Chicago Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek makes a save during the first period against the Calgary Flames. The Blackhawks won 3-1 on March 26, 2024, in Chicago.Paul Beaty/The Associated Press
Jason Dickinson is a 20-goal scorer for the first time in his ninth NHL season.
It’s a number that means a lot to the veteran forward.
“It’s a hell of an achievement,” he said. “I’ve never cracked 10 before in this league.”
Dickinson scored twice, Petr Mrazek made 40 saves and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Tuesday.
Seth Jones also scored for Chicago, and Joey Anderson had two assists. Connor Bedard, who wrapped the blade of his stick in rainbow-colored Pride tape for warm-ups on Pride Night, picked up his team-best 35th assist.
Blackhawks rookie Landon Slaggert had two assists for his first points in his sixth NHL game. But he was turned away by Calgary defenceman MacKenzie Weegar on a prime scoring opportunity, and then came up empty on another chance.
The horn sounded after Slaggert appeared to score in the third period, but a review showed the puck never went into the net. The 21-year-old forward smiled as he stood in front of the Chicago bench before the decision was announced by an official.
“I was hoping for it, but I guess it just wasn’t in the cards tonight,” Slaggert said. “It’s awesome playing with some pretty great players in (Dickinson) and (Anderson). They’re just kind of helping me out there, and I thought we created a lot of offence tonight.”
Calgary dropped its fourth consecutive game. Weegar scored his 17th goal with 7:35 left, and Jacob Markstrom made 24 stops.
“Second and third (period), we got better, but I don’t like the way we started the game,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said.
The last-place Blackhawks improved to 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. They have just 21 victories in 72 games on the season.
Chicago rallied for a 5-4 overtime win at San Jose on Saturday, but it trailed the Sharks 4-0 early in the second period. The Blackhawks focused on putting together a better start against the Flames, and they got it.
Jones opened the scoring with a power-play goal on a slap shot from the high slot 3:35 into the first period. Dickinson made it 2-0 when he finished a pretty 2-on-1 with Anderson, beating Markstrom on the goaltender’s glove side for his 19th goal at 15:15.
“I thought the first period was excellent,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “We were flying, we were physical and dominant in a lot of areas and really didn’t let them have a chance to get going.”
Jones continued his offensive resurgence after he scored twice in the comeback victory against the Sharks, including the overtime winner. The defenceman has six goals and five assists in his last 10 games.
Before his recent tear, he had just one goal on the season.
“One goal wasn’t enough, right? It’s embarrassing,” Jones said. “I wanted to at least give myself a chance to score instead of passing and try to look for the open man every time.”
Dickinson made it 3-0 when he scored his 20th goal from the slot 4:15 into the third. Anderson set him up with a nice pass from behind the net.
Dickinson’s previous career high was nine goals in two different seasons.
Up next
Flames: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
Blackhawks: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.