The interminable slog of the Bedard-less stretch of hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks continued in western New York with a 3-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
Quick summary of the first period:
In the second period, Buffalo scored the only goal it needed to win the game when a point shot from Ryan Johnson was neatly redirected between the legs of goaltender Arvid Soderblom:
Chicago had three power plays in the second period but never scored and then Buffalo doubled its lead early in the third when JJ Frankie JJ Peterka (Season 2 of Shoresy, folks: it’s good) picked this corner:
Later in the third, Philipp Kurashev was called for this boarding penalty:
Which led to this Rasmus Dahlin goal, unintentionally aided by Alex Vlasic:
And that was that.
Notes
- This game was boring as hell. But that’ll happen when it’s the No. 26 team in the league against the No. 31 team in the league.
- So, that goal from Peterka: it seems like something that’s going to happen to young goalie at the NHL level as a reminder that these are the best hockey players in the world and leaving the tiniest sliver of space available can result in a goal against. As long as that doesn’t become a habit for Soderblom, it shouldn’t be a concern. To be fair: it’s also one hell of a shot from Peterka, to pick that corner.
- Other than that, though: not the worst performance from Soderblom. Buffalo didn’t generate a zillion chances in this game but Soderblom did enough to keep the Hawks in the game for, at least, the first 43 minutes or so. Hard to ask for much more than that from a goalie who’s still very much a project.
- There was a moment during one of the power plays in the second period when Lukas Reichel made an incredible no-look, cross-ice pass that would’ve been the creation of an excellent scoring chance. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Connor Bedard near the left dot receiving the pass, it was Jason Dickinson. Before coming to Chicago last season, Dickinson had played about 31 minutes of power-play ice time in his career. He’s now up around 80 in the last two seasons with Chicago. This is the situation the Hawks are in because of this lengthy rebuild: a moment of possible brilliance from Reichel — who sure could use a boost at this point — ends as nothing because the Blackhawks have skaters on the power play who are only there because no other options exist.
- They could’ve just outright canceled this game and awarded Buffalo the two points.
- It’s fun. We’re having fun.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) — 19 saves, possibly the easiest shutout in NHL history
- JJ Peterka (BUF) — 1 goal
- Ryan Johnson (BUF) — 2 assists
What’s Next
Chicago heads back home to play the New York Islanders at the United Center on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.