5 Observations From Blackhawks' 3-1 Loss to the Islanders
1. Alex Stalock left the game less than 3-minutes into this one and did not return. Soderblom took over for the rest of the game and did well, surrendering just 2 goals on 30 shots. With Petr Mrazek still recovering from his groin injury, the Blackhawks may need to call on someone from Rockford to fill the void if Stalock has to miss some time during the team's upcoming road trip. Jaxson Stauber seems to be the most-likely candidate as he has done well in net since Soderblom's departure to Chicago.
2. The Blackhawks are missing Tyler Johnson and Seth Jones. Without the two in the lineup, the team's depth is taking a big hit. Tyler Johnson has done a great job on the bottom two lines creating plays and Seth Jones has done a great job on the defensive front. With Jones gone, there is depth taken away from the bottom couple lines and puck movement isn't the same without Johnson and Jones.
3. The PP and PK units are still hard to read for the Hawks. It was a poor night on the PP for the Hawks against the #1 PK unit in the league. It all started with a terrible 5-minute powerplay to open the game in which they managed just two shots on goal. After that they managed one goal in four attempts, but overall it was a poor night. The Islanders just set the record for most consecutive games without giving up a PP goal to open a season, with 8 games straight. We knew it would be a tough night for the PP unit, but it was completely ineffective for most of the PP time tonight.
4. Jonathan Toews remains hot to open the year. Following his goal late in the 3rd period, Toews extended his point streak to 6 games in a row. He has already reached half the amount of goals that he scored last year (12). His presence at the front of the net has been huge for the Blackhawks, as he put home the Hawks' lone goal tonight with a redirect in front of the net. It has been great to see this as the captain had struggled last year following his leave of absence to take care of his health.
5. Another good team, another tight loss. The Blackhawks have been playing great hockey since their 5-2 loss on opening night. With tonight's 3-1 loss, they now only have 2 losses in which they lost by more than 1 goal, and this one was 2-1 until a late empty netter. They have been in every game, besides one, against teams that are likely to make a push for the playoffs. Outside of the Aves, they have played well against the Knights, Oilers, Wild, Islanders, and Panthers. This game was dominated by the Islanders for the most part, but the Blackhawks didn't let things spiral out of control and they didn't give up easy looks. It was a well fought game against a team that was just better than them.
| POLL | ||
Was this a good game for the Hawks? | ||
| Yes | 27 | 40.9 % |
| No | 39 | 59.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
