In their final game before the Christmas break, the Chicago Blackhawks were unable to put an end to their losing skid, falling 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers at the United Center. That’s now six consecutive losses for the Blackhawks as they head into the Holidays, and the team remains winless since Connor Bedard got injured on Dec. 12.
Not only were the Blackhawks once again without Bedard on Tuesday, but it was also the first game that Frank Nazar missed since taking a puck to the face in Saturday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators. Nazar is expected to miss approximately one month with a facial injury, leaving the team without their top two center icemen for an extended period. Predictably, the Blackhawks struggled to create many threatening scoring chances without Bedard and Nazar against a stout Flyers defense.
In 60 minutes of action, Chicago was credited with only seven high-danger chances in all situations. While they led the Flyers 26-24 in scoring chances on the night, most of those 26 came from the perimeter and didn’t truly test goaltender Samuel Ersson, who stopped 20 of 21 shots faced to record the win in net. Ryan Donato was the only Blackhawks player to beat Ersson in the game, with his goal cutting the Flyers lead to 2-1 late in the second period.
Defensively, the Blackhawks played how they must in order to win games without Bedard and Nazar. Philadelphia was limited to only 14 high-danger chances and 26 shots on goal in the game. Only one of their three goals were scored at even strength, and another came with an empty net in the game’s final moments.
The difference in the outcome was a costly too-many-men penalty that the Blackhawks committed in the second period, which led to the game-winning goal from Noah Cates on the power play. At the time of the penalty, the Blackhawks were surging and getting the better of the scoring chances in the period. But their momentum was quickly halted by the infraction, and they never could claw their way back from that 2-0 deficit.
The Christmas break could be precisely what the Blackhawks need as they’re in the midst of a grueling stretch. In addition to the six-game losing streak, Chicago is now 2-8-1 in 11 games during December. With three days off in a row coming up on the schedule, a brief reset will hopefully help the group get back on track and start the New Year on the right foot.
“I love Christmas, I love seeing my family, I love that and I’m sure a number of guys are the same way,” head coach Jeff Blashill said. “So, whether we were humming or not, this break was coming and I think the fact that we are in a grind right now, that might be a good thing.”
Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Flyers, which drops the Blackhawks’ record to 13-17-6 through 36 games this season.
FIRST PERIOD
Tuesday’s game didn’t get off to the most exciting start, with the two teams combining for just 10 shots on goal and six high-danger chances in the period.
The Blackhawks received the first power play of the game, as Trevor Zegras committed a tripping infraction near the 12-minute mark. But Chicago’s man advantage never could get set up in the offensive zone, and the Flyers killed off the penalty rather easily.
Just moments after Zegras stepped out of the penalty box, he jumped into the play in the offensive zone and set up Travis Konecny at the far post to put the visitors ahead 1-0. Wyatt Kaiser got beat backdoor by Konecny, giving him all the open ice he needed to knock home Zegras’ pass.
Without Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, the Blackhawks unsurprisingly couldn’t make much happen offensively in the period. One of their few quality opportunities came with less than three minutes remaining, as Ryan Donato led an odd-man rush through the neutral zone. The Flyers took away all of his passing options, so Donato made the smart decision to put the puck on net and try to stuff a shot home. But Ersson came up with the save to keep his team ahead going into the first intermission.
The Blackhawks had a slight 16-13 edge in shot attempts in the period, but the Flyers were ahead 6-4 in shots on goal — and 1-0 in the only category that truly matters.
SECOND PERIOD
Much like the first period, neither the Blackhawks nor the Flyers got much of anything going offensively to start the second. There were only five shots on goal combined in the front end of the frame.
Just past the midway point, the Blackhawks were caught with too many men on the ice, sending the Flyers to their second power play of the game. It turned out to be a costly infraction by the home squad, as Noah Cates one-timed a pass in the slot from Konecny to make it 2-0.
Before the power play, the Blackhawks were making a strong push to tie the game and were getting the better chances between the two sides. That’s an unacceptable penalty to take, given the situation.
The Flyers went to their second power play of the period with under three minutes to play. However, their man advantage was quickly negated after a vicious boarding penalty from Denver Barkey on Kaiser. A full-blown skirmish ensued behind the Blackhawks’ net after the hit.
With Barkey in the penalty box, the Blackhawks capitalized and cut their deficit in half just before the second intermission. Donato, who had a great chance earlier, snapped a shot past Ersson for his ninth goal of the season to make it a one-goal game. It was also Donato’s first goal since Nov. 28, snapping an 11-game goal drought.
Artyom Levshunov➡️Matt Grzelcyk➡️Ryan Donato🚨
Donato scores his 9th goal of the season to cut the #Blackhawks deficit in half late in the 2nd! First goal for Donato since Nov 28th. Grzelcyk now has 2 assists in the last 3 games.pic.twitter.com/aJ2zaa6Jg7
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) December 24, 2025
While they trailed on the scoreboard, the Blackhawks led 28-22 in shot attempts, 16-7 in shots on goal, and 6-3 in high-danger chances at even strength through 40 minutes.
THIRD PERIOD
Just under the 13-minute mark of the period, Alex Vlasic was whistled for interference on Flyers’ defenseman Travis Sanheim. Vlasic appeared to catch Sanheim inadvertently with an elbow up high, which sent Philadelphia back to the power play. Sanheim did not return to the game after receiving the hit from Vlasic.
With just under five minutes to go, the Blackhawks received a crucial power-play opportunity for a chance to tie the game. Sean Couturier was sent to the sin bin for holding Sam Lafferty.
The Hawks had a couple of looks to level the score, but Ersson stood tall in goal to keep his team in front.
Just as Couturier’s penalty expired, Blashill sent Spencer Knight off the ice for the extra attacker. Unfortunately, Blashill misread the situation, as the Flyers gained possession of the puck right as Knight hit the bench. Carl Grundstrom easily put the puck into the yawning cage off a feed from… Couturier. Another player coming right out of the penalty box to make a key play for Philadelphia.
With just one goal on Tuesday, the Blackhawks now have scored only four times in their three home games during December. In five games without Bedard, they’ve also scored only eight goals.
Life without Bedard and Nazar isn’t going to be easy for the Blackhawks offense.
Chicago returns to play on Saturday in Dallas against the Stars, which is the front end of a weekend back-to-back. The Hawks have three games in the four days coming out of the Christmas break.
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