TAKEAWAYS: Jones’ Overtime Goal Secures Victory Against Islanders

After the New York Islanders tied the matchup late in the third period, Seth Jones found his first goal of the season to earn the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory on Friday night. 

Throughout the contest, the veteran defenseman felt that the team found a way to stay composed after they gave up their 3-1 lead late in the game. With the help of Petr Mrazek in the net, Chicago secured two points to finish the night. 

“It's a great feeling and the team played unbelievable tonight,” Jones said. “We obviously gave up two goals in the third [period], but the way we stuck in there and Petr made big saves down the stretch. It's just a good team win before we go on this road trip.”

Although the Islanders struck first early In the game, Boris Katchouk created some spark in the second period with his goal to make it 1-1. From there, Joey Anderson and Jason Dickinson fed off the momentum to stretch the Blackhawks’ lead even further. 

After a tough loss in Buffalo the night before, Anderson described the energy the players brought into the game that showcased that they know how to play the right way. 

“We needed a game like this, it was great,” Anderson said. “The compete level was there the whole night and even when they came back at us, guys stuck with the process and made sure we got to overtime, put ourselves in a situation to get two points tonight.”

Head coach Luke Richardson also noted postgame on Thursday that he wanted to see his team play a more simple and direct game that produced more shots on net and possible goals. Tonight, the Blackhawks did just that.

While New York outshot Chicago 29-24, the second-year head coach noticed major improvement in the team’s offensive game on Friday night. 

“We sustained a lot more O-zone time tonight than we did over the last few games, so that's a good step in the right direction,” Richardson said. 

Chicago will embark on a four-game road trip before the NHL All-Star break against tough teams like the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. As they prepare for some of the matchups, Dickinsons hopes the Blackhawks can carry some of their home luck on the trip to find their first road win since November. 

“There's a bunch of things that go into play, it's not any one thing,” Dickinson said. “But I think we just got to take what we did tonight and just roll it over into this road trip and keep plugging away and we're going to get one.”