The Chicago Blackhawks finished the 2026 Prospect Showcase on a high note, beating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in Game 2 at USG Arena and splitting the two-game set.
Chicago had dropped the opener 3-1, but this one looked different almost from the start. The Blackhawks came out flying in the first period, outshooting the Blues 10-3 and cashing in when AJ Spellacy opened the scoring.
The Blackhawks carried that 1-0 edge into the second period, but St. Louis quickly pulled even with a shot that slipped through traffic and into the net with 17:22 left in the frame.
Chicago answered right away. Just over a minute later, Parker Holmes jumped on a turnover and beat the Blues with a snipe to put the Hawks back in front.
Taige Harding also got involved in one of the many fights that have marked this event, and he left the penalty box at the next whistle with what appeared to be a hand injury. But he was back on the ice in the third period and looked fine, which matters for a player trying to make an early impression with the Rockford IceHogs.
Before the middle period was over, the Blackhawks added two more. Martin Misiak scored his second goal in as many days on the next shift after Harding’s fight, and then Spellacy struck again with just over two minutes left in the period on a tic-tac-toe finish. That gave Chicago a 4-1 lead heading to the second intermission.
The third period had plenty going on as well. Each team took a penalty, there were more fights, and both sides generated chances. Jakub Stancl pulled the Blues back within two with a shorthanded goal, his second of the Prospect Challenge, but the Blackhawks answered with an empty-net goal from Misiak to close it out.
The 5-2 result left Chicago 1-1 in the Prospect Showcase. That wraps this group of prospects, who are now off to their separate training camps as they prepare for the 2026-27 season.
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For a team already staring at a difficult opening stretch, that absence changes the tone of the first months of the season. Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Bowen Byram and Patrick Kane are among the names expected to carry more of the load in Bedards place, but the bigger question is how much damage the Blackhawks can avoid before their franchise centerpiece is back and ready to pick up the pieces. [Read more 🡒]