Poor intensity and mistakes cost the Blackhawks in loss against Buffalo Sabres

Richardson felt that the first period end first half of the game was executed poorly by the Blackhawks and that the team struggled to get going well into the second period. The Blackhawks ended up out shooting the Sabres 37-22 and tide the game 2-2 at the 12 minute and 48 second mark when Craig Smith got his first and second goal of the season from Lukas Reichel, Seth Jones and Connor Murphy.

Reichel who has been in the doghouse of Richardson for the past couple of weeks gave his assessment of the game where he felt that his line forechecked hard and managed to score two goals but in the end they also gave up too which ended up costing the Blackhawks the game.

Many felt the Blackhawks would give a great effort after winning their last game against the San Jose Sharks. But like other games early on this season, the team fell flat and came up short which will be a potential common theme of this team unless Richardson and his staff can turn this around.

Though it's still quite early this season and many things can change over the next number of months, it seems a growing trend has begun and that the Blackhawks are coming up short in games where they might win. Mistakes continue to be made, and they need to be corrected which falls on the shoulders of the players and the coaching staff.

The Blackhawks next game will be on Tuesday October 22nd when the Blackhawks face off against the Vancouver Canucks. Game time will be 8:15 PM eastern.