Chicago Blackhawks takeaways: Kurashev responds after scratch, Donato's three-point night against Avalanche and more

The Chicago Blackhawks snapped a four-game winless skid, defeating the Colorado Avalanche by a 5-2 final score at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday night.

The win improved Chicago's record to 3-6-1 through the first 10 games of the 2024-25 NHL season, while the Avalanche were cooled off after five straight wins and now sit at 5-5.

Philipp Kurashev opened the scoring for the Blackhawks, tallying his second goal of the year, and did so on the power play.

And while Casey Mittelstadt remained hot for the Avalanche by tying the score with his sixth goal, Lukas Reichel and Ryan Donato gave Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Sniper Nathan MacKinnon responded for the Avalanche before the first period ended, a power-play goal that was his fifth goal of the year.

However, Donato would seal the win late in the third period with an empty net goal, while Ilya Mikheyev netted his first as a Blackhawk 39 seconds later, also into the empty net.

Petr Mrazek finished with 24 saves for the Blackhawks, while Alexander Georgiev finished with 21 saves.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from Chicago's third victory of the year

#3. Philipp Kurashev has responded well to his benching

Displeased with his effort, Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson benched Kurachev earlier in the week despite having 54 points last season, good for second overall on the team behind only Connor Bedard.

While it may only be one goal to give him a total of two on the year, his tally will serve as a confidence booster in the upcoming games.

#2. Ryan Donato registered a career-best three points

Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato registered a career-best three points on the night, with two goals and one assist.

Thanks to his production against the Avalanche, he now has five goals with one assist so far in the 2024-25 season.

#1. The Blackhawks broke a losing skid in Colorado dating back to 2019

Not only did the Blackhawks break a four-game skid, but they also won in the Rocky Mountains for the first time since March 24, 2019.

Defenseman Duncan Keith scored in overtime during that game to give Chicago the win. In their previous losing stretch at Denver, the Blackhawks were outscored 25-4.

They can feel good about Monday's result, which they have earned, according to head coach Luke Richardson.

“There’s been nights that we probably didn’t deserve the final fate, so I’m glad the guys got what they deserved tonight,” Richardson said.

“This team and the whole organization is tired of the moral victories, so tonight was a big step for us to take a real victory and put it in the back of our minds how we did it.”

The Blackhawks will travel to the Bay Area for a matchup against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at SAP Center.