Where Does The Good Go: Flames 1, Blackhawks 0

Notes

• At 5-on-5, the Flames did have the puck more in the first 40 minutes with about 53 percent of the shot shares; however, scoring chances absolutely favored the Blackhawks with over 61 percent of the expected goals. Considering Chicago has only hit double digits in high danger chances in eight games of 49 games prior to tonight and they did so in the first two periods tonight shows the Blackhawks were trying their damnedest to score. So of course, Calgary got the first and only goal because hockey!
• The third period was a bit of a let down after the strong first two periods: the Blackhawks had only 37.5 percent of the shot attempts, 35.29 percent of the scoring chances, and 29.57 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5. They finished with a 8-7 lead in shots on goal, but Calgary did a great job keeping them out of the danger areas and limited rushes against in the final frame.
• This is the third game out of four during this road trip that the Blackhawks have been shutout. They definitely miss Connor Bedard.

• The Blackhawks probably deserved at least one goal in this game considering the sheer effort, but the problem is that they just do not have the hands to convert on prime chances at a consistent pace. Yes, Markstrom was good in net for the Flames, but it doesn’t dispute that the players don’t have particularly good shots, even with a ton of chances off the rush in this game. I mean, Boris Katchouk alone had two, but since he typically scores something like one in 10, he was still far off from cashing in — though kudos on the effort.

• Speaking of rushes, Isaak Phillips had one of the best sequences of the season, starting with a great play on defense to intercept a puck before going end-to-end. As a rookie, he’s bound to make mistakes, but the fact that he’s not playing regularly is frankly bull.

• The goal save by Korchinski was neat — he’s also still a work in progress, but he’s made some strong defensive strides, especially in terms of reading and anticipating plays, as the season has gone on.
• Reichel had a very strong game tonight. There has been a lot of debate on why Reichel has underperformed — which he unquestionably has — but then he’ll show flashes like tonight where you have hope he can figure it out. He might not, but at just 21 and in his first season, there is still a chance. Here are some evaluation from a non-Blackhawks account that breakdowns NHL film on the regular:

• Despite being on the losing side of things, Mrazek once again had a fabulous game, stopping 29 of 30 shots for a save percentage of .967. Some fans really wanted the Blackhawks to try to flip him for draft assets, but realistically, if he can keep up this level of play, he’s a perfect stopgap to allow the prospective goalies in the system to develop more.
• In addition to the rush chances mentioned above, Katchouk also put his body on the line blocking shots. He didn’t seem to miss a shift after taking a particularly painful shot on the ankle in the third. Katchouk really doesn’t ever want to be sent back to the AHL.

• Look, it definitely sucks with this many losses piling up and the lack of scoring is starting to wear on everyone. But ultimately sucking was always the plan for this season, and there are several players at the top of the 2024 NHL Draft that could be key pieces for the rebuild. Mostly I think about how funny opposing fans’ head will explode if the Blackhawks won the lottery back-to-back. It’s a slim chance but crazier things have happened.

Game Charts

Three Stars

1. Elias Lindholm (CGY) — 1 goal
2. Jacob Markstrom (CGY) — shutout on 32 shots
3. Petr Mrazek (CHI) — .967 save-percentage on 30 shots

What’s Next

The Blackhawks are thankfully off for over a week for the NHL All-Star break. They won’t play again until Wednesday Feb. 7 when they host the Minnesota Wild at the United Center for a 8:30 p.m. puck drop.