The pregame news that Dylan Larkin will no longer play for the Detroit Red Wings didn’t slow down his soon-to-be former teammates whatsoever on Thursday night. The Red Wings steamrolled the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena, marking the fifth straight game the latter has scored two goals or fewer.
After an improved all-around performance in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, which snapped a three-game losing streak, the Blackhawks reverted to their old selves against Detroit. They struggled to defend the constant pressure and shot-heavy style the Red Wings employed, while the offense was held to under 22 shots on goal for the fifth time in the last seven outings.
For the game, the Red Wings led 62-45 in shot attempts, 31-19 in shots on goal, 35-20 in scoring chances, and 4.01-2.27 in expected goals. Additionally, the Blackhawks lost 29 of 52 faceoffs and were out-hit 22-19, while also losing the special-teams battle. Chicago drew only one penalty and committed four themselves, with Lucas Raymond scoring the game-winning goal on the power play early in the third period.
Essentially, nothing went right for the Blackhawks at Little Caesars Arena, besides captain Connor Bedard’s opening tally at 5:59 in the first period. Which, by the way, came after the Red Wings peppered goalie Spencer Knight with a slew of chances to start the game. It wasn’t as if the Hawks were the better team in the period, despite taking a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
“I don’t know if it was a good first ten (minutes), to be honest with you,” head coach Jeff Blashill said about his team’s start to the game. “We scored, but we had way too many guys (playing poorly), it wasn’t close. Not good enough.”
Much to the dismay of the fanbase, Blashill has often defended his players in postgame media sessions this season, even though the underlying stats and eye test suggest they deserve more criticism.
He questionably said his team “is close for sure” to playing the way they want after a 4-1 loss to a Montreal Canadiens squad without Nick Suzuki and Ivan Demidov last Friday, where the Hawks tallied just four third-period shots on goal and 21 for the game.
But after Thursday’s performance, Blashill didn’t hold back his frustration and disappointment, calling it a step backward for the Blackhawks. His assessment of the game was spot on.
“We’ve had a lot of games throughout this season where we did a lot of good things and maybe beat ourselves with critical mistakes, but for the most part throughout the game, we played pretty good hockey,” Blashill said. “Those are learning moments, and you keep getting better (from them). Tonight, to me, wasn’t that at all. Because too many guys weren’t skating, didn’t compete hard enough or (had) not enough attention to detail. To me, tonight wasn’t close.”
Patrick Kane, who played his first game back in Detroit since leaving the franchise and signing with the Blackhawks this summer, also didn’t mince words about Thursday’s debacle.
“Pretty much everything,” was Kane’s response to what went wrong. “Each guy (should) look in the mirror and see what [they] can do better with the puck offensively, a shooting-first mentality. Just take it upon yourself.”
The Red Wings honored Kane’s return with a classy video tribute during the first TV timeout, representing a rather bizarre moment in history, where Detroit fans celebrated a Chicago icon. Not that the Wings and their supporters weren’t justified in doing so, as Kane made history during his time with the team.
Kane also could have made history on Thursday, needing just one assist to become the 21st NHL player to record 900 career helpers. Instead, the Red Wings kept him quiet in his first trip back to Little Caesars Arena, finishing without a point, with only one shot on goal, and a minus-three rating in 14:23 of ice time.
Showtime’s only highlight of the night turned out to be his video tribute, with his good friend Alex DeBrincat and the Red Wings spoiling the reunion.
Hawks Hits vs. Detroit
1. Bedard & Roman Brought It
Blashill called out his team for poor attention to detail and effort, but he wasn’t referring to Bedard.
The captain was one of the few players who looked lively against Detroit, scoring his team’s lone goal and recording a team-high six shot attempts, four shots on goal, and four individual scoring chances. He was also responsible for two of the Blackhawks nine high-danger chances.
With Bedard on the ice at 5v5, the Hawks led 18-11 in shot attempts, 10-7 in scoring chances, 4-2 in high-danger chances, and 1-0 in goals for. He and linemate Roman Kantserov were the two most noticeable visiting skaters, but the rest of the lineup didn’t come close to matching their effectiveness.
