The Chicago Blackhawks were only nine minutes away from a hard-fought victory over the New Jersey Devils and a 2-2 split during their four-game East Coast road trip. Instead, the roadie ended in disaster, with the Devils flipping a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead with two tallies in 19 seconds late in the third period. The Blackhawks 3-2 advantage evaporated into thin air, leading to a 5-3 loss to New Jersey at Prudential Center on Sunday.
Jack Hughes took over with the game on the line, tallying two goals and one assist in the final six minutes as part of a four-point performance. Hughes racked up a jaw-dropping 19 shot attempts, 14 individual scoring chances, and eight shots on goal en route to the Devil’s comeback win. But before Hughes rose to the occasion, it was the Blackhawks youngsters who were having standout performances first.
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Anton Frondell all found the stat sheet through 51 minutes to help Chicago go ahead by one, with all three forwards reaching career milestones in the process. Goaltender Spencer Knight, who’s still only 24 years old himself, was also lights out to help his team nab the lead in the third period.
Unfortunately, the Blackhawks inexperience came back to bite them once again, as the youth-filled lineup couldn’t hold off the Devils’ late push and keep the lead secure. As frustrating as the result may be, head coach Jeff Blashill kept a positive demeanor after the game and knows that his team is still going through the learning stages.
“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 have to be patient,” Blashill said. “It’s part of it, man. It’s part of where we’re at. We’ve got to keep grinding through and making sure, as we go through some of these frustrating moments where we gave up a lead late, that we’re learning. There’s nothing wrong with failure if you learn from it.”
Nazar echoed a similar sentiment when speaking with the media after the game. While it’s disappointing that these types of losses have happened too often this season, he recognizes the talent in the locker room and believes in what’s being built. It’s just a matter of learning from these situations and executing better when put in that position next time.
“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.”
Hawks Hits vs. New Jersey
1. Young Guns Gaining Steam –Offensively, the Blackhawks rolled out three new forward lines on Sunday. Bedard and Frondell were separated, with Frondell getting his first chance at center on the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev. Bedard skated with Ryan Greene and Nick Lardis on the top line. Then, Nazar centered the third line with Ryan Donato and Andre Burakovsky. With Sacha Boisvert once again serving as the team’s fourth-line center, that meant all four centers in the lineup were 22 years old or younger.
The Blackhawks are now letting their high-end first-round draft picks take over down the middle, and the organization should have been encouraged with what they witnessed against New Jersey. Frondell recorded his first career multi-point game with two assists, while his defensive play translated well with his position change. He was on the ice for one goal for and one goal against at even strength.
“He’s not even a week into his NHL career, playing center against some really good players at times,” Blashill said after the game. “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 habits.”
Bedard tallied six shots on goal and had a primary assist, which gave him a new career high with his 68th point of the season. Bedard was also second on the team with five individual scoring chances and had plenty of looks to find the back of the net. In particular, he meshed well with Lardis, who had four shots on goal and five individual scoring chances. While Lardis finished without a point, he was heavily involved once again and looked competent in his first true look as Bedard’s linemate.
2. Nazar’s Red-Hot Run — Frondell, Bedard, and Lardis each had strong showings at Prudential Center, but Frank Nazar was by far the best Blackhawks skater on the ice. With his 13th and 14th goals of the season, not only did Nazar set a new career high, but he also earned his first career multi-goal effort. The 2022 No. 13 overall pick had one of his best NHL performances, with two goals, 13 shot attempts (team high), seven shots on goal (team high), six individual scoring chances, and four individual high-danger chances in 19:00 of ice time. Nazar also won 9 of 13 faceoffs.
Just like Bedard, Nazar has found his stride again since returning from the Olympic break, as he now has 14 points (7G, 7A) over the last 14 games. He’s starting to consistently impact games with his speed and skill, as he did during the first quarter of the season before dealing with a few injuries. He, Donato, and Burakovsky were dynamite on Sunday, particularly during the first half of the game. Nazar was the catalyst behind the trio leading 7-4 in scoring chances and 4-3 in high-danger chances at even strength.
