Before the game, Chicago made headlines by recalling Sam Rinzel from Rockford. Rinzel’s last NHL game was on Dec. 7 before being send down to Rockford. In Rockford, Rinzel appeared in 19 games, recording two goals and eight assists.

In the lineup, Rinzel replaced Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov was a healthy scratch for a mental reset. The young defenseman was awful in the Hawks’ last game against Pittsburgh. In addition to Rinzel being added to the lineup, Sam Lafferty got his second start this month because of an injury to Nick Foligno.

First period

Columbus got on the board late in the first period with a goal from Charlie Coyle. The Colyle power-play goal came with under a minute left in the period.

The Blackhawks responded in the waning seconds with a goal from Connor Bedard.

GOAL: Connor Bedard beats the buzzer and puts home a rebound to tie the game before the end of the period pic.twitter.com/CpHk9Mu5xF

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 31, 2026

Second period

In the second period, Columbus continued to dominate the game. Coyle scored his second goal of the game. The goal was set up by a poor pass from Andre Burakovsky to Matt Grzelcyk. The pass missed Grzelcyk and went to right to Coyle, who buried the chance.

Mathieu Olivier scored his sixth goal of the season to extend the Blue Jackets’ lead to 3-1. The Hawks did challenge unsucessfully for goalie interference.

Frank Nazar answered the Olivier tally later in the period.

GOAL: Bedard to Nazar! Banggg pic.twitter.com/vBOHVMEvit

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 31, 2026

This was a much-needed goal for Nazar, who has struggled to find his offensive form. With the assist, Bedard registered his second mutiple-point game since returning from his injury.

Third period

The Hawks tried to make a valiant comeback. Bedard missed a golden opportunity in the period to tie the game.

https://t.co/DzdOlsO5rI pic.twitter.com/q9vWmiM0dy

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 31, 2026

Coyle finished off his hat trick with an empty-net goal to seal the Jackets’ victory at 4-2.

Analysis

Despite being visibly frustrated after the game, Bedard is starting to heat up offensively. He now has three points in the last two games. The young forward needs to get back to his pre-injury production.

In addition to Beard heating up, Nazar might finally be returning to form. He also has three points in their last two games.

On the defensive side, Rinzel had a good game according to head coach Jeff Blashhill. Rinzel made less critical mistakes in his first game back up. Rinzel figures to get more minutes when the Hawks eventually trade Connor Murphy.

Spencer Knight enjoyed another solid performance in net.

The Blackhawks have two games left before the Olympic break. Their next game is Monday night against the San Jose Sharks at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Coyle’s hat trick lifts Blue Jackets over Blackhawks 4-2 appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Hawks played a sloppy opening frame. Although Connor Bedard had some moments, the Hawks were outplayed. Kent Johnson got Columbus on the board early with a goal. The first period ended with the Hawks trailing 1–0.

Second period

The second began with another Johnson power-play goal. With the Hawks down 2–0, Craig Smith tipped in an Alex Vlasic shot for the Hawks’ lone goal.

Craig Smith LOVES a good power play goal! pic.twitter.com/QofTMIncAH

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) February 23, 2025

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The Blue Jackets scored their third goal of the game on a shot from Denton Mateychuk. Petr Mrazek should have made the save on the Mateychuk shot. It was a poor night in net for Mrazek. The second period ended with the Hawks trailing 3–1.

Third period

Fresh off an impressive showing at the Four Nations Face-off, Zach Werenski buried a breakaway chance against Mrazek. Adam Fantilli added a goal to end the game. Columbus won 5–1.

Analysis

This game was unacceptable. Aside from Teuvo Teravainen, the team had two weeks off and they came out very sloppy. This is not just about coaching; it is about player motivation. Aside from Bedard, the young players on this team better bring a better effort on a nightly basis. It did not help that Mrazek had one of his worst performances of the season allowing five goals on 21 shots.

This game will mean very little in the long term. The biggest news of late is that Seth Jones has been vocal about being traded from the Blackhawks. Jones wants to play for a playoff team. His contract is going to make trading him to a contender challenging but not impossible. The expectation is that the Blackhawks will have conversations about moving Jones.

The Blackhawks play tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks back to reality, lose 5–1 to Columbus appeared first on The Rink.

First period

Connor Bedard opened the scoring 2:59 into the game when he beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for his fifth goal of the season. Bedard buried the goal after a nice dish from Ryan Donato found himself with the puck in front — something Donato does well for this team — took his time to gain possession and made a great backhand pass to Bedard.

