ANALYSIS: Power Play, Fleury Lead the Way as Blackhawks Sweep Caps in OT

The Blackhawks fed off the home crowd en route to a 5-4 overtime win on Wednesday night, powered by the power play and stellar play from Marc-Andre Fleury in goal.
"It was awesome. Definitely one of the louder times I've heard it," Alex DeBrincat said of the building. "A pretty fun game and fun to be a part of."
"It was crazy. That's my second home game here, but that was a really loud building," Caleb Jones added. "We were just feeding off the momentum. It was deafening in there."

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI vs. WSH
RECAP: Blackhawks Outlast Capitals in Overtime, 5-4
FEATURE: My Husband, Marc-Andre by Veronique Fleury
VERDICT: Fleury - Authentic, Genuine and World-Class
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks Top Caps in OT
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Capitals
INSIDER: DeBrincat On DeBrindogs, Strong Start
DeBrincat netted a pair of man-advantage helpers to lead the way offensively and Jones popped home the game-winner on a 2-on-1 rush with Kirby Dach, his first as a Blackhawk to earn the second point.
"Couldn't ask for a much easier one," Jones laughed. "You kind of just have that feeling, 'You better not miss this.' Kind of took a whack at it and saw it go in. It was nice."
"It was great," interim head coach Derek King said of the night. "The power play was clicking. We got the saves we needed… This is the atmosphere we need to have. Hats off to the guys, they earned it."

BUCKLE UP

The Blackhawks found themselves in a 1-0 hole early in the second period until the power play sparked a wild 34 seconds of play.
DeBrincat potted an equalizer in a 17-second 5-on-3 advantage. Philipp Kurashev found another power-play tally 18 seconds later to pull ahead. Then, MacKenzie Entwistle found pay dirt at even strength another 16 seconds after that to make it 3-1 in the blink of an eye.

The three goals in 34 seconds of play tied for the third fastest trio of goals in franchise history (21 seconds in 1951-52, 30 in 1983-84 and 34 in 2016-17) and the 12th time the team has scored thrice in under a minute all-time.

THE FANTASTIC FLEURY

On the night where the Blackhawks celebrated Fleury's 500th NHL win in a pregame ceremony, the man of the night was called to duty, making 42 stops for win No. 501.
"I thought he played great," DeBrincat said. "He's a big reason why we stay in a lot of these games and I think none of those goals are really his fault. I think he's a great goalie and really keeps us in these games and I think we're confident with him back there."
The night as a whole was a special one for Fleury, whose wife and three daughters were not only on the ice for him in front of a giant wall of flowers that depicted the number 500, but were also the voices to narrate a pregame video recapping his incredible career to day.

"It was a very special day for me," he said. "To have my family on the ice with me, have them see what it's like to be on the ice and to feel the cheers and the chants from the crowd saying your name, means a lot."

CALLING ON CONNOLLY

Days after being recalled from the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, Brett Connolly made his season debut on Wednesday night against his the Capitals, who he won a Stanley Cup with in 2018. The veteran forward skated 11:32 in his return, logging time on a line with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Hagel and getting power-play action as well.
"Conns has been around. He's a smart player," King said after the game. "I thought he had some good opportunities, did some good things."
"Very, very, very excited to be back," Connolly said after his recall. "It's obviously where everybody wants to be. Just excited to get going. Very grateful for another opportunity and just looking to make the most of it. I put in the work down there."
At 29 years old, Connolly hadn't played in the AHL since the 2013-14 season prior to his placement on waivers and subsequent assignment out of training camp in October. It would've been easy to go down disgruntled and simply go through the motions in Rockford, but that isn't his style.
Instead, Connolly registered 11 points (5G, 6A) in 16 games and by all accounts has been the ultimate professional, working on his own game while guiding the young Blackhawks prospects in their own journeys, including his linemate Lukas Reichel.
"He's been one of the best players," King said. "He was one of the best players when I was still there. He's just a good pro."
"I've had some experience, a little bit, when I was younger, not the same situation but going down when maybe you think that you shouldn't have," Connolly said on Monday. "But I definitely was not going to be that guy that went down there. It's not my personality, it's not [how] I wanted to represent myself. I just wanted to go down there and work my ass off and get back up here and be a positive influence on those guys and try to be the best player every night."