After a tumultuous few days off the ice, the Chicago Blackhawks returned to playing hockey on Thursday night in the Motor City against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. For both teams, their newest acquisitions were not in the lineup. Anthony Beauvillier, whom the Blackhawks acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, is dealing with visa issues, while former Blackhawk and three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane, who signed with the Red Wings on Tuesday, skated before Thursday’s game and is expected to make his debut next Tuesday in Buffalo. Former Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek started in net for the Hawks against Detroit’s Alex Lyon.
The Blackhawks were awarded an early power play, but the Red Wings struck first. Connor Bedard attempted to swing the puck around the boards, but it was picked off behind the net by Jake Walman, who fed Andrew Copp, who skated in and found JT Compher, who tapped it in for a shorthanded goal. For Compher, it was his fifth of the season at 2:29 of the first.
On that same power play, the Hawks tied it at 1–1 when Lukas Reichel, who was in the slot, fired home a Bedard feed from behind the net. For Reichel, it was his second of the season at 3:20 of the first.
first it was 😞 then it was ☺️ pic.twitter.com/cFFMWfxNcz
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Detroit regained the lead at 8:41 of the first. Walman sprung Robby Fabbri down the left wing boards and he completely undressed Wyatt Kaiser, skated in alone and beat Mrazek for his sixth of the season to give Detroit a 2–1 lead, which would remain the score after 20 minutes.
The Red Wings took a 3–1 lead thanks again to Kaiser’s poor defensive play. A 2-on-1 down low saw Kaiser go down early to block a shot, but ex-Blackhawk Alex DeBrincat skated around him. Mrazek made the initial save, but Kaiser’s block attempt led to him interfering with his own goaltender, and a pinching Ben Chiarot lifted the puck past Mrazek at 5:09 of the second.
Right after Detroit took a two-goal lead, they went on a power play where they would extend the lead to 4–1. Compher tipped in his second of the game and sixth of the season at 5:56. The Red Wings would take a three-goal lead into the dressing room for the second intermission.
The Blackhawks killed off a four-minute power play, however, Detroit maintained the momentum as Fabbri scored his second of the game and seventh of the season. Daniel Sprong’s shot from the slot was stopped by Mrazek, who left a juicy rebound that Fabbri backhanded into the net at 10:54 of the third to give Detroit a 5–1 lead, and that would stand as final.
Analysis
It was not a good night for the visiting Blackhawks, who were thoroughly dominated. The Red Wings controlled the puck most of the game and generated significantly more high-danger chances than the Hawks, who did not help themselves with multiple defensive breakdowns, with Kaiser being responsible for two Detroit goals. Kaiser has largely struggled all season, oftentimes looking overwhelmed against NHL competition. An extended stay in Rockford would serve the young blueliner well.
One element that has been glaring when costing the team is Bedard’s lack of recognition on the power play when there is the potential for a turnover on the opposite side of the ice. As the weak-side shooter, Bedard has the responsibility of providing back-side coverage should the puck leave the zone. Unfortunately, Bedard has been burned multiple times already this season in these instances, with the puck turned over and the opposition racing to an odd-man rush after a slow read from Bedard.
On the plus side, the line of Jason Dickinson between Joey Anderson and MacKenzie Entwistle continued to give the Hawks an aggressive forecheck, which helped generate a few scoring chances.
The Blackhawks hit the road on Saturday for a matinee at 2 p.m. CST against their Central Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets. The game will be broadcast on NBCSCH and on WGN 720.