The Chicago Blackhawks started slow for the third straight preseason game and couldn’t rally from behind in a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday night. Two goals in the first 11 minutes and another pair in the third period put away the second game of the preseason at the United Center.
It took less than a minute before the Rangers scored the first goal of the game, with Oscar Lindberg getting a wrist shot past Corey Crawford just 50 seconds in. New York kept the pressure on from there, getting a second score by Anthony Duclair just before the 11th minute.
The Blackhawks rallied in the second period to at least make things interesting, outshooting the Rangers, 14-8, and getting a goal in the process. Dennis Rasmussen’s score wouldn’t be enough, however, considering the way things went in the final 20 minutes.
There was some solid play in the offensive zone at times, and even a couple quality saves by New York backup goalie Cedrick Desjardins, but unlucky bounces prevented any chance of this game being interesting. The first one, by J.T. Miller, came on a deflection, and the second was just a straight-up bizarre play as Marek Hrivik managed to flick a puck past Crawford while awkwardly fighting for possession near the net.
So the Hawks fall to 1-2 in the preseason after back-to-back losses, not that anyone is particularly caught up with this. There are clearly some things to work out before the regular season, but this is an experienced group for the most part and there’s little reason to be worried by a couple preseason losses.