Connor Bedard scores his second goal in three games and fifth of the season. He’s also on a three-game point streak. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/fK7LtyiJd8

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 1, 2024

In typical Chicago fashion, the lead did not last long, as Ivan Provorov scored his second goal of the season at the 4:27 mark as he beat Mrazek to tie the game at 1–1. Mrazek never saw the puck with a huge screen in front and the Chicago defense chasing the puck without success.

Kent Johnson would give Columbus a 2–1 lead with his sixth goal of the season. Johnson was allowed to skate in 1-on-5 and eventually found the puck back on his stick for a one-timer that beat a sliding Mrazek.

Second period

Chicago scored its second power-play goal of the game off a nifty tip from Craig Smith from a Taylor Hall pass that found a wide-open net to tie the game at 2–2. The tip-in was a thing of beauty, but as the theme of the Sunday matinee game went, the goal would be given right back a few moments later.

Craig Smith – Chicago Blackhawks (6)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/nI9g7FtADB

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 1, 2024

Columbus took the lead for good when Sean Monahan scored his eighth goal of the season on a wrist shot less than two minutes after the Blackhawks tied the game. Monahan beat Mrazek as he was on his knees, something he did a ton early, which opened up a ton of shooting lanes for the Blue Jackets all game, and Columbus led 3–2 at the end of the second frame.

Third period

Columbus would take a 4–2 lead at the 3:08 mark of the third period when Dante Fabbro scored his third goal of the season, beating Mrazek short side during a 4-on-4 after a nice job by Fabbro pulling the puck into his body and releasing a shot screened by Chicago defenseman Alec Martinez.

Chicago captain Nick Foligno would score seventh goal of the season at the 8:08 mark of the period for Chicago’s third goal on the power play to cut the Columbus lead to 4–3. Foligno tipped in a great pass from Teuvo Teravainen, who made a tic-tac-toe pass from Bedard, who found Foligno standing just outside the crease for the tap in on the two-man advantage.

Nick Foligno – Chicago Blackhawks (7)
Power Play Goal pic.twitter.com/4PQRnxL1du

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalVideos) December 1, 2024

Columbus would finish off the home team with an unassisted goal from Kirill Marchekno and an empty-net goal from Dmitri Voronkov as the home team skated off the ice to an empty home crowd in a 6–3 loss.

Analysis

Bedard got things going early with a goal and added an assist, which makes two goals and two assists in his last three games. The 19-year-old played 23:17 minutes of ice time and finished the game a -4. In his last three contests, Bedard has fired 11 shots on goal after back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Florida in which he was held without any.

Mrazek spent most of the game looking around Columbus forwards in front of the net with no one there to move them or on his knees opening up shooting lanes for easy goals. The 32-year-old veteran has shown glimpses of hope in net only to find himself back on the struggle bus.

The Chicago defense as a whole was horrible. The combination of Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy having a terrible game is not good news when Wyatt Kaiser and TJ Brodie are your stars on the back end for the contest, and they did nothing significant. Add in the fact that most of the Blackhawks’ forwards cannot defend the neutral zone or their own end at a NHL-level talent and that was a recipe for disaster for the defense as a whole.

Chicago (8–14–2) skates in Ontario tonight to face the Toronto Maple Leafs (14–7–2) for a 6:30 p.m. CST puck drop which can be seen on CHSN.

The post RECAP: Three power play goals not enough as Chicago falls to Columbus 6–3 appeared first on The Rink.

Here is the lineup the Hawks rolled out.

#Blackhawks lineup vs. Blue Jackets:
Donato-Bedard-Kurashev
Blackwell-Dickinson-Anderson
Foligno-T. Johnson-Raddysh
Katchouk-Beauvillier-R. Johnson

Vlasic-Jones
Korchinski-Megna
Phillips-Crevier

Söderblom
Mrazek

Extras: Entwistle, Sanford, Tinordi

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 3, 2024

The Hawks made some changes to their lineup. Anthony Beauvillier went from the first line to the fourth line and Ryan Donato was moved up to Connor Bedard’s wing. In addition, Petr Mrazek got a rare night off and Arvid Soderblom made his 21st start of the season.

First period

The Blue Jackets got on the board early with a goal from Alexandre Texier. Seth Jones committed an egregious turnover in his own zone that directly led to the goal. The Texier goal was scored a little more than 30 seconds into the game.

The Blue Jackets were not done in the first period. With under 10 minutes to play in the period, Boone Jenner potted the second Blue Jackets goal for a 2–0 lead.

