The Chicago Blackhawks suffered their second preseason loss in seven days to the Detroit Red Wings, falling 3-1 at the United Center on Tuesday night.
Cam Talbot was the difference maker in goal for the Red Wings, as he stopped 27 of the 28 shots that he faced to prevent the Blackhawks from a larger offensive output in their first preseason action on home ice.
Northbrook-native J.T. Compher, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Lucas Raymond were the goal scorers for Detroit.
Despite what the final score suggests, the Blackhawks actually put together a pretty decent performance on Tuesday. They led the Red Wings 28-19 in shots on goal, 35-23 in scoring chances, and 8-4 in high-danger chances in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick. Chicago also had a 2.75 – 1.6 advantage in expected goals for.
Sometimes, a red-hot goaltender stands on his head and stops everything that he sees. This was simply one of those games.
Here are seven takeaways & notes following the Blackhawks’ 3-1 loss to Detroit.
Dach Locks Up NHL Spot
Colton Dach’s standout preseason continued against the Red Wings, as he scored the Blackhawks’ lone goal of the evening and added four hits in just 13:17 of ice time while skating on the fourth line.
Ethan Del Mastro➡️Nick Foligno➡️Colton Dach🚨
Dach finishes off a rush to the net for his 1st goal of the preseason to cut the #Blackhawks deficit to 3-1 early in the 3rd period!pic.twitter.com/dMAcoGKbRu
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) October 1, 2025
The 22-year-old winger was already expected to be part of the Blackhawks’ opening-night lineup, but Tuesday’s performance cemented it. Dach’s power-forward build and physicality fill a clear void in the team’s forward group. He also wanted to showcase his improved offensive game here in the preseason, and he finally did that against Detroit.
Here’s what head coach Jeff Blashill said about Dach after the game:
“I thought he looked like a big power forward tonight… he had some moments of physicality, but he was also really strong on the puck and [has] really good hands. That’s a great combination if you can continue that on a night-to-night basis. The one thing about this league is it’s an every-night league. You’re never going to be at your best every single night, I get it, but you have to be [close] to your best as possible, and he was really good tonight again.”
EDM’s Struggles Continue
Ethan Del Mastro hasn’t had an ideal preseason for a player in his position. After struggling mightily in his first two games, Del Mastro didn’t fare much better on Tuesday, as he was on the ice for two of the Red Wings’ three goals. While neither was necessarily his fault, it still doesn’t help his cause. Del Mastro once again failed to have a standout performance that could have secured his NHL roster spot.
Instead, the future remains unknown for EDM. He’ll likely play in one of the Blackhawks’ final two preseason games over the weekend and will need to clean up his defensive play to win over the coaching staff.
Because he’s not required to clear waivers, Del Mastro could still be sent down to the Rockford IceHogs for the start of the 2025-26 season. He’s likely battling with Nolan Allan for the final left-handed defenseman spot in the NHL lineup.
“I think there are a lot of guys still working to grab a spot and he’s in that mix,” Blashill said about Del Mastro. “He’s had different [defensive] partners at different times, and he’ll get another chance in one of the [final] two games to showcase himself.”
Grzelcyk The Ghost
Currently on a PTO with the Blackhawks, Matt Grzelcyk needed to provide a spark on the blue line to earn an NHL contract out of training camp. He also needed a few prospects to struggle, which has been the case for Del Mastro. But after playing in two preseason contests, it’s likely safe to say that contract isn’t coming for Grzelcyk in Chicago.
Grzelcyk was barely noticeable against the Red Wings, as he recorded goose eggs throughout the box score, aside from having one hit and one takeaway in 13:43 of ice time. The Blackhawks were also outshot 5-0 and got out-chanced 4-1 by Detroit with Grzelcyk on the ice. The 31-year-old defenseman also had an impressive (sarcasm) 0.00 xGF% at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick.
That’s not how you earn an NHL roster spot.
