The Chicago Blackhawks closed out their road trip with a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, blowing the lead three times in the process.
The Blackhawks opened the scoring 4:19 into the game. Jake Allen was slow playing the puck behind the net, so Anton Frondell swept in to steal it and set up Ilya Mikheyev out front for an open-net goal, making it 1-0.
from 0 to 95 in no time 🏁 pic.twitter.com/cgOKYp7XU3
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 29, 2026
The Devils pulled even at 1-1 midway through the first, cashing in on the power play. Connor Brown found soft ice in the slot and got just enough of Luke Hughes’ shot-pass to redirect it past the goalie.
Connor Brown tips in Luke’s shot to tie the game: pic.twitter.com/x1UBjow97E
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 29, 2026
The Blackhawks answered quickly with Frank Nazar restoring the lead a couple minutes later. Ryan Donato slipped a slick cross-crease backhand through traffic, and Nazar hammered a quick one-timer home to make it 2-1.
scoring a goal, but it’s #franksway pic.twitter.com/6sUcTyWHiM
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 29, 2026
Simon Nemec tied it again with 4:12 remaining in the second. Dawson Mercer won a puck battle along the goal line and sent a centering pass to Simon Nemec, who scored from near the top of the right circle to make it 2-2 with 4:12 remaining.
Simon Nemec buries a shot from the slot: pic.twitter.com/cPPAKjIjXR
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
The Blackhawks regained the lead on a 5-on-3 power play at 10:51 of the third period. Nazar picked up his second goal of the game with a one-timer from the left circle off a no-look, cross-ice pass from Connor Bedard, putting Chicago ahead 3-2.
FRANK NAZAR’S ✌️ OF THE NIGHT!!!
A slick fake shot from Anton Frondell helps start the play! pic.twitter.com/rAhemm1VGf
— NHL (@NHL) March 30, 2026
For the third time in the game, the Devils found the equalizer. With just over five minutes left, a cross-ice pass from Jack Hughes set up a Dougie Hamilton shot from the right circle that went in off the far post, tying the game 3-3.
Dougie Hamilton with a snipe to tie the game: pic.twitter.com/S7ROOh668Z
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Hughes then gave the Devils their first lead of the game about 20 seconds later. Jesper Bratt sent Hughes in on a partial breakaway, and he beat Alex Vlasic up the wall before he beat Knight with a wrist shot from the circle to make it 4-3.
Jack Hughes wheels in and gives the Devils the lead: pic.twitter.com/YDw8hxHX8R
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Hughes added an empty-net goal with 31 seconds remaining to close the game out at 5-3 Devils.
Jack Hughes hits the empty net to ice it: pic.twitter.com/CFnAlMc1W7
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Notes
At least unlike the last two games, there was some semblance of competency through the first 40 minutes, even if it wasn’t as consistent as you’d like. The first period was honestly pretty respectable, with decent structure and some push in key moments. While most of the underlying numbers leaned the Devils’ way aside from shots on goal which were even at 13-13, the Blackhawks kept things relatively close: 24-20 in shot attempts, 12-9 in scoring chances, and 8-5 in high-danger chances.
The second period had more of a back-and-forth feel for large stretches, but the Blackhawks really struggled to generate anything meaningful when they had time in their own zone. Credit to the Devils for being disruptive, but five shots on goal is … not ideal. Then in the final six minutes or so, things tilted hard for the Devils and it was easy to see this game going off the rails. The Devils grabbed a goal and essentially closed the period with a shooting free-for-all. By the end of it, the Blackhawks were getting crushed: out-attempted 30-18, outshot 14-5, and holding just 16.67 percent of the expected goals.
And that “competency” mentioned earlier? Yeah, that disappeared almost completely in the third. You could’ve copy-pasted any 20-minute stretch from the last two games and it would’ve looked the same: sloppy passes, turnovers, no ability to string together plays through the neutral zone, and very little sustained pressure. There was a brief moment of hope after the 5-on-3 goal that the Blackhawks could pull a rabbit out of their hat and possibly a win, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough magic left right now. Two quick, almost effortless goals against later, and that was it — a third straight loss.