The Blackhawks did cut the deficit in half with a goal from Philipp Kurashev.

Ryan Donato to Connor Bedard to Philipp Kurashev, who scores his 10th goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/rj7uLnJYf1

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 3, 2024

The first period ended with Hawks trailing 2–1.

Second period

The Blue Jackets scored two more goals to put the game out of reach. Mathieu Olivier scored the first goal 3:09 into the second period. Cole Sillinger recorded his 11th goal of the season to give the Jackets a 4–1 lead. The Sillinger goal was assisted by former Blackhawks disappointments Alexander Nylander and Adam Boqvist. Nylander was acquired by the Blue Jackets a few weeks ago.

Third period

In the third period, Kurashev had a breakaway opportunity that did not land on net but it rebounded off the boards to Ryan Donato, who scored the goal.

Ryan Donato scores his seventh goal of the season. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/VY36ERX6Ti

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 3, 2024

Columbus scored an empty-net goal to make the final score 5–2.

Analysis

The losing this season has taken a toll on the Blackhawks, and the team did not show up to play in this game. The team was sloppy and disinterested for most of the night. Despite all of the losing the last two seasons, Luke Richardson has had his guys ready to play most nights. He now faces his toughest test as the Blackhawks’ head coach, as he has to try and motivate a demoralized and under-talented team to play hard for the final 21 games.

The struggles of Arvid Soderblom continued yet again. As I said in a previous recap, the Soderblom experiment is over in my mind. He is now 0–12–1 in his last 13 starts and has not won a game since Nov. 24. He has only allowed less than three goals in just four appearances this seasons. Since his last win, he has not allowed less than three goals in any start.

Bedard continues to take a beating on the ice. Against Colorado, he was slashed with no call, and in Saturday’s contest, he was cross-checked in the back into another defenseman on the Kurashev goal. The NHL and the referees better get the whistles out of their pockets if they want the league’s brightest young star to continue to play this season.

The lone bright spot on the night was the continued to play of Kursahev. He was instrumental in both Hawks goals and was named the second star of the game. In a season with many disapointments, Kurashev continues to provide a little bit of light.

The Blackhawks’ next game is against the Avalanche in Colorado on Monday at 8 p.m. CST.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks fall 5–2 to Blue Jackets appeared first on The Rink.

Columbus opened the scoring at the 2:57 mark of the first when Boone Jenner scored his team-leading ninth of the season. Jenner retrieved the puck behind the net and banked it in off Mrazek to give the Jackets a 1–0 lead.

Erik Gudbranson gave the Jackets a 2–0 lead on a 95.2 mph slap shot from the left circle, as the Hawks were caught running around their own zone. For Gudbranson, it was his second of the season at 6:45 of the first.

The Hawks fell into a 3–0 hole when Jenner scored his second of the game and 10th of the season on the power play at the 13:55 mark. Jenner accepted a pass while standing with his back toward Mrazek then whipped a backhand shot that went in.

Bedard got the Hawks on the board and back in the game with his 10th of the season. Bedard skated in on the rush and used a pinching Isaak Phillips as a decoy and snapped a twisted wrister over Merzlikins’ glove and just under the crossbar. The goal cut the deficit to 3–1 at 15:40 and it would stay that way through 20 minutes.

CONNOR BEDARD WHAT A SHOT pic.twitter.com/L2rNApEelt

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 23, 2023

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In the second frame, Columbus regained their three-goal lead when Cole Sillinger tipped a Zach Werenski shot from the left circle at 7:32 for his first goal of the season. The assist for Werenski was his third of the game to give Columbus a 4–1 advantage.

Columbus continued its offensive barrage at 12:15 of the second when Dimitri Voronkov scored his third of the season to extend the Jackets’ lead to 5–1. The Jackets won a face-off then Werenski shot the puck from the left circle and Mrazek made the save, but the puck went right to Voronkov on the doorstep, who tapped it in to a wide-open net. Chalk up assist No. 4 in the game for Werenski. The goal would end Mrazek’s night, as he was replaced by Arvid Soderblom.

The Columbus offensive onslaught continued following a Hawks power play that came up empty. Former Blackhawk Adam Boqvist made a sharp cross-ice pass to Kirill Marchenko, who scored his fifth of the season off his skate to give Columbus a 6–1 lead at the 16:28 mark of the second period.

Columbus converted the proverbial extra point with yet another cross-ice pass off the rush. This time, Fantilli found Patrik Laine, who swiped a backhand shot past Soderblom for his third of the season at 18:40 to give Columbus a 7–1 lead, which was the score after two periods.

