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RECAP: Blackhawks downed by an old friend, lose to Lightning 4-1

  
(Photo courtesy of the NHL)

The Blackhawks came into Thursday night’s game having lost four straight. They have not looked good in this losing streak either, looking like a team with no identity. This Blackhawks team looks like the same from two years ago. They cannot generate offense, play horrible defense, and the goaltending is the only thing keeping them close in most games.

Here were the Blackhawks’ lines for this matchup:

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First Period: 

Just a few minutes into the game, Ethan Del Mastro got called for a trip to put Tampa Bay on the power play. After killing most of it off, the Blackhawks let Victor Hedman carve up the middle of the defense. He got the puck back in the middle of the ice and wristed it past Arvid Soderblom, 1-0 Lightning.

Late in the period, old friend Ilya Mikheyev took the puck into the Blackhawks’ zone. He put a shot on goal from outside the left circle that beat Soderblom to make the score 2-0 Tampa Bay. That is how the period would end, as we would go to the intermission with the Lightning retaining that lead.

Second Period:

Early on in the second, we finally got some action from the Blackhawks. Dillon Boucher got involved in a fight with Jeffrey Viel to try to get his team going, the first of his NHL career. He came off the ice bloodied, but definitely did what he could to get his team going.

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The second otherwise came and went without much incident. The Lightning out-shot the Blackhawks 16-9, and the Blackhawks killed off the two power plays that they had against them in the period to keep it 2-0 Tampa Bay.

Third Period: 

Another period, another weak goal let up by Soderblom. This time, Ryan McDonagh stepped into a slap-shot with no one in front of him blocking Soderblom’s view. The puck found its way to the back of the net, 3-0 Lightning. Two and a half minutes later, it was Mikheyev again, getting a tip-in right in front of the net and beating Soderblom again to make it 4-0 on his second goal of the game.

With under a minute to go, the Blackhawks broke up the shut-out bid. Roman Kantserov continued his strong start to the season with a tip-in goal to make the score 4-1.

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That would be it for this one, as Tampa Bay fending off the late charge by the Blackhawks to win 4-1.

Analysis: 

This team is tough to watch. While they did show some life in this game, putting out the most hits they have all season, they are otherwise listless in other areas of the game. They have so many defensive lapses that lead to great opportunities for the opposition, and this game was no exception. It’s like they fall asleep and forget who they are supposed to be covering at times, that guy gets open and does something to help produce a great scoring chance. Soderblom was also bad in this game. His defense did him no favors, but he also should have stopped most of the goals that he did end up letting get past him. I really think that a coaching change is the only solution to the woes that this team has, as they don’t really seem to be responding to Jeff Blashill at all anymore.

The Blackhawks’ next game is on Saturday night in Raleigh against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. That one will be at 7 pm Central on CHSN.

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