The Blackhawks seemed to be on their way to a road win in Newark, until the Devils scored twice in 19 seconds.
The team’s still figuring out what happened themselves.
“Momentum is a crazy thing,” Ryan Donato said. “They score that big goal. It’s deflating. At the same time, we…
— Kalen Lumpkins (@kalenalumpkins) March 30, 2026
And look, this is a very, very young team playing through a condensed post-Olympic schedule with almost no practice time. There’s been a lot of talk about the players being tired, but the lack of practice is more of an issue with the relative inexperience of the team. So yeah, a string of games like these last few are going to happen — we’ve said it, everyone knows it. Wins aren’t the priority down the stretch anyway. But there’s a baseline here, and it’s simply this: the games have to be watchable. The last two weren’t just bad, they were borderline unpalatable. While tonight was better, the way this Blackhawks group just falls apart is frustrating to watch currently.
Coach Jeff Blashill emphasized the team’s youth as a factor behind the recent issues, noting that it’s part of the learning process:
Jeff Blashill liked this Blackhawks performance much more than the last two. He was a bit more unfiltered than usual postgame:
“I think our oldest center was 22 and our D could be playing in the NCAA Tournament right now. They’re going to make some mistakes, and we’re going to…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 30, 2026
Still, there’s no need to panic too much about any of this — this season is effectively over in all the ways that matter for the Blackhawks, so next year will be the real test. If they’re still putting together a lot of games that look like this, then it’s time for some serious questions.
Nazar spoke about his confidence in the young group post-game:
Frank Nazar: “I [have] full belief in our team. I think our team can skate with any other team in the league. I love these guys, and I think everybody in here has got the heart and the skill to do it right. Sometimes stuff like that happens, and we’ve got to learn from it.”
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 30, 2026
Dave pointed this out in our SCH writers slack: this is the third game in a fourth game in a row where the Blackhawks had a sub-30 percent expected goals share and fifth in their last six games to hit that mark. The Blackhawks lack of shot possession is more of an issue to me — typically, the more a team attempts, the higher their chance generation and some of these Blackhawks have been able to score even with lower team-level quality shares — but this is still a worrying trend.
To show this another way, the chart below highlights that, while a few players are generating positive expected goal rates individually, the team overall is still in the negative. Bedard sits at the extreme on both ends, which isn’t surprising — he’s the most dangerous player on the ice almost all the time, but the lack of a true checking line has been weighing on him lately.
what on earth were the blackhawks cooking this week pic.twitter.com/GSmkHGOFn9
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 30, 2026
The bigger issue is really is possession, though. If the Blackhawks can spend more time with the puck, it naturally limits chances against while also giving their young players more opportunities to create. They’ve already shown they can do something with limited touches — imagine what it could look like with sustained zone time. In the first 20 games of the season, the Blackhawks showed improvement in this area, hovering just under a 48 percent shot attempt share. It’s something that gradually slipped away as the season progressed, even before the youth movement fully took over, but it needs to be something they get back to and improve upon next season.
Since I mentioned Bedard, he’s been hard on himself the last few games, but he’s honestly still the most consistent spark in the lineup. Others may end up having better results, but he’s still a joy to watch, at least. He finished with eight shot attempts (third on the team), six on net (second), and five scoring chances (tied for third). Bedard was the point man for the power play tonight with them rolling five forwards, and he got the puck on the net much better than any defenseman they’ve tried this season.