At 6:06 of the third, Jason Dickinson stole a pass in the slot and a shot on net was stopped by Merzlikins, who left a juicy rebound that Dickinson pounced on for this third of the season. The Hawks now trailed 7–2.

pic.twitter.com/tVjwObLNbl

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 23, 2023

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With 1:19 left in the third, Ryan Donato poked in a rebound off a face-off and a goal-mouth scramble. For Donato, it was his fourth of the season to make the score 7–3, which would be the final.

Analysis

It was not a good night for the visitors, who have now lost five straight games to fall to 5–11–0 on the young season while Columbus ended a nine-game slide. Mrazek was not his reliable self, as he gave up a few soft goals and was eventually pulled after giving up five goals on 18 shots in just over 32 minutes. The defense was equally sloppy, as they allowed the Jackets easy entry into the Hawks’ zone and gave up several cross-ice passes, some of which would end up in the back of the net. And then there is the offense, which continues to struggle unless your name is Connor Bedard. It did not help that Taylor Hall missed yet another game with an injury, but even when he has played, goals have been few and far between. On the bright side, the combination of Bedard and Philipp Kurashev continues to work well. Kurashev finished with a team-high seven shots on goal; however, the Hawks clearly needs more offense from others throughout the lineup on a nightly basis.

The Blackhawks return to action on Friday with a matinee at the United Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is at 1 p.m. CST on NBCSCH and WGN Radio 720.

The post RECAP: Blue Jackets bury Blackhawks in Columbus appeared first on The Rink.

Alex Stalock returned to the Chicago lineup and played well. Not only did he stop 27 of 29 shots, but he should have had an assist on Taylor Raddysh’s early second-period goal. Stalock sent an outlet pass up the middle of the ice to Philipp Kurashev, which quickly went to Jonathan Toews and finally Raddysh, who beat Columbus goaltender Daniil Tarasov. Stalock is unconventional but entertaining and seems to get good results from his teammates in front of him.

The Blackhawks’ goals were from Patrick Kane, Max Domi, Andreas Athanasiou, Raddysh and Toews. Kane was on a bit of a bender and had not scored since Dec. 3 against the New York Rangers. He led the Blackhawks with seven shots on net and also had two assists to join Toews with three points apiece.

Rookie defenseman Issac Phillips and Connor Murphy each had a plus-two on the night, which is promising for the future of the Blackhawks’ depth defenders.

A win is a win, but the Blackhawks ran out of steam early in the second period and were heavily outplayed. They got themselves back together for the third period, though, and rode that out for the win.

Former Blue Jackets Max Domi (one goal, one assist) and Seth Jones had two and zero points, respectively, while former Blackhawks defenseman Adam Boqvist returned to the lineup after a 24-game injury hiatus to play 20:09 (3:56 on the power play) with two shots on net.

The Blackhawks will take a few days off to enjoy the holiday and then head to Carolina to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. CST.

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Dec. 23 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Jackets struck first on the power play when Jakub Voracek one-timed a shot from the left face-off circle, which Soderblom stopped but left a juicy rebound. Columbus captain Boone Jenner tapped in the loose puck for his 20th of the season at 6:58.

Thirteen seconds later, the Jackets capitalized on an Erik Gustafsson turnover to take a 2–0 lead. Gustav Nyquist intercepted the puck and found rookie Yegor Chinakhov streaking down the right side, and he fired a wrist shot past Soderblom for his sixth of the season.

The Blackhawks cut the lead to 2–1 when Philipp Kurashev tallied his fourth of the season on the power play. On the right half boards, Kirby Dach fed Dominik Kubalik on the opposite side, who fired a shot-pass for Kurashev to redirect on the back door at the 10:24 mark.

The Hawks tied it at two at 14:21 when Brett Connolly found Ryan Carpenter, who skated in alone through the middle of the ice and beat Merzlikins for his first of the season.

The offensive fireworks did not end there. At 16:55, Max Domi broke the tie with his ninth of the season when he skated in alone through the left face-off circle and snapped one over the right shoulder of Soderblom. The Jackets finished a wild first with a 3–2 lead and led the Hawks in shots on goal 16–11.

Second period

It only took nine seconds for Columbus to regain a two-goal lead. Patrik Laine picked off a Calvin de Haan pass on the half wall and sniped a wrist shot that was initially waved off, however, the replay in Toronto confirmed the puck completely crossed the goal line, so Laine was awarded his 14th of the season. For the Blue Jackets, the goal was the fastest to start a period in team history, breaking the previous mark of 10 seconds set by Cam Atkinson.

