The Chicago Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead only 11 seconds in off Brandon Saad’s goal, but the Winnipeg Jets responded with five goals in the first period to hand Chicago a 6-2 loss Thursday at MTS Centre.
Winnipeg’s Bryan Little and Jack Roslovic each had a goal and an assist, while Jacob Trouba had two assists in his return after missing 20 games due to injury. Kyle Connor had two goals, including an empty-netter in the final minute of the game.
The loss was Chicago’s third straight on the road and fourth this month. The Hawks have allowed at least six goals in the losses and been outscored 26-11 in five road contests.
Saad’s goal came from the right face-off circle, but was Jets coach Paul Maurice challenged that Chicago captain Jonathan Toews was offside on the play. After a lengthy review, there was no evidence that Toews was offside and Chicago took a 1-0 lead.
Saad’s goal wasn’t confirmed, it simply stood as called. From the NHL: “It was determined there were no definitive replays which showed that Chicago’s Jonathan Toews was off-side prior to the puck crossing the blue line. Therefore, the call on the ice was upheld.”
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 16, 2018
Then it was all Winnipeg.
Paul Stastny tied it three minutes later for his third goal in eight games since being traded from St. Louis on Feb. 26. Anton Forsberg initially made the saves, but spun into the net to make it 1-1. Joel Armia gave the Jets the lead less than two minutes later on a deflection before Roslovic made it 3-1 on six shots to chase Forsberg. Little and Connor each added a goal in the final 3:36 of the first period.
Patrick Sharp scored Chicago’s other goal less than five minutes into the second frame. Jean-Francois Berube made a few big saves as he stopped 30 shots in relief. The Hawks also went 0 for 3 on the power play, but they did kill off four penalties.
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced in his 36th win of the season.
Chicago now travels to Buffalo for a Saturday matinee.
3.5 Thoughts
Goalie flip flop
Ever since starter Corey Crawford went down with an injury, Chicago has used any combination of Berube, Forsberg and Jeff Glass in net. Thursday’s game was the ninth time this season the Hawks have used two goalies in a game. Forsberg has been pulled six times, while Crawford was given the hook twice and Berube once, notes Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun Times.
DeBrincat’s disappearing act
Rookie Alex DeBrincat has proven that despite his 5-foot-7, 165-pound frame that he can play in the NHL. He has 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists) in 71 games this season. But that production has disappeared recently. He hasn’t scored a goal in 11 games, dating back to Feb. 17. And he even didn’t record a shot in 11:13 of ice time against the Jets on Thursday.
Milestone watch
With an assist on Sharp’s goal, Nick Schmaltz now has 47 this season. He’s only four off from reaching the 50-point mark, which is quite the improvement from his 26-point performance during his rookie season.
Countdown
There are only 11 Hawks games left to close out the 2017-18 campaign and they can’t come soon enough.
3 Stars
1. Bryan Little (WPG) — 1 goal, 1 primary assist
2. Jacob Trouba (WPG) — 2 assists
3. Jack Roslovic (WPG) — 1 goal, 1 secondary assist