Blackhawks Fall to St. Louis Blues 5-3 as Roster Decisions Loom

The Chicago Blackhawks bubble player sure made their final statement a strong one in Chicago’s 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Maybe MacKenzie Entwistle made the loudest fuss of all of them.

Entwistle scored an absolute beauty, drawing rave reviews on social media and possibly carving a spot out for him on the final roster.

Big time goal here from MacKenzie Entwistle

He wants to stay with the #Blackhawks

pic.twitter.com/UfM75BtAJQ

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) October 8, 2023

But things didn’t start so well.

The Blackhawks gave up two quick goals on a couple defensive miscues. On the power play goal, Isaak Phillips and Jarred Tinordi had a miscommunication which was enough for to burst through the neutral zone and then scoring for St. Louis to take a 1-0 lead. The second goal came off a failed clear by Kevin Korchinski, which after a couple chance, the Blues made it 2-0.

Lukas Reichel got the Blackhawks on the board in the final few minutes of the first period. In fact Reichel was very visible all night long, having one of the best games of those out there Saturday night. The Blues added a couple more in the second before Joey Anderson redirected a shot to pull Chicago back within two. Then it was MacKenzie Entwistle’s turn.

On a delayed penalty, Entwistle barreled down the ice, and made a beautiful deke to move Jordan Binnington just enough for the former to tuck it past him. After being in a 4-1 hole, the Blackhawks were suddenly back in it at 4-3. St. Louis would get another early in the third and that would be all in the 5-3 loss.

Rough start, but the Hawks roared back before it was out of reach.

Blackhawks Final Roster Moves Loom

It was rough night for the pairing of Nikita Zaitsev and Jarred Tinordi who were on the wrong end of several Blues goals. While Zaitsev is a veteran, he had a couple tough plays that really makes one wonder if Phillips, Korchinski or Wyatt Kaiser found a more secure spot as a result.

The Blackhawks still have decisions to make but it’s been a good preseason in the sense that the young and upcoming talent is crystallizing.

Now how many of them will make it to Chicago?