With just under two minutes left, the Blackhawks, who were sluggish on both ends of the ice in the middle frame, cut the deficit to 4–3 on MacKenzie Entwistle’s fifth of the season. De Haan slapped a one-timer that bounced around toward the net and Entwistle tapped it in on the doorstep.

Despite the struggles, the Hawks outshot the Jackets 10–8 in the middle frame but trailed 24–21 after 40 minutes.

Third period

At 7:58 of the period, Josiah Slavin lost a face-off to Jenner and the red-hot Laine snapped one past Soderblom from the top of the right circle for his second of the game and 15th of the season to give Columbus a 5–3 advantage. For Laine, it was his fourth multi-goal game in his last seven contests.

The Hawks were not going down quietly, though, as exactly one minute later, Patrick Kane backhanded a pass from behind the net to Alex DeBrincat in the slot, who saw his initial shot get stopped but then poked in his own rebound for his 29th of the season. The Hawks trailed 5–4 with the tally.

At 11:57, Columbus regained a two-goal lead when a Connor Murphy turnover led to some extended zone time for the visitors, and, eventually, Oliver Bjorkstrand’s shot from the slot through traffic found the back of the net to give the Jackets a 6–4 advantage. For Bjorkstrand, it was his 15th of the season and third in his last four games.

The Hawks would pull their goaltender with three minutes to play and got a power play, but had nothing to show for it despite some good looks. Laine would complete the hat trick with an empty net marker with 4.7 seconds left for his 16th of the season to wrap up a 7–4 win for the visitors.

Columbus outshot Chicago 13–11 in the third and 37–32 for the game.

The good, the bad, the ugly

The good

Ryan Carpenter: The Hawks’ fourth-line center recently expressed his desire to contribute more offensively and he did just that with a two-point night, including his first goal of the season on a breakaway. Carpenter had a few other offensive chances in what was likely his best game of the season.

The bad

Kirby Dot…errr Dach: Pun intended, Dach was awful in the face-off circle yet again despite saying he believes he has been better and we should not look at the numbers. How do you not notice an 11% winning percentage in the dot, Kirby?

The ugly

The Blackhawks’ defense: Three turnovers by Hawks defenders directly led to three Columbus goals. On Domi’s breakaway goal, the Blackhawks were caught out of position following a Kubalik turnover in the neutral zone. On the Jackets’ sixth goal, a Murphy turnover kept the Hawks pinned in their own zone. It was a rough game defensively for the Hawks, especially with Soderblom playing just his third NHL game.

Analysis

The Hawks found themselves in an early hole and had to play catch-up most of the way. While they were able to tie it in the first, multiple defensive breakdowns by the Hawks led to Columbus goals and it was too much to overcome. This is not a game where you would point the finger at the rookie goaltender, but instead the team in front of him, which was flat out bad defensively. The Hawks continue this home stand on Friday night against the division rival Dallas Stars. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CST on NBCSCH with the radio call on WGN 720.

The post Blue Jackets defeat Blackhawks behind Laine’s hat trick appeared first on The Rink.

The Blue Jackets are coming off a 4–3 win at home against the New Jersey Devils and are looking to end a five-game losing streak to the Hawks. In goal, the Hawks started Marc-Andre Fleury following an emotional win in his return to Vegas over the weekend, while the Jackets went with Joonas Korpisalo between the pipes.

First period

After a sluggish start by both teams, Columbus struck first at the 12:51 mark. Off a face-off win, the Jackets maintained possession with Gustav Nyquist skating behind the net then back in front, where he found Boone Jenner, who tapped in his 14th of the season from the doorstep to give the home team a 1–0 lead.

The Hawks tied it 24 seconds later when Stillman intercepted a Columbus clearing attempt and fired a slap pass from the right point to the left side of the net, where a wide-open Alex DeBrincat shot one past Korpisalo. For “The Cat,” it was his 22nd of the season and his fifth goal in his last five games.

After 20 minutes, the Hawks and Jackets were knotted at 1–1. Despite not registering a shot on goal until nearly midway through the period, the Hawks managed to catch up and tie the Jackets in shots on goal at eight apiece.

Second period

At the 15:10 mark, Philipp Kurashev won a foot race down the ice past Jackets defenseman Jake Bean, not to be confused with Boqvist, and then found Calvin de Haan skating in alone on the right wing, who fired home his first goal of the season to give the Hawks a 2–1 lead.

