THREE THINGS: Comeback Complete, Proving Ground and Regula Debut

The Blackhawks went toe-to-toe with one of the league's best on Thursday night, battling out of a 1-0 deficit after nearly 57 minutes of play to force overtime and take a second point on the night over the Hurricanes in the extra frame, 2-1.
"It meant everything. The team absolutely battled and I think we deserved that," said Collin Delia following his first victory of the season. "I was just happy to be a part of that. It's just amazing what we can do when we have the same goal and that's what we're looking to bring night in and night out. I think reflecting back on this performance in the coming games and next year, that's something we're going to highlight moving forward."

"It's big getting two points, especially going home with the fans in front of us," Riley Stillman said.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

COMEBACK COMPLETE

The lone Hurricanes goal on the night was truly one out of Chicago's control, but it looked as though it would be the difference until Stillman tipped the equalizer home with 3:01 to play in regulation -- his first NHL goal at quite an opportune time.
"It was huge," Stillman said. "I had a couple opportunities earlier in the game, I've had a couple opportunities in the past, but it was big to get that first one."

As the Blackhawks operated on the game's opening power play in the first period, Duncan Keith skated out of the offensive end to corral a puck, lost an edge briefly and then collided head-first into the knee of a linesman, knocking him to the ice and eventually out of the game after the opening frame. Martin Necas picked up the loose puck, skated two full zones on a breakaway and beat Delia for the early tally.
Delia was perfect in every other instance on the night, stopping all 36 other shots he faced to keep Chicago in the game.
"There's a lot of credit that I've got to give him. He was tremendous tonight. That's the only way I can describe that," Stillman said. "He played very, very well. He made big stops when we needed him and played the puck well. To go through the adversity he had this year, it was huge for him and for the team to get a win for him tonight."
"If they get the second one, it's going to be tough," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "He did a very good job and gave us the chance to win. Mostly just happy for him to have this stretch of games where he's gotten the chance and to his credit, he prepared very well and he's given all we can ask for."

The game-tying tally was followed in short order in overtime by Alex DeBrincat's team-leading 29th goal of the season for the victory, his fifth straight game with a goal and sixth game-winner on the year.
"He's a guy that you want on your team and you can count on him when the game's on the line," Delia said of DeBrincat.

PROVING GROUND

Thursday's game brought another handful of lineup changes as Colliton and Co. continue the evaluation process of the roster ahead of next season. Brett Connolly, who had missed the last two games in favor of opportunities for guys like Mike Hardman and MacKenzie Entwistle among others, drew in along with Alex Regula, the ninth Blackhawk to make his NHL debut this season. Dylan Strome and Ian Mitchell came back off of the gamely roster after a handful of games back in the group.
"Everyone wants to play," Colliton explained of the rolling roster this week. "At this point, a lot of it's rotating the lineup and trying to get different guys in and in a position to play. We've introduced guys like Hardman and Entwistle and that's kind of where we're at. We're trying to evaluate whether they help us going forward."
Names like Pius Suter, Philipp Kurashev, Riley Stillman, Nicolas Beaudin and Adam Gaudette have all filtered in and out of the lineup in the last 10 days as the young depth gets put in the best position for individual and team success down the stretch.
"It's trying to put guys in a position to succeed if we can, understanding we're playing a lot of rookies, a lot of second-year guys, a lot of third-year guys, a lot of fourth-year guys," Colliton said. "It's not going to be smooth all the time, but we're trying to continue to push forward that work ethic and relentless mentality and managing the game."

REGULA DEBUT

Speaking of Regula's debut, the defenseman skated 14:16 of ice time in his first NHL game, registering a shot on goal, one hit and one blocked shot.
Acquired from Detroit in October 2019 as an unsigned draft pick, the young blueliner went through optional skates and training camp ahead of last summer's playoffs, traveled with the team to the bubble in Edmonton as one of a handful of extra skaters and has spent much of the current season traveling back and forth between the taxi squad and the Rockford IceHogs. Thursday night was finally his time to join the first-team ranks.
"I thought he was patient with the puck, made a lot of little plays that helped break pressure and get out of trouble," Colliton said. "You can see how he might turn into a real asset for us. Excellent first impression at the NHL level for me."

At 6'4", Regula is the most sizable rookie defenseman among the Blackhawks young D corps, but also brings puck poise and a heavy shot to the group, factors that the organization hopes translate to the big league as he grows into the role.
"He was a point producer in juniors, but the elements of his game that allow him to put points up in juniors are going to help him be a good, steady, all-around defenseman in the NHL," Blackhawks Assistant General Manager/Player Development Mark Eaton
said last summer.
"He has really good hands, good vision, good passing ability that at the NHL level will allow him to read forechecks and make a good first pass… I can see him being a guy that plays against other teams' top lines every night and becomes a hard guy to play against from the defensive aspect of the game."