The Detroit Red Wings spoiled the Chicago Blackhawks’ centennial celebration of the old Chicago Stadium on Saturday night, topping the Hawks 4-0. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Detroit Red Wings in their second game of a back to back. It was their first game without Connor Bedard this season.

To fill Bedard’s spot on the roster, Chicago recalled Nick Lardis from the Rockford IceHogs. Lardis has 26 points in 24 games in the AHL. Ironically, Lardis was recalled on the same day that Frank Nazar was recalled the year prior.

Sadly, Lardis was not enough to get Hawks on the scoresheet as they were shut out 4-0 by John Gibson.

First period

Early in the game, the Wings got on the board with a goal from Alex DeBrincat. It was the former Hawk’s 17th goal of the season.

Shortly after, Patrick Kane scored the 498th goal of his career. The former Hawk is now two goals away from 500 and seven goals behind Joe Mullen on the all-time American-born goals list. He only trails Mike Modano by 10 points for the most points by an American-born player.

The first period ended up 2-0 in favor of the Wings.

Second period

The Wings added another goal from Emmitt Finnie to take a 3-0 lead.

Third period

DeBrincat capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal. The Hawks fell to the Red Wings 4-0.

Analysis

The Blackhawks are now living in a Bedard-less world. As we saw in the 2023-24 season, this is going to be painful. Without Bedard, that team went 3-10-1. That was with Bedard playing at a lesser level. While there has been no timeline for this return, the Blackhawks have ruled him out for the next three games. Those three games will be on the road through Eastern Canada. Without Bedard, players will have to step up their offensive games.

Lardis

Lardis made his NHL debut against the Wings. He was given 15:32 of ice time for the game. Of his 15 minutes, he played 4:52 on the power play. For his night, he recorded two shots on net and five hits. Sadly the outcome was not what he wanted in a solid debut.

Nazar

While Nick Lardis did not look out of place in his NHL debut, the young rookie cannot be expected to make up for Bedard. The other forwards who have been on cold streaks have to start scoring. The biggest culprit is Nazar. Nazar’s last goal was on October 28.The young forward must regain his scoring touch that helped him record five goals in the season’s first 10 games.

In addition to Nazar, several other forwards are struggling on offense. Both Andre Burakovsky and Jason Dickinson have two goals combined in their last 10 games. Ryan Donato has one goal in his last eight games and Illya Mikheyev has not scored since November 5.

The Hawks need someone to contribute on offense besides Tyler Bertuzzi.

Soderblom

Coming into Saturday’s game, Arvid Soderblom had been going through a rough stretch. He needed to have a strong game. Instead, he allowed two first-period goals and never fully recovered.

He has now lost his last four start in a row allowing 9, 4, 7 and 3 goals in those starts. Perhaps it is time for the Blackhawks to give Drew Commesso a look in the NHL. Commesso current has a .913 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average in the AHL.

If not Commesso, perhaps trade candiate Laurent Brossoit should get a spot start soon. Brossoit is trying to make a comeback to the NHL after double hip surgery and knee surgery. Brossoit last played in the NHL in the 2024 playoffs.

The next hurdle for the Blackhawks will be Bedard’s MRI, which is scheduled for Monday. The Hawks’ next game is Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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