After going winless in their first three games of the 2025-26 NHL season, the Chicago Blackhawks are back on track after consecutive regulation victories. The most recent of them came on Wednesday night without captain Nick Foligno, who is taking a leave of absence to care for his daughter.
The Hawks came out flying despite missing one of their key players, crushing the St. Louis Blues 8-3 at Enterprise Center. Frank Nazar, who scored a goal in the triumph, shared an emotional message to the veteran after the win.
“We're praying for him and his family and everything that's going on. That one was for him,” Nazar said, per the Chicago Sun-Times' Ben Pope. “It's something we as a group talked about before and after the game.”
Foligno is away from the team caring for 12-year-old daughter Milana Foligno, who is undergoing follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease. Milana has had multiple surgeries since birth, including the replacement of a valve.
It's clear the Blackhawks realized that Wednesday night was bigger than hockey, and this was the best version of the team we've seen so far in 2025-26.
Blackhawks earn some Winter Classic revenge
It was also a revenge game for Chicago, who lost 6-2 to St. Louis in the 2025 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.
“We're going to remember that game and not forget it and think about it every time we play,” Nazar said, per Pope. It was a terrific showing for the Hawks, who scored eight goals in a game for the first time since March of 2022.
Connor Bedard led the way with three assists, and Nazar added his sixth point in just five games. Lukas Reichel was also terrific in just his second contest of the season; the 23-year-old scored two goals and added an assist in the shellacking.
“Every game you want to prove something,” Reichel said afterwards, per NHL.com's Lou Korac. “Just how the game went, pucks went my way from the whole team. We were shooting the puck a lot and it kind of went in. I think overall it was a good game and it feels good to have two (wins) in a row. I was playing free and having fun. That’s what I did today.”
It was a much-needed couple of wins in the Windy City; the Blackhawks began the campaign with back-to-back-to-back losses to the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, in that order.
Now, they're back to .500 — and they have a little momentum on their side after triumphs over the Utah Mammoth on Monday and Blues on Wednesday.
Chicago will look to keep the winning ways alive when the Vancouver Canucks visit the United Center on Friday night. Puck is set to drop just past 8:30 p.m. ET between the Western Conference foes.