With 38 points through 58 games in 2025-26, Nazar is on pace for 58 points during an 82-game campaign. Not too shabby for his first year as a full-time NHLer.
3. Korchinski In For Arty — With Artyom Levshunov currently dealing with a fracture in his wrist, Kevin Korchinski was recalled from the AHL and jumped into the Blackhawks’ lineup against the Devils. It was just his fifth NHL appearance of the 2025-26 season.
Korchinski skated on the third defensive pairing with Ethan Del Mastro, and the two are rather familiar with one another from their time together developing with the Rockford IceHogs. But considering their inexperience at the NHL this year, there was some concern that they wouldn’t hold up well against a fast-paced Devils squad.
While Korchinski (12:09) and Del Mastro (14:26) saw far less ice time than the other four defensemen, they were arguably the most effective pairing for Chicago. Neither were on the ice for any of the five goals scored by New Jersey, and the Blackhawks actually led 17-11 in shot attempts at 5v5 with Korchinski out there. The 2022 No. 7 overall selection also had the best xGF percentage (54.67) among all six blue-liners on Sunday.
Korchinski looked more confident this time in an emergency role, as perhaps he learned from his previous recalls from earlier in the season. He moved the puck effectively and didn’t do any damage to his team in the defensive zone. All in all, that’s what Blackhawks are looking for out of him, and hopefully, he can continue to build off this positive showing. He’ll likely dress again when the Blackhawks return to play against Winnipeg on Tuesday.
4. Five-Forward PP — Not only did Blashill tinker with his forward lines in New Jersey, but he also rolled out a five-forward power play for the first time. Considering the Blackhawks position in the standings currently, there’s no better time for experimentation than right now. In fact, an argument can be made that this sort of stuff should have started sooner.
Bedard served as the top units’ quarterback on Sunday, stepping into a spot that Levshunov or Sam Rinzel has manned for most of this season. In this position, Bedard possessed the puck frequently with plenty of passing options at his helm. This appeared to be a worthwhile change for the offensive-zone setup, as the puck was moved effectively and helped create a 5-on-3 goal that put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 in the third period.
In terms of entering the offensive zone, there were some issues with the five-forward unit. Without any defensemen on the ice, a turnover at the blue line or in the neutral zone could be catostrophic. But once they gained possession in the zone, they cycled the puck well and generated plenty of threatening opportunities. With Bedard now playing a rover-style, moving freely around the zone, he has both the skill and hockey IQ to be lethal in this spot.
Anton Frondell➡️Connor Bedard➡️Frank Nazar🚨
Bedard feeds Nazar for his 2nd goal of the game & 14th of the season to put the #Blackhawks ahead 3-2! Nazar with his first career multi-goal game. Frondell with his first career multi-point game.pic.twitter.com/dPk797EATR
— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) March 30, 2026
5. Knight Keeps it Close — While many of GM Kyle Davidson’s first-round picks were stellar in defeat on Sunday, there was another former first-round selection, albeit one that wasn’t drafted here in Chicago, who stood out and helped his team have a chance at victory in New Jersey.
Knight, picked 13th overall by the Florida Panthers in 2019, was remarkable in between the pipes to keep the game close on Sunday. With the Blackhawks ahead 2-1 after 20 minutes, the Devils woke up and started to surge early in the second period, but Knight kept his poise and managed to have the score level going into the third. Of the 16 shots and 22 scoring chances he faced in the middle stanza, only one found the back of the net.
In total, Knight stopped 35 of 39 shots and was credited with 1.74 goals saved above expected. It’s a shame his teammates in front of him couldn’t perform better down the stretch, as he cannot be blamed for either of the two goals the Devils scored in 19 seconds, going from a one-goal deficit to a one-goal lead in the blink of an eye.
Through 49 starts this season, 13 more than his previous career high, Knight sits eighth in the NHL with 16.4 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck. While the wins and losses may not be what he had hoped, the underlying numbers suggest that Knight has been terrific in his first opportunity as a No. 1 netminder in the NHL.
Like with the young forwards, the Blackhawks should be encouraged by Knight’s play in 2025-26, even though the results haven’t been there for the team once again.
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