Kubalik leads Hawks past Oilers in first game of Qualification series

If the voting for NHL Awards has not been completed yet, Dominik Kubalik likely helped his cause.

Chicago Blackhawks’ 24-year old rookie and Calder Cup (Rookie of the Year) finalist played a key role in the team’s first game back from the pause, playing a role in five of his team’s goals in a 6-4 edge against the Edmonton Oilers.

With the win, the Hawks drew first blood in their Best-of-Five Qualification series.

Heading into the series against the league’s best powerplay unit it seemed the most important thing was to keep the game at 5-on-5. But, while the Oilers lived up to their hype, with three goals on six powerplays, the Hawks bettered it scoring on three of four manpower edges.

The Hawks led early after a goal from Connor McDavid, but the Hawks struck for the next four and carried a 4-1 margin into the second period. Dylan Strome scored the first unassisted and Jonathan Toews scored two of the next three, giving the Hawks a lead it would not relinquish.

Brandon Saad had the other with Kubalik earning a set up on all three.

After Leon Draisaitl, the regular season scoring champ, pulled the Oilers back to within a pair early in the second, Kubalik responded with two more goals on set ups from Kirby Dach and then Toews. The sixth goal chased Edmonton starter Mike Smith from the Oilers’ crease.

The Hawks carried the 6-2 lead into the final frame but the Oilers, looking to gain some momentum for game two, got third period goals from James Neal and Ryan Nugent Hopkins while Mikko Koskinen provided shutout goaltending through the game’s second half, stopping all 11 shots he faced.

In the post season, teams look to get big games from their best players and it seems all of the stars delivered in this one:

The Hawks collected 42 shots with more than half of them coming from four players. Patrick Kane pulled the trigger on seven shots with five each for Kubalik, Saad and Alex DeBrincat.

The Hawks relied on a trio of defensemen, Duncan Keith leading the way playing 22:24 while Connor Murphy (21:24) and Calvin de Haan (21:00) also logged big minutes.

For the Oilers, Draisaitl, McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins each picked up a goal and two assists.

Darnell Nurse logged an amazing 25:30 on the blue line while Ethan Bear (23:57) and Oscar Klefbom (22:27) also chipped in big time.

Game two in this series goes today (Monday) at 9:30 p.m. CST in Edmonton. The Hawks would take a stranglehold on the series with a win tonight and will get last change as the home team in Games 3 and 4.