Blackhawks Postgame
Blackhawks Crumble, Self-Inflicted Errors Lead To 5-2 Loss To Bruins
Despite holding a 2-0 lead through the first period, the Chicago Blackhawks were never as crisp as they needed to be throughout Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins. Poor puck control and lackadaisical defensive play eventually caught up to them, as they surrendered five unanswered goals in a 5-2 loss to the Bruins at the United Center.
It’s the third straight loss for Chicago to start a four-game homestand, which ends on Monday against Jonathan Toews and the Winnipeg Jets. Toews missed out on the Blackhawks’ “Banner Years” celebration on Saturday, where members of the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Stanley Cup championship teams were in attendance for the Original Six matchup.
Unfortunately, the countless franchise icons, including Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford, bared witness to one of the sloppiest efforts from the Blackhawks in 2025-26. They were uncharacteristically loose on defense, and the offense was quiet once again. Chicago was rather lucky to even have a 2-0 advantage at one point in the game.
Arvid Soderblom faced a barrage of chances from the Bruins in opening eight minutes, as the visitors were responsible for the first eight shots on goal. The 26-year-old netminder came up with several standout saves to keep the score level, and the Blackhawks eventually got goals from Ryan Greene and Wyatt Kaiser in the final four minutes of the first period to jump ahead by a pair.
But in the second period, Soderblom couldn’t continue to bail his teammates out after their mistakes, and the Bruins pounced to grab the lead before the intermission. Two of the three goals from Boston in the period occurred in the last 5:09, flipping a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead for a crucial swing.
Two rookie mistakes led to both the game-tying and game-winning goals — one from Greene, and one from Artyom Levshunov. Greene lost Mason Lohrei in coverage and didn’t have an active stick in a passing lane, which allowed Hampus Lindholm to send a crossing feed to the right circle. Lohrei took in the pass and laced a shot over Soderblom’s glove to even the score.
In the final minute of the second period, Levshunov coughed the puck up in the offensive zone, leading to a 4-on-2 rush for the Bruins. An exhausted Connor Bedard was one of the two defenders back in coverage with Levshunov caught pinching, and some swift puck movement gave Viktor Arvidsson a yawning cage to suddenly put the Blackhawks behind by one.
“I thought we had self-inflicted wounds that we didn’t need,” head coach Jeff Blashill said after the game. “You’ve got a 2-1 lead with five [minutes] to play in the second, you walk in and you’re down 3-2, and it was kind of some individualistic mistakes that we just have to be tighter [on]. In those moments, these games are going to get harder and harder. We have to make sure to get rid of any self-inflicted errors.”
Chicago seemed to be deflated in the early stages of the third period, as the Bruins added two more insurance goals to put the nail in the coffin. The once-rowdy crowd on tap headed for the exits early, putting a sour end to what could have been an epic Saturday night in the Windy City.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 5-2 loss to the Bruins, dropping their record to 19-22-7 through 48 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
The Bruins had an emphatic start to Saturday’s game, recording the first eight shots on goal. Soderblom was spectacular to prevent the visitors from grabbing an early advantage, standing on his head early and often. He robbed elite goal scorer David Pastrnak from right out in front for his best save of the period.
The tides turned in Chicago’s favor in the final six minutes, when Nikita Zadorov was whistled for roughing Tyler Bertuzzi. The Blackhawks built some momentum on their first power play of the night and scored just as Zadorov stepped out of the penalty box.
Andre Burakovsky found Greene in a soft spot in the Bruins coverage for his sixth goal of the season at 16:14. It’s Greene’s first even-strength tally since Nov. 22, snapping a 22-game drought. His only goal since then was an empty-netter in last Saturday’s win over the Nashville Predators.
The Blackhawks continued to push in the final minutes of the period, and Kaiser doubled their lead at 18:14 with a blistering wrist shot from the slot. Kaiser walked the blue line and skated right down broadway. It’s his fifth goal of the season, which now leads all Hawks’ defensemen.
With an incredible start from Soderblom, the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The 26-year-old netminder recorded 1.43 goals saved above expected in the period. The Bruins led 8-6 in shots on goal; however, they didn’t record a single shot in the final 10 minutes.
SECOND PERIOD
Much like the first period, the Bruins were swarming in the early stages of the second. It didn’t take long for the Blackhawks’ lead to get cut in half, as Charlie McAvoy scored at 1:55 off a sweet passing play.
Elias Lindholm took in a feed from Pastrnak at the top of the circles, dragged the puck around Ilya Mikheyev, and then found McAvoy streaking down the slot to make it 2-1.
Lohrei tied the game 2-2 with a blistering wrist shot at 14:51, off another pretty passing sequence from the Bruins. Lindholm patiently waited for a passing lane to open and then set up Lohrei at the right faceoff dot. Greene was far too soft in his coverage.
Boston buried a third unanswered goal in the period to suddenly grab the lead with 45.9 seconds to play, which proved to be a back-breaker for the Blackhawks. Levshunov turned the puck over in the offensive zone, leaving Alex Vlasic and Bedard to defend a 4-on-2 rush.
After Vlasic tried to step up and stop the play at the blue line, Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha pulled off a perfect give-and-go to put the Bruins ahead 3-2 going into the second intermission.
Boston was ahead on the scoreboard and in all the major statistical categories as well. They led 17-14 in shots on goal, 18-10 in scoring chances, and 10-4 in high-danger chances through 40 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
The momentum remained on the visitors’ side to start the third period, leading to their first power-play chance of the game. Lohrei ended up cashing in for his second tally of the night, sniping a shot past Soderblom’s glove at 9:01. Make that four unanswered goals for the Bruins.
A fifth unanswered goal occurred not too long after. Pastrnak showed off what makes him so special, creating time by holding off Louis Crevier, and then finding Marat Khusnutdinov joining the play to put Boston ahead 5-2 at 11:02. Two goals in 2:01 sealed the Blackhawks fate for the evening.
The final horn sounded, sending the Blackhawks to their third consecutive loss and fourth in their past five games. They’ll try to avoid being swept during their four-game homestand in the finale on Monday against Toews and the Jets.
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