“He’ll get another chance [over] the weekend, too, and it’s obviously a real competitive group back there to figure out who’s the right six to start with.”
Good coach talk there from Blashill — but I don’t think Grzelcyk is still in contention for that sixth defenseman spot.
Power Play Can’t Convert
The Blackhawks created plenty of quality chances on the man advantage but still ended up going 0-for-6 on the night. The top unit of Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, and Sam Rinzel started the night slowly, but they moved the puck better as the game progressed. Sixteen of the team’s 35 scoring chances on the night were recorded on the power play.
Even though they didn’t get the finished product on Tuesday, Blashill took plenty of positives from the number of opportunities that were generated.
“To me, everything’s process-driven. I thought there was a good amount on the power-play process-wise, and if you do that over and over again, you’ll get rewarded. We just have to continue to build on that. Early on, I thought we struggled a little bit [with] our break-ins. That’s just something we have to keep working on, but I was happy with it.”
Korchinski Sent Back To AHL
Even though the Blackhawks still have two more preseason games, they have apparently already seen enough to know that Kevin Korchinski needs more seasoning in the AHL. Korchinski was reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs on Tuesday morning, effectively taking him out of the running for an NHL job to begin the year.
Korchinski, the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has once again failed to crack the Blackhawks roster. Still only 21 years old, Korchinski has already played in 92 NHL games, with the majority coming in the 2023-24 campaign.
In hindsight, the Blackhawks should have allowed Korchinski to remain in the WHL with the Seattle Thunderbirds that season. Instead, they rushed him to the professional level, where he was ineligible to play with Rockford, because he was only 19 years old.
Another season developing in the AHL isn’t the worst thing for Korchinski, but it’s still undoubtedly disappointing that he didn’t do enough to earn an NHL roster spot. However, with the Blackhawks’ current defensive depth, that was always going to be a tall task.
“As I said at the beginning of camp, we have more good players than spots. It’ll be competitive, and whoever ends up going down has to go down and thrive,” Blashill said. “The one benefit of when you do get sent down, sometimes as a young player, you’re up here surviving. When you go down, you can thrive and gain tons of confidence from that. We’ll see how the rest of the week works out, but again, he’s going to get another chance to come up and play in an exhibition game.”
Reichel Trade Coming
The Lukas Reichel trade rumors have been active since the start of the summer, but they might finally be put to rest over the next seven days.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Blackhawks are actively working on a deal to have Reichel land with another club before next week, when rosters are finalized. Seravalli also mentioned that the return for Reichel will be minimal, likely being a mid-to-late round draft pick.
Frank Seravalli: Re Lukas Reichel rumours: They are working on a deal to have him land somewhere likely before next week when rosters are completed; this is not gonna be a big return, we’re talking probably a mid to late round pick – Bleacher Report (9/30)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 30, 2025
While selling low on Reichel might not be the wisest business move, it’s become obvious that he doesn’t have a future with the Blackhawks organization. GM Kyle Davidson wants to do right by the player, so he’s attempting to find Reichel a new club for the 2025-26 season.
Cumby Staying With Rockford?
Blackhawks’ 2025 fifth-round pick Ashton Cumby was part of the fourth wave of training camp roster cuts on Monday morning. But instead of returning to the WHL with Seattle, the Blackhawks reassigned the 20-year-old defenseman to Rockford.
The team is reportedly still deciding on where Cumby will begin the 2025-26 season, but a transaction made by the Thunderbirds on Tuesday might have tipped Chicago’s hand.
Seattle traded a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for Carter Kowalyk, a 6-foot-5, 20-year-old left-handed defenseman. That sure looks like a potential Cumby replacement to me.
There hasn’t been an official announcement from the Blackhawks one way or the other, but it appears that Cumby could be jumping to professional hockey this year.
For more Blackhawks news, visit Chicago Hockey Now and like our Facebook Page.
Follow us on X: