Frank Nazar Shines in Blackhawks Loss to Sharks

There aren’t many teams in the National Hockey League that the Chicago Blackhawks should beat, but the San Jose Sharks are one of them. Unfortunately, they can’t help themselves and seem to play down to their competition while saving their best performances for the teams at the top of the standings. Another slow and sloppy first period was the difference in a 4-2 loss on Thursday night.

Will Smith, who scored two goals against the Blackhawks on Oct. 31, opened the scoring early in the first period. He jumped off the bench and one-timed Macklin Celebrini’s feed past Spencer Knight from above the right circle. Collin Graf doubled the lead about six minutes later by finding a soft spot in the defense and beating Knight to the far post.

The NHL betting guide also favored the Blackhawks, and for a moment, it appeared they would course correct.

Frank Nazar cut the lead in half just 10 seconds into the second period by streaking up the right side and using Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro as a screen to score his sixth goal of the season.

Graf struck again midway through the frame with a power-play goal by deflecting a pass from Smith behind Knight. Jason Dickinson had to answer for a cross-check to the head of Celebrini earlier in the period by fighting Barclay Goodrow, and he won the spirited bout. Moments later, Ryan Donato made a fantastic backhand pass to Ilya Mikheyev at the far post, where he tipped it home to cut the deficit to one.

The Blackhawks were unable to draw even in the third period. Connor Bedard getting a mysterious 10-minute misconduct for “abuse of officials” midway through the final frame sure didn’t help. Tyler Toffoli iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Frank Nazar Leads the Way

While watching the sloppy first period, one player was ready to go from the opening faceoff, and that was Nazar. Late in the first period, he used his speed to draw a holding penalty before scoring his goal in the opening seconds of the middle frame.

The second line, with Nazar, Landon Slaggert, and Nick Foligno, was fantastic during the first two periods. In 5:40 of 5v5 ice time, they posted an 88.8 Corsi for percentage, scored a goal, and produced four scoring chances while only allowing one scoring chance against them. Nazar jumped around in the third period. He got a few shifts with Bedard before his 10-minute misconduct ended his night. Nazar finished the game with six shots on goal and 10 shot attempts, and he went 7-for-10 at the faceoff dot.

Nazar is a different player than the one we saw in training camp. The Blackhawks left the second-line center position open for him, but he looked unsure during the preseason and had to start the season with the Rockford IceHogs. He didn’t let the demotion derail him and went to work. After 24 points in 21 AHL games, he was back in the NHL and is here to stay. Nazar has all the tools to be an effective player: speed, confidence, swagger, and no fear. On a night where Bedard and Celebrini had all the pregame attention, Nazar was the best player.

Connor Bedard vs Macklin Celebrini

You could use very few things to hype up a late-night game between the worst two teams in the NHL, but the chance to watch Bedard and Celebrini go head-to-head was enough for many. Both teams hope this is the first game in a long rivalry that will include some epic playoff series against each other. Both teams are far from that reality, but imagining what might be down the road is fun.

This rivalry is intriguing because these two young stars are good friends. Although they were born a year apart, they grew up playing together in the Vancouver area. As kids, they were both at Los Angeles Kings’ goaltender Martin Jones’ day with the Stanley Cup in 2014. The duo took different paths to being the No. 1 of their respective NHL drafts. Bedard dominated the Western Hockey League for three seasons, while Celebrini had played a season for the Chicago Steel in the USHL before one fantastic year at Boston University.

We didn’t have to wait long to see the dynamic duo as they were in the starting lineup for their clubs.

Celebrini was effective early, picking up the primary assist on the opening goal. He drew two penalties, including the one on Dickinson that led to the game-winning power-play goal by Graf. He had the far better stat line on Bedard with four shots on goal to go along with his assist.

Bedard only had two shot attempts on the night, but missing the final 10 minutes of regulation hurt his numbers. It’s a safe bet that he would have been firing away if he had been on the ice during the final few shifts.

As far as that 10-minute penalty goes, interim head coach Anders Sorensen said he’s heard worse than what was said. Bedard didn’t reveal what he said, but he owned it.

“I don’t think it was too crazy, but he’s the ref, so he gets to make that call, so you have to live with it,” he said. “He just didn’t like what I said. I’ve got be smarter with my words.”

Odds & Ends

• I wasn’t too impressed with the game plan to start this game. The Sharks are one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, and they have struggled to prevent zone entries all season long. So, instead of using your best skaters to force the issue and get to the dangerous areas of the ice, Sorensen had his team play dump and chase. The Blackhawks were at their best when the game opened up, and they started using their speed. Tonight was another reason why Kyle Davidson has to get a real head coach in here this summer who has had success in the NHL and doesn’t play an “afraid to lose” style of hockey.
• Artyom Levshunov got to quarterback the top power-play unit, but unfortunately, they only had one chance. He passed up what looked to be an open shooting lane to make a slap pass to Teuvo Teravainen, who wasn’t ready for it. He nearly scored his first NHL late in the second period, but his shot hit the post and stayed out. He was also on the ice when the Blackhawks had the goalie pulled late in the game and looked a little shaky. Levshunov had 20:08 of total ice time, a shot on goal, five shot attempts, a hit, and a blocked shot. On the negative side, he was credited with three giveaways and was a minus-2.

• Dickinson is known for playing outstanding defense but not for being much of a fighter. That might change after his spirited bout with Goodrow. He looked like he was enjoying himself while winning the fight.

• The Blackhawks are dead last in the NHL in shots on goal allowed per game, averaging 32.3. Tonight was their second straight game with good shot suppression. After allowing only 21 shots on goal to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, they gave up 25 to the Sharks.