Chicago Blackhawks Drop Preseason Opener 3-2 to Red Wings: Defensive Struggles Stand Out

The Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 in their preseason debut. Read about the game and emerging players’ performances.

The Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 against the Detroit Red Wings in a very lopsided preseason game. Preseason games aren’t worth getting too worked up over. Especially when the roster is comprised of young skaters who aren’t going to be in the NHL this season. However, that doesn’t mean preseason blunders should be discredited.

I’ll be trying out various formats for these recaps during preseason. If there’s anything you’d like to see, please let me know over on X (@DirtyThird81), or yell at me. I don’t care.

Box Score: Red Wings 3 – Blackhawks 2

Link to NHL.com results.

From Natural Stat Trick

Blackhawks Notes

Look, it’s the first preseason game. Neither team had its “real rosters” out there last night. Some players are getting back into the swing of things, others aren’t playing 100% because there’s no reason to (i.e. Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar).

The Blackhawks’ defensive zone was a mess. The Red Wings had an 85% expected goals share (xG%) in the second period and an 80 xG% in the third. There were multiple stretches of prolonged pressure as the Blackhawks failed to get the puck out of their zone. Primary suspect number one is Artyom Levshunov.

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Artyom Levshunov

I’m not ready to throw the book at him just yet. I’ve publicly stated that I think Levshunov doesn’t need AHL time. We’ll see how the rest of the preseason goes, but last night wasn’t inspiring. He had a 12.15 xG% last night, made positional blunders in the defensive zone, and turned the puck over at the blueline during a second-period power play.

Levshunov did have two solid shifts in the third period. One led to Wyatt Kaiser’s goal, and the other followed a penalty kill.

With Lukas Reichel looking at the outside in, you’d think he would have played a better game. But it’s the same story as last season. Reichel wasn’t noticeable, and during the first period, bungled a great feed from Bedard. He simply didn’t have his stick on the ice. The first period was also the Hawks’ best period (they owned 62% of shot attempts). Reichel’s Corsi relative to the Blackhawks was +17, which was the third highest. However, the eyetest didn’t match what the numbers say.

Arvid Soderblom

While other players like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar may not have been playing at their best, Arvid Soderblom didn’t have a choice. You either make the save, or you don’t. Soderblom had a .939 SV%, stopping 31 of 33 shots on goal, and a .909 high danger SV%, stopping 10 of 11 high danger shots on goal. Soderblom prevented this game from looking like murder in the final score.

What’s On Tap Next?

I’ve always tried not to overreact to preseason games. We still have five left, and we won’t get a better idea of how this team looks until the end. That’s when my slight concerns might start becoming ringing alarm bells. For now, we’ll chalk this up to lack of chemistry, new head coach, young, inexperienced players, and—wait for it—it’s only preseason.

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