Blackhawks Postgame
New Blackhawks Goaltending Rotation Set After Overtime Loss to Senators
The Chicago Blackhawks could not extend their winning streak to three games, but they did pick up a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators. With the win, the Senators moved ahead of the New York Rangers for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Senators captain, Brady Tkachuk, got his team on the board early in the first period by redirecting an Artem Zub shot past Arvid Soderblom for his 24th goal of the season. The Blackhawks answered midway through the period when Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark couldn’t handle the puck off the end boards, and Ryan Donato was there to tie the game with a backhander.
The Blackhawks got their first power play of the night moments later and took advantage of it to grab a 2-1 lead. Teuvo Teräväinen drove hard to the net to follow up his own shot and tucked the loose puck under Ullmark for his 15th goal of the season. The Senators got some puck luck just over a minute later to even up the score. Drake Batherson’s centering pass from behind the net hit Alec Martinez, then the crossbar, before David Perron batted it out of midair into the Blackhawks’ net.
Midway through the second period, Josh Norris gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead with a booming one-timer from the right circle. The fourth line tied the game early in the third period when Pat Maroon showed off his silky mitts by setting up Craig Smith’s goal. I’ll let the video do the talking:
Overtime has not been kind to the Blackhawks this season, and tonight was no different. Tim Stutzle ended the game just 46 seconds into extra time by overpowering Wyatt Kaiser on his way to the net. The goal was reviewed and upheld, leaving the Blackhawks upset at the bench.
Here is the official explanation from the NHL:
“Video review supported the Referee’s call on the ice that the puck deflected off of Tim Stutzle’s skate and entered the net in a legal fashion. Further, a challenge initiated by the Situation Room for goaltender interference determined that the actions of Chicago’s Wyatt Kaiser caused Stützle to contact goaltender Arvid Soderblom prior to his goal.”
New Goaltending Rotation Revealed
With the recent acquisition of Spencer Knight, the Blackhawks have one goalie too many. In his postgame press conference, interim head coach Anders Sorensen revealed that veteran Petr Mrazek will be the odd man out, with Knight and Soderblom handling the net down the stretch.
“It’s tough when you have three, so you have to find some type of rotation,” Sorensen said. “You can’t play three goalies. We’re going to go with those two right now. Things can change, but those are the two guys.”
General manager Kyle Davidson is trying to find a new home for Mrazek, but that will be a difficult trade to pull off. The veteran netminder has one more year left on his deal, with a $4.25 million salary cap hit and no retention slots left.
Colton Dach Struggles in Promotion
Colton Dach was the latest to play with Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar. This wasn’t the 40th new line combination for Bedard, as this trio had briefly played together in two games. In 5:52 of 5v5 ice time, they were outshot 6-4 and only produced one scoring chance while allowing five.
Even though Sorensen was hopeful Landon Slaggert would stay on that line, he quickly made the swap. This wasn’t an egregious move by any means, as Dach has been good since being recalled from the Rockford IceHogs with a goal, an assist, and 17 hits in four games.
“We really liked his game,” Sorensen said. “He inserted himself, even in the Anaheim game, he inserted himself physically in the game. I thought he made a lot of little plays around the net in the last game. There were a couple of opportunities where he was on with Connor, and they made some nice plays to each other.”
While Dach played well on the bottom six, he looked overwhelmed on the top line. Nazar set him up for a prime scoring chance in the second period, but he fumbled the puck before getting off a shot. He looked like he was trying to match his linemates’ speed and skill instead of playing within his own game.
The line wasn’t awful with a 52.3 CF% and four scoring chances, but it never felt dangerous. Bedard and Nazar should stay together but need a savvy veteran on the other wing. They had a lot of success with Tyler Bertuzzi before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Let’s see what the roster looks like on Friday before we start predicting Sorensen’s next move.
Odds & Ends
- With his power-play goal in the first period, Teravainen tied Bedard for the team lead in points with 49. Even though he’s been playing well with Ilya Mikheyev, he could be precisely what Bedard needs on his wing to break out of his funk.
- Maroon might have a future as an agent when his playing days are over. He went out of his way to endorse a contract extension for Donato.
- We might have seen the last of Andreas Athanasiou in a Blackhawks uniform. He was benched for the entire third period for “several things,” according to Sorensen. With Nick Foligno on track to return Friday and Jason Dickinson and Philipp Kurashev not far behind, Athanasiou is likely heading back to Rockford.