Bedard walks into a quick shot on the power play: pic.twitter.com/yMxsP56LIH
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Bedard has gotten four or five shots on net from the point and none of them have been easy saves: pic.twitter.com/4TuT4Sr50B
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Bedard had some excellent passing plays this game as well:
Bedard makes a fantastic move on his knees but Lardis couldn’t finish the play: pic.twitter.com/Z7RpyMkWj1
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
I missed this Connor Bedard move in real time — oh my goodness: pic.twitter.com/Trs9tmjYkO
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
However, Bedard’s line with Lardis and Ryan Greene at 5-on-5 got crushed tonight: in 11:19, attempts were 26-9 (gross) and their expected goals share was 18.74 percent (double gross) — both team-worst numbers. Again, the lack of a checking line is a major issue because opponents have easy options to settle their own top lines and shutdown lines against Bedard with very little risk. Nothing much to be done about it this season, but hopefully there is real thought put into creating such a line next year.
At 5-on-5, Lardis did do quite well though: seven attempts, five scoring chances, and three shots on goal with the second best expected goal number (0.49). He didn’t add any others on the power play, though he didn’t play much there.
The best line of the night was Nazar, Donato, and Andre Burakovsky, though the latter wasn’t particularly involved in the line’s successful moments. In 10:31 at 5-on-5, the trio broke even in terms of shot attempts (14-14) and shots on goal (7-7) and also managed the only positive expected goals share of the night (55.30 percent). Nazar and Donato combined for quite a few intriguing moments, including their goal.
Ryan Donato snaps a pass to Frank Nazar who has a great look denied: pic.twitter.com/azJbxkcz0j
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 29, 2026
Donato leaned more into a playmaking role in this game, though he still generated seven shot attempts with three scoring chances. The issue was none of them actually hit the net, so it ended up being a bit of a wash.
Nazar’s 5-on-5 numbers were excellent: seven attempts, five scoring chances, five shots on goal, and 0.66 expected goals. And it only gets better when you look at all situations — 13 (!) attempts, seven scoring chances, seven shots on goal, and 1.36 expected goals. With his two goals, Nazar now has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in his last 14 games. It’s almost like being healthy is kind of important, eh?
Another look: https://t.co/BvrwA0NRY0 pic.twitter.com/RerBqIxfhB
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 29, 2026
Frondell looked good again tonight as well. I’ve been especially impressed with his ability to read plays and pick off pucks to gain possession. He’s been physical in a smart way, not overdoing it with the hits — he had just one tonight — but his hard checking has been key. It’s also interesting that all of Frondell’s points so far have been assists, considering he’s typically more of a goal scorer, but you’ll take it. He did have five shot attempts and three on goal, though none were quite as dangerous as some of the looks he had in the previous two games.
Jeff Blashill on Anton Frondell playing center today:
“He’s not even a week into his NHL career, playing center against some really good players at times.
I thought he looked good. He’s really strong on the puck, wins a ton of those, stops on pucks. He’s got a lot of winning…
— Kalen Lumpkins (@kalenalumpkins) March 30, 2026
As for the defensemen, a lot of the team-wide struggles seem to start on the backend. Alex Vlasic hasn’t quite looked like himself over the last three games, Wyatt Kaiser has been inconsistent with wide swings from great to rough, Louis Crevier has been quietly ineffective, and Sam Rinzel flashes something offensively here and there but not nearly often enough. Ethan Del Mastro has also had some issues since coming up, though he wasn’t too bad tonight in a limited role.
Kevin Korchinski was also used sparingly, playing just over 12 minutes, but interestingly was probably the best of the group. He looked the most confident with the puck than he has in a while with the Blackhawks and avoided any glaring defensive mistakes. Obviously, the limited ice time plays into that, especially since he barely saw the ice in the disastrous third (just three shifts). But, at this point, I’ll take any positives I can get.
Last, Spencer Knight was a big reason this game stayed close as long as it did, though there were some miscues from him too. His save percentage was just average (.897) but he did have 1.9 goals saved above expected, all while facing 40 shots.
What a save by Spencer Knight: pic.twitter.com/7PpRjw8J0s
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026
Game Charts
Three Stars
Jack Hughes (NJD) — 2 goals, 2 assists
Frank Nazar (CHI) — 2 goals
Dougie Hamilton (NJD) — 1 goals
What’s Next
The Blackhawks are back at the United Center on Tuesday to host the Winnipeg Jets at 7:30 p.m.