Connor Bedard was back, but the Chicago Blackhawks were still stretched remarkably thin on Friday night against the Washington Capitals.
Ilya Mikheyev, Louis Crevier, and both goaltenders, Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom, were out due to a flu bug that’s running rampant in the locker room. Captain Nick Foligno played despite not feeling his best, as did a few other players. Even head coach Jeff Blashill had an upset stomach and missed the morning skate. A shorthanded and ailing Chicago squad couldn’t continue the four-game winning streak, losing 5-1 to the Capitals at the United Center.
With Knight and Soderblom out, the Blackhawks recalled former second-round pick Drew Commesso from Rockford earlier in the afternoon. Commesso, 23, was thrown in goal just hours later for his second NHL start, and it wasn’t too surprising that he didn’t have his best performance. He had a quick turnaround and didn’t have much time to prepare, leading to Washington beating him five times on 24 shots. Commesso stopped just three of the six shots faced in the first period, and the Blackhawks could never recover from the 3-0 deficit.
“Spencer got sick really late, and I thought Drew went in and played [well], but that puts him in a tough spot,” Blashill said after the game. “It’s one of those nights that happens in the league, and it happened to us tonight… We have a good enough lineup to go win a hockey game.”
Friday was also a struggle-filled season debut for Kevin Korchinski, who was recalled from the AHL along with Commesso and inserted into the lineup for Crevier. The 2022 seventh overall pick played in just 16 NHL games during the 2024-25 season and spent the entire first half of this year down in the minors. It was his first opportunity since training camp to show the Blackhawks’ coaching staff what he can do, but he ended up having a night to forget.
Korchinski was on the ice for three of the Capitals’ five goals and had a team-low 12.35 expected-goals percentage at even strength. The Blackhawks were outshot 10-2 and outchanced 9-1 with Korchinski on the ice. He didn’t record a shot on goal and had one block in 13:53 of ice time.
Despite his struggles, Blashill didn’t seem to put too much stock into Korchinski’s performance, considering the circumstances.
“It’s a tough kind of deal, come up late, you’re playing with a new partner… I thought he played fine.”
On the bright side, Bedard looked sharp and fully healthy in his first game since Dec. 12, when he injured his shoulder in the final second against the St. Louis Blues. He tied Tyler Bertuzzi for the team lead with four shots on goal and generated a few dangerous opportunities. His best came early in the third period, when he raced into the offensive zone and dropped Caps’ defenseman John Carlsson to the ice. Bedard got off a quality look in tight but wasn’t able to finish.
For the first time this season, Bedard opened Friday’s game playing the wing position, as opposed to center. He skated with rookies Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis in the first period before Blashill elected to shuffle his line combinations. Bedard has played primarily down the middle so far in his young career, but that’s about to change moving forward. At least, in terms of taking faceoffs.
After the game, Blashill said that Bedard won’t be utilized at the dot “for the foreseeable future.” Of course, his shoulder injury occurred while battling at the faceoff circle against Blues’ captain Brayden Schenn. It appears the Blackhawks don’t want to take any chances of another freak accident happening anytime soon.
Here are the highlights from the Blackhawks’ 5-1 loss to the Capitals, dropping their record to 18-19-7 through 44 games.
FIRST PERIOD
For the second consecutive game, the Blackhawks fell behind 1-0 in the opening minutes on home ice. Anthony Beauvillier got the inside position on Lardis while crashing the net and perfectly redirected a shot from the point at 4:03. It was Washington’s first shot on goal of the game.
With 4:53 left in the period, the Capitals added to their lead with a goal from Connor McMichael. Korchinski was caught with lackluster gap control, and Matt Grzelcyk didn’t have the footspeed to keep up with McMichael, who slid a shot through Commesso’s wickets. 2-0, Washington.
Commesso couldn’t be blamed for either of Washington’s first two goals, but their third is one he’ll want back. Ethen Frank knocked down a pass from Carlsson and slipped a shot past Commesso’s blocker to make it 3-0 through 20 minutes
Commesso stopped just three of the six shots the Capitals fired on net in the first period. The Blackhawks led 10-6 in shots on goal, but couldn’t solve Logan Thompson.
SECOND PERIOD
On their third power-play opportunity of the night, the Blackhawks finally got on the board to cut into their deficit. Moore let a ripper of a shot go from the left circle in the final seconds of the man advantage for his fifth goal of the season at 8:48. Lardis picked up his first NHL assist on the play. 3-1 after Moore’s second tally in as many games.
Nick Lardis➡️Matt Grzelcyk➡️Oliver Moore🚨
Moore with a nasty short-side snipe at the end of the power play for his 5th goal of the season & 2nd in as many games. #Blackhawks trail 3-1. Lardis with his 1st NHL assist.pic.twitter.com/qposfM8wUI
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) January 10, 2026
It didn’t take long for the Capitals to regain their three-goal lead, however. Rookie Ryan Leonard fired the puck towards the net, and Justin Sourdif found the loose change at 12:38. 4-1 Capitals.
The Blackhawks’ power play created multiple scoring chances on each of their three opportunities through 40 minutes. But at even strength, it was all Capitals. Washington led 4-1 after two periods and was ahead 10-5 in scoring chances at five-on-five.
THIRD PERIOD
In the first minute of the third period, Bedard raced from center ice and into the offensive zone for his best opportunity of the game. Carlsson went tumbling down to the ice as he tried to retreat, leaving Bedard one-on-one with Thompson. He tried to lift the puck short-side while driving the net, but got stuffed by the Caps’ netminder.
While it doesn’t sound like Alex Ovechkin has any plans to retire, you never know what the future holds. In what could be his final game at the United Center, Ovechkin scored at 13:33 to extend Washington’s lead to 5-1. On an odd-man rush, Ovechkin snuck a shot five-hole on Commesso. He becomes the 187th goaltender that Ovechkin has scored on in his career.
The final horn sounded, and the Blackhawks’ winning streak came to a close. All things considered, it’s difficult to put too much weight into the loss with all the absences.
It’s an unfortunate time for the team to be flu-ravaged, as they return to action tomorrow in Nashville for a Central Division matchup with the Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks currently sit one point back of the Predators in the standings.
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