Mikheyev scores twice, Blackhawks hold off Penguins to end 5-game skid

CHICAGO – Ilya Mikheyev scored twice to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at United Center on Sunday.

Frank Nazar scored and Spencer Knight made 28 saves for the Blackhawks (22-45-10), who had lost five in a row and 11 of 12.

“I really look at every game as an individual set,” Knight said. “You can say, 'Oh, this stretch of games wasn't good,' but for me, it's more each game is different, right? You're going to go through stretches of good and bad throughout the season. It doesn't matter if you're first place or last place. That's the way it is. You just have to stick with it and bring your good attitude and good work ethic every time you come to the rink.”

Rickard Rakell scored and Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves for the Penguins (31-35-12), who were eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Sidney Crosby had his point streak end at 12 games.

Pittsburgh was playing the second game of a back-to-back after a 5-3 win at the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

“We knew it was going to take a lot, a lot of things to go right,” Nedeljkovic said. “We were just trying to focus on ourselves. Ultimately, if we didn’t win, we knew there really wasn’t a shot. We decided to go into every game playing like it was the last one.

“It’s a tough situation. It’s a long flight from Dallas to here, on a back-to-back. It was an emotional game yesterday, obviously playing a really good team. We dominated the game pretty much start to finish. It was a really good win for us. Long travel afterwards, and being at the hotel all day, just kind of dragged on a little bit, and I think you saw that in the first period. It’s not like it was a bad first period, but both teams looked a little loose, and I think they were able to get to their game a little quicker than we were able to get to ours.”

Nazar put the Blackhawks ahead 1-0 with a short-handed goal at 18:55 of the second period. He skated into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 rush with Teuvo Teravainen, took a return pass and scored on a wrist shot past the stick of Nedeljkovic.

Mikheyev made it 2-0 at 9:40 of the third period when he took a pass on the right wing from Connor Bedard, got behind the defense and scored with a wrist shot under Nedeljkovic's blocker. Rookie defenseman Sam Rinzel also had an assist on the goal for his first NHL point.

“He’s mature,” said Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen of Rinzel. “We really like the fact that he wants to have the puck. He takes control in shifts and I think that’s a great attribute as a player, especially as a young player to come in and do that.”

Rinzel has played in four NHL games. He made his debut on March 30.

"Feels like I'm a bit more comfortable," he said. "I think I'm learning every game. Like my first period today, I need to be a little more crisp with passes ... to start the first period. But obviously, you make a mistake. But I think it's as long as I'm playing confident with my feet, things happen. I felt a little snakebit kind of the first couple games, had a lot of chances and stuff, but just being patient with it and trusting the process is good for me."

Rakell brought the Penguins to within 2-1 with a power-play goal at 14:36. He scored from the slot after taking a pass from Bryan Rust.

The goal was Rakell's 34th of the season, tying his career high he set with the Anaheim Ducks in 2017-18.

Mikheyev scored his second goal into an empty net at 19:04 for the 3-1 final.

“We weren’t even close to the team we were yesterday,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “It was one of those nights we just didn’t seem to have the energy. I didn’t think we did as good a job managing. There’s going to be some nights where you don’t have your legs or you don’t have your A game, so to speak, but you have to acknowledge it and manage the game appropriately. I just don’t think we were diligent enough.”

NOTE: Penguins forward Philip Tomasino did not play. He is being evaluated for an upper-body injury.