8 Morning Thoughts On Blackhawks Tough 4-3 OT Loss To Devils
Despite scoring twice with their goalie pulled in the final five minutes of regulation, the Blackhawks came up short in overtime thanks to a spectacular goal by Jack Hughes.
The Chicago Blackhawks clawed their way back from a two-goal deficit late in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to pick up their first victory of the new season on Friday night against the New Jersey Devils. Kirby Dach and Dominik Kubalik each scored with Kevin Lankinen off for the extra attacker to tie the game 3-3, but former No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes came up with a remarkable game-winner in overtime to seal the deal for New Jersey. Despite losing the game, the Blackhawks picked up their first point of the year, and they also undoubtedly put together an improved performance from Wednesday.
Here are 8 thoughts from the Hawks 4-3 OT loss:
1. Seth Jones Played Like A No. 1 Defenseman
After a disappointing debut (to put it nicely) against Colorado in the season opener, Jones was arguably the Blackhawks’ best player on Friday night. Jones once again led the team with 26:08 of time on ice and made several key plays late in the game to help force overtime. With the Hawks trailing 3-2 in the final minute of the third period, Jones kept the play (and his team’s hopes of victory) alive at the blue line, leading to Kubalik’s game-tying goal seconds later.
The Blackhawks NEED Jones to be the defenseman he was on Friday more often in order to have success this season.
2. Special Teams Stay Hot
While the Hawks continue to struggle to generate scoring opportunities at 5-on-5, clearly, they do not have a problem doing so with a man advantage. All three Blackhawks’ goals on Friday — two on the powerplay, one at 6-on-5 with Lankinen pulled — came with an extra skater. That’s how they’ve scored four of their five goals now through two games.
On the flip side, the Blackhawks penalty kill thwarted off both Devils’ powerplay opportunities, albeit, in large part due to Lankinen making a few big-time stops. Hey, they all count the same. The PK has yet to allow a power-play goal in either contest so far and is 6-for-6 on the season.
3. McCabe and Murphy’s Long Night
Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton paired Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy together with the hope of finally creating a true, shutdown defensive pairing. Something the team has not possessed since trading away the beloved Niklas Hjalmarsson in the summer of 2017.
Welp. Through two games, neither has played the part well for the Blackhawks. For McCabe, being in a new system and coming off a serious knee injury should be factored into his rough start with Chicago. However, for Murphy, there are no excuses for poor play. Even this early in the season. On Friday vs. New Jersey, the two defensemen combined for a minus-five plus-minus rating.
4. Lankinen Stands Tall
Deep down, Lankinen may be a tad disappointed to not be the Blackhawks’ starter this year. Although, as Lankinen also understands, the opportunity to back up a world-class netminder like Marc-Andre Fleury before taking the reins should do him wonders in the future. There aren’t many better to learn from than ‘Flower’.
In his second-year debut against the Devils, Lankinen stopped 26 of 30 shots faced and kept the Blackhawks close late in the game. Like Fleury on Wednesday, the defense didn’t do him any favors, either. Had it not been for a couple of big-time stops, there may not have even been a chance for the Hawks to tie the score. Lankinen looked sharp and is off to a solid start in his sophomore season.
5. Tyler Johnson Bounces Back
Like Jones and McCabe, Johnson’s Blackhawks’ debut on Wednesday probably didn’t go the way he had hoped. Johnson failed to record a shot on goal and took two penalties, eventually leading to a demotion down to the fourth line.
On Friday, Colliton placed Johnson back on the top line with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane to start the game, and the two-time Stanley Cup champion responded in a big way. Johnson recorded two assists and won seven-of-10 faceoffs in 17:58 time on ice. Much better.
However, with the Hawks down 3-1 late in the game, Colliton elected to load up the top line with DeBrincat, Kane, and Kirby Dach in the middle. Johnson was bumped down to the third line with Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom but continued to play well and create scoring chances. Whether or not Colliton decides to put Johnson back with DeBrincat and Kane is something to keep an eye on during Saturday’s morning skate.
6. STOP PLAYING FROM BEHIND
The Blackhawks have now been outscored 4-0 in the first period and have yet to hold a lead in either of their two games. After allowing 16 shots in the opening 10 minutes against Colorado, the defense did tighten things up against New Jersey and surrendered six total in the first period. However, they still got caught sleeping out of the gate and gave up a goal just 17 seconds into the game. As the Blackhawks will learn if they keep this up, it’s hard to win in the NHL when consistently playing from behind. Those types of mental mistakes cannot happen once again vs. Pittsburgh.
7. Adam Gaudette & Erik Gustafsson Join The Lineup
Aside from Lankinen in net, the other two lineup changes that Colliton made on Friday were Gaudette and Gustafsson entering in place of Ryan Carpenter and Ian Mitchell, respectively.
Gaudette only wound up playing 8:16 (team-low, BTW) but made an impact in his limited action on the fourth line. FWIW, Colliton praised Gaudette for his performance after the game, which could indicate a second consecutive appearance in the lineup against the Penguins.
Gustafsson played a much larger role, finishing with two shots on goal and two blocks in 17:40. With Mitchell only playing 8:23 on Wednesday, it will be curious to see if Colliton wants to get him back out there again on Saturday.
8. Poor Dylan Strome
While Gaudette and Gustafsson — both healthy scratched on Wednesday — got to make their season debuts against the Devils, Dylan Strome was once again left as the odd man out. Reports have surfaced recently about the Blackhawks listening to trade offers on Strome, and the former No. 3 overall pick could be reaching the end of his time in Chicago. All signs seem to be pointing in that direction. If Strome doesn’t join the Blackhawks’ lineup against Pittsburgh, then he may not be around by the end of the weekend.
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