penalty kill also played a role in the eventual game-winner. Chicago blocked 22 shots while limiting the Avalanche to 0-for-5 on the power play.

Chicago has earned nine of a possible 12 points in its past six games, going 4-1-1.

--Field Level Media

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