For the second, the Hawks registered just three shots versus eight for the Jackets, who led the Hawks in shots on goal 16–11 through two periods.

Third period

Clinging to a one-goal lead, the Hawks added an insurance tally early in the period. From behind the net, Patrick Kane found DeBrincat in the left circle, who fed a pinching Connor Murphy in the right circle, and he slapped one past a sprawling Koprisalo. For Murphy, a native of Dublin, Ohio, the goal was his third of the season at the 6:36 mark.

With the Hawks nursing a two-goal lead, they were awarded a power play with just under three minutes left in regulation. While taking their time up the ice to drain the clock, the Hawks gave up a 2-on-1 break, with Nyquist firing his eighth of the season past Fleury for a shorthanded goal to cut the Blackhawks’ advantage to 3–2 at the 18:39 mark.

When the power play expired, Columbus pulled Korpisalo for an extra attacker to try to get the equalizer, but the Hawks answered. DeBrincat had a step on two Columbus defenders and fired the puck wide, but “The Cat” pounced on the rebound off the boards for his second of the game and 23rd of the season with 15 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 4–2 lead. Chicago held on for its seventh straight win over the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. In the third, Columbus had a 10–9 edge in shots on goal and finished with a 26–20 advantage for the game.

The good, the bad, the ugly

The good

Jakub Galvas: It was a strong debut for the 22-year-old from the Czech Republic, who was second among all Hawks defenseman in minutes played (23:41), including some time on the first power play unit. He certainly looked the part, as he was poised and responsible defensively while showing he is more than capable of running the point with the man advantage.

Riley Stillman: Paired with Galvas, Stillman was strong in all three zones. Not known as an offensive threat, Stillman registered two assists and now has a career-high seven helpers for the season. With the defense missing a few regulars, the Hawks needed Stillman to step up, and he responded.

The bad

The Hawks’ power play: Two words: Not good. In their first three opportunities with the man advantage, which entered the game ranked 18th in the NHL, the Blackhawks generated just two shots on goal. During their fourth power play chance late in the game, they gave up a shorty. Perhaps this was a symptom of playing without Jones, but simply put (and stating the obvious), the Hawks need to find ways to get more pucks on net.

The ugly

The Hawks’ 5-on-5 play: This remains a major issue just like the last several seasons. Despite the Hawks winning the game, the Jackets had a clear edge in 5-on-5 play. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Columbus had the advantage at even strength in CF/CA (41–23), shots on goal (21–15) and scoring chances (21–11), however, on a positive note, the Hawks limited Columbus to just five high-danger scoring chances.

Analysis

The Blackhawks won despite playing without two of their top four defensemen, but credit the six blueliners who did suit up, as they battled all night. The Hawks won the final two outings of their three-game road trip and now head home to play their next two at United Center, beginning Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. CST on NBCSCH with the radio call on WGN 720.

The post Blackhawks swat Blue Jackets in 4–2 win appeared first on The Rink.

Since the Blackhawks did not practice on Sunday, they were not required to announce any additions to the COVID-19 protocol. With a Blackhawks practice scheduled for Monday, the expectation is that several more players will be added to the protocol. This postponement now gives the Blackhawks four home games they need make up in February.

In addition to the Blackhawks game being canceled, the league already canceled 14 other games for Monday. To combat the recent outbreaks of COVID-19, the NHL has reinstituted stricter masking rules and social distancing protocols. The NHL also temporarily brought back taxi squads, through the February break. Teams can assign up to six players to the squad at one time and a player can stay on the taxi squad for a maximum of 20 days. With the taxi squad and stricter mitigation methods in place, hopefully, the NHL will not have to continue to postpone games.

The Blackhawks’ next game is scheduled for Wednesday in Winnipeg, however, crossing the Canadian border with a recent covid outbreak could pose an issue. We will have to wait and see if or when the Blackhawks resume their season.

COVID-19 Protocal Updates

Early this morning, the Blackhawks announced that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has entered COVID-19 protocol, defenseman Calvin de Haan has been removed from protocol, forward Brett Connelly has been assigned to the taxi squad and goaltender Collin Delia has been recalled from Rockford.

MEDICAL UPDATE: Marc-Andre Fleury will not practice today (COVID-19 Protocol).

Defenseman Calvin de Haan has been removed from COVID-19 Protocol. pic.twitter.com/vupQSbISpS

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 27, 2021

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Sunday, Jan. 31: Hawks win 3–1 behind Kane, Kurashev

With Kevin Lankinen back in net, the rookie stopped 32 of 33 shots against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Patrick Kane and Philipp Kurashev each had a goal and an assist to lead the offense. Pius Suter added his fourth goal of the season, and Mattias Janmark added two assists.