Kantserov nearly scored for the third straight game, with a quick wrister from the right circle beating Red Wings’ goalie John Gibson, but drew iron. He and Bedard both extended their point streaks in the loss.
2. Middle-Six Shut Down
The top line was the Blackhawks’ best on Thursday, which isn’t saying much, considering how poor the middle-six fared. The Cole Smith, Ryan Greene, and Jordan Greenway fourth line at least generated a little offensive-zone time, but the second and third lines were completely shut down.
Kane, Frank Nazar, and Oliver Moore had a strong first shift together, but the rest of the game didn’t go their way. Nazar’s unsuccessful penalty shot might have been the only scoring chance the third line created in Detroit, which is rather unacceptable after a dominant showing two nights earlier.
Kane and Nazar both finished with one shot and a minus-three rating, while Moore had three shots, but three giveaways, and a minus-one rating.
The trio of Tyler Bertuzzi, Anton Frondell, and Ryan Donato didn’t perform much better, with the three forwards combining for only one shot on goal and one individual scoring chance. The Red Wings led 10-4 in shot attempts and 4-0 in scoring chances when that line was on the ice at 5v5.
Behind Bedard and the top line, the Blackhawks got little to nothing from their other key forwards on Thursday, something that’s happened too often since the captain returned 17 days ago.
3. Frondell Limited
Given how quiet Frondell and Bertuzzi have been together recently, it might be time for Blashill to split up that duo.
Since opening the season with four points in four games, Frondell has been held off the stat sheet in eight of the last nine and six in a row. Bertuzzi is also without a point in five straight games and seven of the last nine.
Frondell’s usage and shutdown-center role have also impacted his offensive production recently. Blashill has frequently put Frondell up against the opposing team’s most dangerous offensive trio, and his line has been stuck defending in most of their shifts.
Because his line hasn’t produced offensively for a significant stretch, Frondell’s ice time has dipped recently. After playing over 17 minutes in seven of the Blackhawks’ first eight games, he’s been held under that total in each of the last five.
Frondell received a season-low 11:44 of ice time on Thursday and saw only 14 shifts. Something has to change.
When Frondell joined the Blackhawks late last year, he already looked capable of being a top-six contributor in his first NHL stint, tallying nine points (3G, 6A) in his first 12 games. While still only 19 years old, with inconsistent stretches being unavoidable at that age in the NHL, Blashill must find a way to get Frondell going again.
Whether it’s changing his position or role, Frondell can’t continue to have this little impact on games. He’s capable of producing much more, and it’s time to give him a new look elsewhere in the lineup.
4. Kane’s Penalty Problem
When Raymond scored the game-winning goal, Kane was watching from the penalty box after committing a costly high-sticking penalty just 38 seconds into the third period. Kane’s lack of discipline was a key turning point, as the two teams were tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.
Detroit’s power play was knocking on the door all night and finally converted on Kane’s infraction. The Red Wings never looked back the rest of the game.
In 13 appearances this season, Kane has nearly the same number of minor penalties (7) as points (8). The Blackhawks have been better on the penalty kill lately, but they’ve still been tested too often. Kane’s inability to stay out of the box hasn’t helped, and that’s an area he must clean up moving forward.
He can’t be hurting his team this consistently.
5. Road Woes Continue
After the loss in Detroit, the Blackhawks have now started 0-5-0 on the road for the first time since 1988. They’ve been outscored 23-7 in those five games.
Not only have the Hawks been incapable of winning on the road so far, but they haven’t even found a way to accrue a single point. Blashill’s bunch has been severely outplayed all season, but particularly when away from the United Center.
It’s yet another concerning aspect of the team’s disastrous 4-9-0 start. They haven’t figured out how to play rugged enough on the road to grind out a point or two.
Quality teams find a way to make it close and reach overtime when they don’t have their best stuff, and the Blackhawks haven’t done that once in five road games so far.
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