File this as a sentence that would've been hard to imagine a month ago: Ilya Mikheyev and Teuvo Teravainen just propelled the Blackhawks to their first three-game winning streak since Patrick Kane's tenure.
"The Finnish-Russian connection is solid right now," captain Nick Foligno said.
Teravainen set up two Mikheyev goals, Nolan Allan added his first NHL goal for insurance and goalie Arvid Soderblom made 27 saves as the Hawks beat the Kraken 3-1 on Thursday.
That completed a homestand sweep and gave the Hawks their first three-game run since February 2023 — Kane's final week in a Hawks uniform, back when Connor Bedard hadn't even been drafted yet. The previous five times they had won back-to-back games since then, they subsequently lost the next game.
"It was a big step for the group," interim coach Anders Sorensen said. "We're hanging onto more pucks, we're making more plays and we're more on the rush, which has been good. We're coming out of our [defensive] zone with numbers, and we're connected coming out."
Teravainen and Mikheyev, among many other Hawks, have both improved enormously since Sorensen arrived and slotted them on the wings of Jason Dickinson's third line. They're also playing together on the red-hot penalty kill.
Mikheyev has scored four goals in three games after potting only two goals in his first 28. His speed has always made him an effective defensive forward, but he seems to be rediscovering some of the offensive touch he demonstrated a few years ago in Vancouver.
Teravainen, meanwhile, is playing his best hockey since the opening road trip of the season. He has eight points in his last three games, dramatically breaking out of a slump in which he tallied only six points in 25 games. He followed up back-to-back three-point outings against the Islanders and Capitals with his two assists Thursday.
"They're playing off each other," Foligno said. "'Turbo' is so smart and understands players so well. He sees how 'Mikky' plays the game. ... They've been a huge momentum boost for us. They're probably looked at to be a defensive-minded line, but when you play that good defense and you get those opportunities offensively, they all have the skill to make plays. And they're that for us right now."
Said Sorensen: "There's a lot of hockey sense [in] both of them."
Petr Mrazek's December has been a perfect storm of disruptions so far. The 32-year-old goalie suffered a minor groin injury, got the flu and dealt with a family health issue, which all combined to make his 12-day absence partly miserable and partly a much-needed break.
"Everything came together; everything was in one," Mrazek said Thursday. "I've been through a lot the last couple of weeks, so it’s nice to get everything done and focus on hockey again."
Mrazek was activated off injured reserve and backed up Soderblom on Thursday. Prospect Drew Commesso was reassigned to Rockford. Mrazek will likely start Saturday against the Flames. The Hawks have one more game after that — Monday in Minnesota — before the NHL's three-day Christmas break.
His relatively speedy return is relieving news, considering his history of more serious groin injuries. Soderblom did clear the 60-career-game threshold and become waiver-eligible during his absence, though, so the Hawks are now trending again toward a goalie logjam if Laurent Brossoit finally returns in January or February.
Sorensen said the Mrazek-Soderblom tandem could resemble a "1A-1B" workload split moving forward.
Sorensen said Seth Jones, who hasn't played since Nov. 14 due to a foot injury, is "close" to returning. It's unclear if that could happen before the Christmas break. He has skated individually with Alec Martinez (neck) before Hawks practices this week.
Jeremy Roenick was honored Thursday at the United Center for his recent induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His presence added extra energy to a buzzing pre-holiday crowd of 18,991.
The Bruins moved Thursday to terminate ex-Hawks forward Tyler Johnson's contract. Things have not gone well for Johnson: He waited weeks into the season to get a contract at all and then sat out seven of the Bruins' last eight games as a healthy scratch.
