Connor Bedard recorded his 30th goal of the season for the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. Sacha Boisvert debuted with 9:03 TOI in the loss.

The Chicago Blackhawks fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. Three different Flyers had multi-point games in the win over Chicago.  

A Knight To Forget: 

For someone who has been the pillar of consistency for Chicago, Spencer Knight had a rough night in the net. Philadelphia quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back, scoring three in the second period. The fault wasn’t completely on Knight, however. Andre Burakovsky sent more than one pass to a Flyer forward in their own zone.

The past few games haven’t been the prettiest for Knight. The Connecticut native has a .902 save percentage and a 3.36 Goals Against Average over the past 5 games. Good, but a subtle dip in his performance. But even on his off nights, Knight still made some spectacular saves. 

You Get a Pen, and You Get a Pen:

The end of the first period of this game was chaotic to say the least. Between 17:42 and in the first to 6:42 in the second, the Philadelphia Flyers had three infractions and the Chicago Blackhawks had two in a chaotic sequence of play.

Story continues below.

More Sports News

.wp-block-group__inner-container:has(> .embla),
.wp-block-group:where(.alignfull) > .wp-block-group__inner-container:has(> .embla) {
width: calc(100vw – (var(–side-spacing) * 2)) !important;
}
.embla {
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
.embla__container {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: nowrap;
gap: 0 !important;
width: 75%;
}
.embla__slide {
margin-inline-end: var(–column-gap);
}
.embla__arrow,
.embla__arrow:active,
.embla__arrow:target,
.embla__arrow:hover,
.embla__arrow:focus-visible {
display: none;
position: absolute;
top: 50%;
transform: translateY(-50%);
width: 40px;
height: 40px;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
line-height: 0;
background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.75);
color: var(–color-primary);
border-radius: 100vw;

svg {
width: 24px;
}
}
.embla__prev {
left: 0;
}
.embla__next {
right: 0;
}
]]>

However, the Blackhawks were unfazed by heading to the PK a total of four times in the game. The penalty-killing unit went a perfect 4/4 against the league’s worst power play. After the strong performance tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks maintain their league best 85% penalty kill. 

 

Slow Starts:

These past two games have just been one more part in the story of a developing hockey team. Against the New York Islanders Tuesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks gave up a goal just 49 seconds into the game and were on their heels before Nick Lardis’ scoring. Tonight, Chicago wasn’t so lucky. The Philadelphia Flyers had not one but two goals within 2:33 seconds of the game. It was a start that the Blackhawks couldn’t recover from. After the contest, Jeff Blashill remarked, “Couple tough errors… now you’re fighting momentum on the road. We clawed our way back a little bit, and then made a couple more tough errors,” in reference to the slow starts.

Connor Bedard added, “They played more intensely than us, and we didn’t match it for whatever reason.” 

Frondeezy and Bedsy: Dynamic Duo

Since coming over from Sweden, Anton Frondell has brought a spark that was long needed in the Windy City. His physical presence and wicked shot have been as expected, but his vision and playmaking is looking better than advertised. So far through two games, Frondell has two assists, with tonight being the helper on Connor Bedard’s 30th goal of the season.

After a strong possession in the offensive zone, the puck came to Anton behind the net. Frondell tried a wrap-around move on Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson. The puck slipped off his stick, but landed in the perfect place, so much so that it looked intentional live. Connor Bedard waltzed into the slot and fired a shot over the shoulders of Errson before he could understand what happened. 

After the game, Bedard said of Frondell: “He’s looked great so far, quick turnaround for him… I haven’t played my best since he’s been here… He’s doing everything right.”

On Tap for the Chicago Blackhawks is a battle from the bottom of the barrel. The Blackhawks head into the Empire State to take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.