At 4:52 of the second period, Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal as a member of the Hurricanes. One minute later (5:59), Jaccob Slavin made it 3-1. For a team as offensively challenged as the Blackhawks, that felt like a hill too steep to climb.

Söderblom was the primary reason the Blackhawks were up at all. He made 34 saves — stopping all 26 shots he saw in the last two periods, including 15 in the third — to take the victory. Per Evolving Hockey, Söderblom saved 2.74 goals above expected in the game.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy missed sat for Tampa Bay with an illness, and emergency backup Kyle Konin, 27, dressed for his fourth NHL game