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The Wisdom of Snow: Stars 5, Blackhawks 1

Posted on by Dave Melton
Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Blackhawks losing ways have returned in undeniable fashion, with the latest sign being Sunday’s 5-1 loss at home against the Dallas Stars.

It all started so nicely, too, with Connor Bedard scoring on the power play about 12 minutes into the first period when his shot from the left circle hit a Dallas stick and went into the net:

Connor Bedard with his 10th goal of the season.

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— Scott Powers (@scottpowers.bsky.social) December 29, 2024 at 8:03 PM

The Blackhawks didn’t score again in the game, though. The Stars? They did. Very much so, even.

First, Jamie Benn tied the game when he followed up a breakaway attempt and pounced on the ensuing rebound:

In the middle of the second period, Dallas took the lead for good not long after Tyler Bertuzzi received a five-minute major and game misconduct for an elbow to the head of Colin Blackwell. Jason Robertson handled the scoring portion:

Chicago killed off the rest of that penalty but Dallas grabbed a 3-1 lead not long after its expiration on this Evgenii Dadonov one-timer:

Just 10 seconds into the third period, all hopes of a Chicago comeback seemed to disappear when this bouncing puck found its way into the Blackhawks net, with Wyatt Johnston receiving the credit despite his stick being broken seconds before the goal:

Matt Duchene piled on with another goal two minutes later, just to twist the knife a little more:

Notes

So, the Bertuzzi hit: initial reaction from here was that issuing five and a game seemed a bit harsh. A two-minute minor? Sure. But it didn’t seem to be much malicious intent from Bertuzzi there. Must say though that my opinion wavered more towards the penalty being justified after this little exchange on Bluesky:

He's got to be able to control his body when hitting a player a similar size to him. I'm positive that's what elevated the elbow to a major/misconduct/match from a minor. You see this in low level high school hockey when kids don't know how to hit try, not in the top league on the world.

— Mike Jacobi (@mvjacobi.bsky.social) December 29, 2024 at 9:07 PM

Even if the hit wasn’t malicious, there was an element of recklessness to it and someone with Bertuzzi’s rep isn’t going to get the benefit of the doubt there. Add in Blackwell initially struggling to get back to his feet immediately after the hit, and it all adds up to a five-minute major and a game misconduct that could still be argued against but also has a fair amount of justification for being issued. Shouldn’t be any supplemental discipline beyond that, though.

While we’re on the subject of disappointing moments from veteran players: TJ Brodie! Circling behind the net when you’re trailing an opposing player on a breakaway is some beer league-level shit. Either stop in front of the net to prepare for a potential rebound or tie up the stick of the next guy in an opposite color following the play. Decisions like that are the ones that should result in players getting a view from the press box for a night or two, because it’s indicative of a player settling for the easy way out.

On a more positive veteran note: becoming more and more understanding of why Pat Maroon has a spot on the roster. All of the stories regarding his mentoring of Lukas Reichel are a big part of it, including the nice gesture of inviting Reichel to spend Christmas with the Maroon family. While he certainly won’t be winning any footraces to loose pucks, there are still glimpses of a solid set of hands in every game, usually in the form of a well-placed saucer pass that sends Reichel into a quality scoring opportunity. There aren’t a ton of forward prospects in Rockford right now, so it’s not like Maroon is blocking anyone from NHL time, either. For the record: this was all typed up before Maroon took those two dumb penalties in the third period and now I’m taking back at least 50 percent of what was said here.

Yeah, Nazar was a little out of position on that third goal which left Dadonov open on the opposite side of the ice. Those two missteps toward the middle of the ice can be coached out of him. More concerned about what he does on the offensive side of the ice, anyway. And it’d be nice to see more things happen there for him soon. Nazar seemed to generate a decent amount of activity in the offensive zone but went unrewarded once again, leaving him with a single point in his eight games this season.

All due respect to the duo from The Athletic but not sure that Connor Bedard has found his ideal linemates when one of them isn’t a guy wearing No. 86. Ilya Mikheyev had a nice little burst there playing on a line with Teuvo but Mikheyev has now gone three games without a point. Might be time to break up that duo and see what Teuvo can do with a player who’s capable of more consistently finishing the chances he can create.

Let’s find another little positive: Nolan Allan with an 84.04 percent expected goal share in 10:42 of 5-on-5 ice time? That’ll do.

Felt like this game could’ve gone either way deep into the second period, even after Bertuzzi’s ejection. Trailing only 2-1 after that five-minute PK felt like a small victory but one blown coverage later in the second and then a goofy bounce to open the third suddenly made the game lopsided. It’s another blowout loss, sure, but it seems like the scoreline is a tad misleading overall.

Now we’ll get a little taste of Anders Sorensen’s coaching chops. The pleasantries from the three-game winning streak are gone now and Chicago’s now on a four-game losing streak with a couple of lopsided defeats on the back half of that quartet. What can he do to turn things around a little bit? Is he even capable of doing so? We’ll be getting some answers to those questions in the upcoming days and weeks.

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Matt Duchene (DAL) — 1 goal, 2 assists
  2. Jason Robertson (DAL) — 1 goal, 1 assist
  3. Jamie Benn (DAL) — 1 goal, 2 assists

What’s Next

The Winter Classic arrives on Tuesday with the Blackhawks facing the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field for a 4 p.m. puck drop.

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