Tuesday, Feb. 2: Hawks lose 4–3 in shootout vs. Carolina

Lankinen was in the net once again, making 37 saves in the loss to the Hurricanes. Kurashev, Kane and Dylan Strome each scored a goal for the Hawks. Dominik Kubalik and Alex DeBrincat both added two assists. Lankinen made a point-blank save with seconds left in overtime to send the game to a shootout. The Hawks went 0-for-3 in the shootout. Andrei Svechnikov scored the lone goal of the shootout for the Hurricanes.

Thursday, Feb 4: Hawks’ special teams lead the way in 6–4 victory

Lankinen made his fifth straight start in net for the Hawks, making 30 saves against the Hurricanes. The Blackhawks’ special teams were the bright spot during this game. The penalty kill negated all four opportunities for Carolina and Chicago scored three power play goals out of five chances. All three power play goals came in the first period. Janmark, Kubalik and Andrew Shaw all tallied the goals for the Hawks in the first frame. The Hurricanes scored two goals, just eight seconds apart, in the early going of the second period to tie the game at 3–3. The Hawks then exploded for another three goals in the third to secure the victory. DeBrincat scored twice, including the empty netter at the end to seal the win. Kane tallied one goal and three assists for his 14th career four-point game. Kane now has 1,037 career points, which moves him into sixth place among U.S.-born players.

Patrick Kane (1-3—4) recorded his 14th career four-point game as the @NHLBlackhawks improved to 4-1-1 at home in 2020-21. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/0NDvtiDoGK

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2021

Going forward

It looks like Lankinen has taken over as the No. 1 goalie—for now. He has started in the last five games in a row for the Hawks. The defense has been allowing a lot of shots the past three games, 33, 41 and 34, respectively. Lankinen has been standing tall so far, getting a lot of work in the crease with that many shots coming his way.

Next week, the Hawks travel to Dallas for two games against the Stars. Then they come back home for two more games against Columbus.

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Ahead of Tuesday, the Hawks would learn that they would be without defenseman Adam Boqvist and forward Alex DeBrincat for at least two weeks, as both players were added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. In Nashville, the offense sputtered, and they were generally outplayed by the Predators. The Hawks were outshot 81–50 in the two-game set.

Tuesday, Jan. 26: Subban steals a point

On Tuesday night, the Hawks jumped out to a 1–0 lead when Dylan Strome scored on the power play at 2:59 of the first period. The tally marked the Hawks seventh straight game in which they scored a power play goal. Hawks netminder Malcolm Subban was brilliant in the first frame, turning aside all 17 shots he faced.

After the Predators tied the game early in the second period, gritty forward Mattias Janmark sprinted in on a breakaway and fired a wrist short past Pekka Rinne to make it 2–1 Chicago at 11:43 of the second period.

The Predators tied it in the third period, and in overtime, a defensive miscue from the often-inconsistent Dylan Strome led to the overtime winner by Roman Josi. Subban registered 36 saves in the 3–2 overtime loss.

Wednesday, Jan 27: Strong in net, lacking in offense…again

Wednesday night appeared to be a carbon copy of the previous game. The Hawks played with more purpose and better tenacity, but created little in terms of offense. The Hawks’ lone marker came at 9:24 of the third when fourth-line grinder Ryan Carpenter banged home his own rebound off a Brandon Hagel feed. The helper marked Hagel’s first career NHL point.

Kevin Lankinen took the shootout loss, but earned his stripes yet again with 41 saves on the night.

Friday, Jan 29: Chances but no finish

The return to the United Center did not start well for the Hawks. After a failed man advantage of their own early in the first period, the Hawks surrendered the first goal of the game while a man down. Oliver Bjorkstrand drilled a one-timer from the left circle gave the Blue Jackets a 1–0 lead at 8:53 of the first period.

The Blue Jackets doubled their money in the second period making it 2–0, but the Hawks generated a lot of the action early in the period. On the power play, Strome was able to cash in from the front of the net off a great feed from Patrick Kane at 10:47 of the period to cut the margin to 2–1. The Hawks were outshooting the Jackets 23–15 at the end of the second.

The Hawks pressed late in the third period and both Kane and Carl Soderberg had grade-A chances as the game wound down, but neither could not find the equalizer. The game would end 2–1 in favor of the visitors. Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo was spectacular, stopping 31 of 32 shots faced on the night, many of which robbing surefire tallies for the Blackhawks.

