The Chicago Blackhawks finally broke into the win column in the 2025-26 NHL regular season on Monday, as they defeated the Utah Mammoth at the United Center in Chicago, 3-1.
After a scoreless first period, Chicago forward Ilya Mikheyev found the back of the net in the second frame to put his team on the board.
Utah's JJ Peterka tied it up at 1-1 with a goal just a minute into the third period before Andre Burakovsky and Mikheyev scored the next two goals, respectively, to seal the victory for Chicago, which opened the season with three losses in a row to the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.
Burakovsky got the first star honor with his goal, while Mikheyev was named the second star for lighting the lamp twice. Meanwhile, goalie Spencer Knight received the third star nod after turning away 22 of 23 Mammoth shots.
One player who didn't get a star but made a great impression on Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill was defenseman Artyom Levshunov.
“He was really good tonight. He took a big hit to make a play on [Mikheyev's] goal. He did what I think could make him special, and that’s be really strong in his own end, be able to skate himself out of a little bit of trouble and then make a little breakout pass,” Blashill said of Levshunov, per Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times.
“That’s an underrated skill,” the bench boss Blashill.
Levshunov missed both his shots on goal and had a couple of giveaways, but finished the game with a plus-1 to go along with two hits.
It was a great response overall from the 19-year-old Levshunov following a healthy scratch in Chicago's previous meeting with the Canadiens at home.
There is still plenty of room for improvement for the Belarusian blueliner, as this is only his second season in the NHL. He didn't get much experience either in the 2024-25 campaign, as he appeared in only 18 games, generating six points, all from assists, while ending up with a minus-13 rating.
Selected second overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Levshunov will continue to mature in the league as part of a Blackhawks roster that's still deep in the rebuild. Chicago has not been to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2020 and won just 25 games last season. They are hoping for improvement this season, and Levshunov's play could be a catalyst in their quest to return to respectability.
