Pyotr Kochetkov won the Calder Cup with Chicago’s AHL team in June. On Monday at United Center, he showed the fans of the city’s NHL club that his performance last season at the other end of the Kennedy Expressway was no fluke at all.
Kochetkov turned in his second straight solid performance, recording his first NHL shutout and extending his career-opening winning streak to five games in a masterful 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Unlike in his previous start this season, Kochetkov didn’t have much run support this time. Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook continued their torrid run, with Staal scoring in his third straight game, and Andrei Svechnikov added the insurance goal in the second period.