Here we are: State of affairs

In the absence of DeBrincat, Jonathan Toews, Kirby Dach and to a certain extent Alexander Nylander, it is no surprise that the Hawks are having difficulty finding consistent offense. Four goals over the last three games is certainly not a recipe for winning hockey. Kane can only do so much, Strome brought it on Friday, but is not dependable on a nightly basis, Dominik Kubalik is learning about life in the NHL without Toews and Brandon Saad and the rest of the group is either young and inexperienced or stylistically better suited in checking roles.

To date, the fourth line has done their job. Hagel, Carpenter, David Kampf and Matthew Highmore (when on that line) understand their roles and provide much-needed stability considering the deck will often be shuffled on the first three lines.

And in a somewhat unexpected twist, the defense and goaltending has been a positive for the team in the last few games. Since their tough start, the Hawks have given eight goals in regulation time over their last five games. Love him or hate him, this is the best Connor Murphy has played in a Blackhawk uniform and Calvin de Haan has also been solid. Nicolas Beaudin and Lucas Carlsson have factored into the lineup the last two games and have not been overly noticeable, but that is a good sign. They have been steady and that is what they need to be. Ian Mitchell is still learning on the fly, and while you can still expect mistakes from him in his young career, he will continue to get better. While Boqvist has this time to get healthy and reflect, hopefully it will also give the coaching staff time to evaluate what they have and do not have on their blue line. Ultimately, if this means some much-needed time in Rockford for Boqvist to work on his game, then so be it.

Adam Boqvist’s long-term game could benefit from some time in Rockford. (Photograph courtesy of Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)

All signs are pointing towards Lankinen being the No. 1 goalie this season, and thus far he has earned it. With a .931 save percentage heading into the Columbus game and points in his first four starts, he has certainly earned it. Time will tell if the rookie can maintain his hot start, but thus far, he has been nothing short of impressive, despite the loss to the Jackets.

The Hawks are what they are. They will be rebuilding for the foreseeable future. As the season wears on and the schedule continues to get tougher and more competitive, one should forecast for the Hawks to be outside the playoff picture. How far outside is anyone’s guess right now, but a lottery pick is still a possibility. That said, while you should limit your expectations for a “successful” season from this group, it is okay to enjoy and follow the growth of some of their young players. Hopefully they will get back in the win column on Sunday.

The post RECAP: Blackhawks go winless in three-game week appeared first on The Rink.

Cannon just went off. Couldn’t help but think I should’ve brought hearing protection with Gustafson starting. #TheRinkAtTheRink #CBJ #CBH pic.twitter.com/RZKoIGNZvh

— John Jaeckel (@jaeckel) December 29, 2019

At the second intermission, the Hawks were down 2-0 and had registered an anemic 12 shots on goal. That “lovable” Erik Gustafsson, pressed into playing bigger and more important situational minutes in the absences of Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta and Brent Seabrook, had made an inexplicably bad play from behind his own net that led directly to the second Columbus goal.

But the Hawks came out in the third and decided to make a game of it—and they did—first when Dylan Strome tipped a Connor Murphy point shot past Joonas Korpisalo, and then in the waning moments of the third when “Gus” gained a measure of redemption by blasting one over Korpisalo’s shoulder, pushing the game to OT.

The Hawks had some chances in OT, thanks mostly to a Columbus high sticking call, but they failed to convert, and the game went to a shootout. While Robin Lehner had been strong really all night to that point, the Chicago faithful—well represented in Cbus tonight—were on pins and needles for the one real flaw in Lehner’s game: the shootout.

That’s not even fair, Patrick Kane (@88PKane). pic.twitter.com/Aa0qImS7WK

— NHL (@NHL) December 30, 2019

First, Lehner made a save on Pierre-Luc Dubois. and Jonathan Toews beat Korpisalo—with the starting CBJ netminder coming up lame, which forced Elvis Merzlikins (yes, a dude named Elvis, who is also named Merzlikins) to warm up. Then Lehner was cleanly beaten by Gus Nyquist. But the shootout, and the game, ended when Patrick Kane went forehand/backhand and roofed one over Merzlikins—who had to know that was exactly what Kane was going to do—and still couldn’t stop it.

The Blackhawks quite fortunately picked up two points in this game, albeit against a Columbus team with nearly as many injuries as Chicago has.

It’s nice to see the Hawks, as banged up and, well, crappy as they are picking up two straight wins. But is anyone out there getting excited again about this team? Share your thoughts on our message board below.

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