Sunday afternoon was a missed opportunity for the Chicago Blackhawks to earn their fifth win of the month against a team that sits inside playoff position in the Western Conference. Ahead 2-1 entering the third period, the Blackhawks couldn’t hold off the Nashville Predators’ push and allowed the game-tying goal with under 10 minutes remaining.
Overtime was needed for the sixth time in the Blackhawks’ last 10 outings, and the inability to finish the job during 3-on-3 play was an issue again on Sunday. Filip Forsberg netted the game-winning goal just 1:05 into overtime, sending the Predators to a come-from-behind 3-2 win.
For the 13th time this season, the Blackhawks came up short in overtime, and those missed opportunities have piled up and made a major difference in the team’s standings position heading into the finishing stretch. The Los Angeles Kings, for example, currently sit three points back of the Predators for the second Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks (19) have more regulation wins than the Kings (18) this season,
Two other up-and-coming young teams in the West, the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, have exceedingly superior records in overtime than the Blackhawks this season, leading to the potential for long playoff droughts to end in a few weeks. The Ducks are 15-4 in games that reach overtime this year, while the Sharks are 12-6. Following Sunday’s loss, the Blackhawks are now 7-13.
There won’t be playoff hockey in Chicago once again this spring, and while the Blackhawks sit near the bottom of the standings once again, they might not be as far away from competing for the postseason as it seems. Flip that overtime record around (13-7), which would put them on par with San Jose, and they’d be just two points back of Nashville for that final playoff position with 12 games to go.
Alas, back to the short term, here are the key takeaways from the Blackhawks’ fourth overtime loss in 11 games in March.
Hawks Hits vs. Nashville
1. Lardis Delivers on 2nd Line — After skating with Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi on the second line for the second half of Friday’s loss to Colorado, Nick Lardis remained in that spot against Nashville and snapped his nine-game goal drought. Lardis opened the scoring in the second period with his sixth goal of the season and finished with two shots on goal in 13:28. When on the ice, the Blackhawks led 8-3 in shots on goal, 6-4 in scoring chances, and 1-0 in goals for. Lardis was also third on the team in individual expected goals.
After the game, head coach Jeff Blashill called it Lardis’ best performance with the Blackhawks this season. He mentioned how he effectively used his skating to impact plays all over the ice, including on the 2-on-1 that led to his goal. Surely, Lardis also benefited from playing alongside some real offensive weapons, rather than fourth-line grinders, no offense to Sam Lafferty and Dominic Toninato.
Lardis has been patiently waiting for a legitimate opportunity inside the top six, and he made it count when the chance finally presented itself on Sunday. He deserves to remain in the same spot with Nazar and Bertuzzi on Tuesday against the New York Islanders.
2. Snake-Bitten Burakovsky…? — Aside from Connor Bedard, no Blackhawks’ skater had more scoring chances on Sunday than Andre Burakovsky. He finished with a team-leading four shots on goal and was credited with three individual scoring chances, but failed to find the back of the net. Again. He’s now gone without a goal in 25 of the last 26 games.
Burakovsky was the only one of the three forwards on the top line without a point against Nashville, as Bedard scored his 29th goal of the season, and Greene garnered the primary assist with a perfect breakout pass. That’s been a regular occurrence since the Blackhawks returned from the Olympics. Bedard has 13 points in 13 games since the NHL regular season resumed, while Greene has six points in 13 games. During that same stretch, Burakovsky has one goal and no assists, all while playing next to Bedard and Greene atop the depth chart.
After the game, Blashill mentioned that Burakovsky is “snake-bitten”, but with two points in 26 appearances since Jan. 22, it seems to be more than that. Blashill knows the NHL is a production league, and Burakovsky simply hasn’t been producing enough. Yet, he continues to get consistent reps on the first line, and it doesn’t sound like that will change anytime soon.
3. Top Line For Frondell? — Before puck drop, Blashill mentioned that Anton Frondell, who’s expected to join the team for the upcoming road trip, will be “thrown into the fire” right away. Because of his level of play all year in the SHL against grown men, he could make his NHL debut as soon as Tuesday against the New York Islanders, even without having a single practice with his new team.
Blashill didn’t explicitly state where Frondell will slot into the lineup, although he did leave a few bread crumbs. One of those was while praising Greene during his postgame presser, he also mentioned wanting to give him more looks at center before the regular season ends. That very well could foreshadow Greene moving to the third or fourth line, and Frondell sliding into his spot on the left wing next to Bedard… and with Burakovsky.
Despite Greene largely outplaying Burakovsky over the past two months, he’ll likely be the one demoted to the bottom six whenever Frondell arrives. Right or wrong, that’s the way it’s shaping up. Blashill is committed to Burakovsky playing on the top line, even though it doesn’t seem to be what’s best for the team at this point.
4. Bedard’s Beauty — Bedard added to his career highlight reel on Sunday, scoring a dazzling breakaway goal for his 29th of the season in the second period, putting the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 at the time. Bedard now has scored in four of the last eight games and is on the verge of becoming just the third player in Blackhawks franchise history younger than 21 to score 30 or more goals in a single season. The other two are Jonathan Toews and Eric Daze.
Bedard had his hands full with Ryan O’Reilly draped all over him throughout the game, but still found a way to find the stat sheet for the ninth time in 13 games since the Olympics. Had Burakovsky buried one of his quality chances, it could have been another multi-point effort for Bedard.
Ryan Greene➡️Connor Bedard🚨
Greene springs Bedard for a breakaway, and he makes a NASTY move to beat Saros for his 29th goal of the season. 2-1 #Blackhawks. One more to become a 30-goal scorer for the first time in the NHL.pic.twitter.com/YDiP5ghhiT
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) March 22, 2026
5. Grzelcyk Out For Road Trip — Just a few minutes into the game, Matt Grzelcyk dropped to the ice in pain after mixing it up with Predators forward Erik Haula during a post-whistle skirmish. Grzelcyk appeared to clip Haula’s helmet with his left hand, but it was tough to tell what truly occurred. Regardless, Grzelcyk did not return, leaving the Blackhawks with only five defensemen for the final 50-plus minutes.
In his absence, the blue line was filled with five skaters who are all 24 years old or younger, and they logged lots of minutes. Alex Vlasic recorded a season-high 26:34 of time on ice, while rookies Artyom Levshunov (24:27) and Sam Rinzel (23:02) each played over 21 minutes. Wyatt Kaiser also skated 23:02.
Those guys should get used to larger roles for the upcoming road trip, as Blashill said after the game that Grzelcyk won’t play in any of the four games on the East Coast next week. That means Ethan Del Mastro will be jumping into the lineup, and all SIX defensemen will now be 24 years old or younger. It will be a fascinating test for the young group, and a great look at the future of the defense.
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