Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes Recap: Carolina Rolls, Blake and Bedard Cash

The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Chicago Blackhawks 9-2 in regulation. Carolina scored 1:34 into the game, Jackson Blake made it 2-0 at 3:21, and Jordan Martinook scored twice, at 10:54 and 19:27, for a 4-0 lead after one. Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Alexander Nikishin made it 7-0 in the 2nd. Chicago got two in the 3rd from Roman Kantserov at 5:56 and Connor Bedard at 13:41. Shayne Gostisbehere and Svechnikov added late goals for Carolina. All 11 goals came at even strength. Carolina outshot Chicago 33-20. Spencer Knight allowed 6 goals on 17 shots in 30:36, and Arvid Soderblom allowed 3 on 16 the rest of the way. Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves on 20 shots for Carolina. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Jackson Blake 1+ points (-170 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Blake had a point in 8 of his last 10 and 14 of 18 this season, including all of his last 5. - What happened: He scored on a backhand at 3:21 of the 1st, set up by Nikolaj Ehlers, to make it 2-0. That cleared the line by 0.5. He finished with 1 G and 2 SOG in 17:35, with 0:45 on the power play. - Worth watching: Blake's point came at even strength, with only 0:45 of power-play time and one Carolina power play all night. Even-strength scoring like that is what we want behind a point line.

Connor Bedard 1+ points (-155 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Bedard had a point in 8 of his last 10 and 9 of 11 this season, including 4 of his last 5. - What happened: He had 1 G and 1 A in 17:22 and cleared the line by 1.5. He set up Kantserov's goal at 5:56 of the 3rd that ended the shutout, then scored himself at 13:41 of the 3rd. - Worth watching: Both of Chicago's goals ran through Bedard, even in a 9-2 loss with no Chicago power plays. Point props on the player who drives his team's offense can stay live when the game gets away.

How the game played out

Carolina won this in the first 40 minutes. The Hurricanes had 14 shots in the 1st and scored four times. Chicago had just 2 shots in the 2nd while Carolina added three more. Knight's night ended after Aho's goal at 10:36 of the 2nd, and Soderblom played the final 29:24. Special teams barely mattered: Carolina had one power play and Chicago had none.

Trends to watch

• Martinook scored twice, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Eric Robinson assisted on both of those goals, six points between the three of them.
• Aho had a goal and two assists, and Svechnikov scored twice, all of it at even strength.
• Chicago's goalies faced 33 shots and allowed 9. Kochetkov was not tested much, with 20 shots against.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More at NHL picks, NHL recaps and what a player prop is.