Despite a good effort, the Chicago Blackhawks were unable to hold on to a one-goal lead in the waning minutes, ultimately falling 2-1 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets up in Manitoba on Friday night.
After no goals in the first period, it started to look like the second would end up in a similar fashion before Ryan Donato got the Blackhawks on the board with 3:08 left in the middle frame. Patrick Maroon chipped the puck out to clear the zone and a streaking Donato picked it up for a breakaway to make it 1-0.
The Blackhawks held onto their one-goal lead through much of the third period until, after much sustained pressure from the Jets, Mark Scheifele got to a rebound first and tied the game at one with 64 seconds left in regulation.
Scheifele went on to get his second of the game 38 seconds into overtime, tipping in Josh Morrissey’s shot-pass from the corner to give the Jets a 2-1 win.
Notes
The first period tonight was much better in general than against Utah. The Jets had the puck more at 5-on-5 as they out-attempted the Blackhawks 21-12, but the Blackhawks kept the shots on goal close (7-6 in favor of the Jets) and had a slight edge in expected goals (0.94 vs 0.82). While you’d like to see Chicago spend more time in the offensive zone, the advantage in quality of puck possession was nice to see. The Blackhawks took that to heart as the second period was tilted much more in their favor. In fact, the 5-on-5 attempted shots were basically reverse from the first period (21-13 Blackhawks) while they expanded their edge in quality (0.72 vs. 0.34).
Now, those are still two low-event periods in general, but that’s okay, because that might be the key to Chicago being somewhat successful this season: keep the forecheck tight and play a structured defensive game. It doesn’t need to be fancy to work. Granted, Winnipeg historically is also a low-event team, so it’s possible this game will be an outlier. Either way, it’s a noted improvement over the last game.
The third was also pretty solid, although the Jets understandably started to turn it on from the jump. Still, up until the final six or seven minutes, the Blackhawks were keeping things calm and not giving the Jets a lot of time to set up in the offensive zone. However, the pressure near the end of the period was a little too much, one defensive breakdown too many, and the goal against really wasn’t surprising.
No matter how well they played most of the game, the team won’t be happy with this moral victory, though.
After what was an objectively good game for the Blackhawks, the lack of offense was a key part in the story tonight and will likely continue to be something we track as the season progresses. Chicago put up a record low 2.17 goals per game last season, and they only mustered up one goal tonight. While the team in front was pretty solid defensively and the work in net was there as well, the lack of goal support could be the biggest hinderance for the team going forward. Putting only 26 shots on a goalie of Hellebuyck’s caliber is criminal.
Speaking of the goaltending, Arvid Soderblom had a very respectable game tonight, especially in the first period and through much of the third. His biggest issues last season were his timing on body shots being off just enough for pucks to squeak through and his inability to prevent rebound opportunities, but that wasn’t the case tonight. He was either absorbing shots or getting his rebounds out wide where they were much less dangerous. A little bad luck that the game-typing goal happened to be on a rebound, though there was an obvious coverage breakdown in front. Soderblom finished with 33 saves on 35 shot for a .943 save percentage.
Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Hall had some really nice moments together, including a 2-on-1 in the third that Hellebuyck robbed. Their line with Tyler Bertuzzi actually played just slightly more than the Connor Bedard line at 5-on-5 (15 seconds more). The only issue with this line so far has been that most of their shots are from mid to low-danger areas. For example, they had only one high-danger chance by location in this game. Hall is typically a longer range shooter, but the other two can score from closer so it’d behoove them to work on that.
As for the Bedard line, it broke even in terms of shot attempts but had the largest edge in terms of expected goals on any line tonight — Chicago or Winnipeg — with 65.61 percent. It didn’t result in any goals, obviously, but it probably will in the future. One thing that could help, though, is Bedard shooting more. Like, there is no reason for Nick Foligno to have more shots than Bedard.
Connor Bedard has shown in these first two games that he’s willing to push it offensively. Last game it was attempting a lacrosse goal and tonight it was in the type of no-look backhand passes seen in the clip below. I’m not sure Ilya Mikheyev has the hands to be able to receive this type of pass, but it’s great to see Bedard trying new tricks out there, upping his offensive game.
The breakdown in OT by Kurashev was an issue, but honestly, the Teravainen shot was worse to me because it basically gave up possession on a poor shot. And it seems like coach Luke Richardson agreed:
Athanasiou had a good game after being a healthy scratch for the season opener. He made lots of good plays on retrievals, broke up some key opportunities for the Jets, and was generally aggressive in a useful way. He and Maroon made an unlikely but competent duo, albeit against the lowest quality of competition. Too bad Athansiou’s hands continue to resemble stone, or he’d have two tonight.
A lot of credit should be given to the defensemen this game as well. I mean, Alex Vlasic had as immaculate of a game as you can as a defender, and TJ Brodie was much better with him than against Utah. They basically were tasked with the toughest assignments and came out with a slight edge in most shot metrics, including a 66.81 percent expected goal share. Connor Murphy and Wyatt Kaiser fared a little rougher, but they were on the ice with the Jets second line an awful lot, so that shouldn’t be too unexpected. This was because Richardson was trying to give his third pair more offensive zone starts, but the Jets second line with Nikolaj Ehlers, Cole Perfetti, and Vladislav Namestnikov is one of the better defensive lines.
Overall, there was a lot to like about the Blackhawks tonight, so hopefully it’s an outing they can build on for the rest of the season.
Game Charts
Three Stars
- Mark Scheifele (WPG) — 2 goals
- Ryan Donato (CHI) — 1 goal
- Arvid Soderblom (CHI) — 33 saves on 35 shots (.943 SV%)
What’s Next
The Blackhawks continue their trip through Western Canada to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night at 9 p.m.