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Blackhawks lose 4-3 to Flames in overtime

Facing a team they were chasing in the playoff push, the Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t hang on to a third-period lead and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Calgary Flames.

Let’s be honest here. It’s real late on a Saturday night, and you probably saw what happened on the ice. And if you’re reading this on Sunday, there are undoubtedly some video highlights available on the internet that can be viewed to give you a quick recap of everything that transpired on the ice. So let’s just hop straight to the thoughts, shall we?

Let’s.

GOALS
CHI: Schmaltz (15), Hinostroza (6), Duclair (11)
CGY: Stajan (3), Gaudreau (16), Frolik (8), Monahan (24)

3 Thoughts

Vinnie Hinostroza and Anthony Duclair

I put these two together because I believe they’re in a similar boat: young players looking to prove their worth as potential pieces of future Blackhawks lineups. And each had moments tonight. Hinostroza had his goal on the power play, and has been noticeable for long stretches since being recalled from Rockford earlier this year. Duclair, meanwhile, scored a nifty breakaway goal in the second. Perhaps even more encouraging than the goal itself was the defensive play he made to spring his own breakaway. Whenever young players are making plays, it’s a good thing.

The Jeff Glass story doesn’t have to continue

It was a fun development late in December when Glass made his NHL debut as a 32-year-old rookie. And he’s had some moments in net. But I don’t see what Glass does that Anton Forsberg does not. Glass seems to find himself out of position too often, forcing him to make saves look more spectacular than they needed to be. It’s a high-wire act that doesn’t instill much confidence. I won’t pin this loss on Glass, but there isn’t much of an NHL future for Glass in Chicago. There could very much be one in Forsberg. Unless Chicago is playing back-to-back games, or if Forsberg has a disastrous start, I don’t know why Glass needs to suit up for the Hawks again this season.

Scoreboard watch time

Some good news, some not great news. Calgary now owns a four-point advantage on the Hawks, although Chicago can cut that in half with a regulation win at home on Tuesday night that it probably has to have. Colorado got beat by Winnipeg in regulation and Dallas blew out Minnesota. Montreal topped Anaheim and Los Angeles was well on its way to a win over the Coyotes. What does that all mean? Chicago is now five points out of a playoff spot, and four points behind all of the team’s its chasing in the wild card standings. This overtime loss hurts. A lot.

3 stars

  1. Sean Monahan (CGY) — game-winning goal in overtime
  2. TJ Brodie (CGY) — 2 assists
  3. Vinnie Hinostroza (CHI) — 1 goal

Talking Points