5 Thoughts: Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins

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Jim
October 12, 2023 (11:17)

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The Blackhawks lost to the Bruins, 3-1.

1. Bedard's First Goal - Connor Bedard officially scored his first NHL goal in his second career game. Bedard did a nice little behind the back pass to Ryan Donato. Bedard found a hole and bursted through it, and Donato found him. Connor then took a shot through traffic, thinking maybe it'll slip in. It didn't, however, the puck bounced around the boards. Hall was locked up with someone else, so Connor swooped back, picked it up, and laid a good end-around goal on the best goalie in the league last year, Linus Ullmark.

2. Arvid Soderblom: Arvid played an amazing game, just like Mrazek did last night. The Hawks were outshot 21 to 34, which killed them in the end. Soderblom made 31 saves (not counting empty netter, so out of 33 shots). It's just whenever Boston had the puck, they marched it right down the ice and Chicago found themselves in a pickle every time, as either the defense or Soderblom were forced to make a play. And just like Mrazek, he made multiple amazing saves. Goaltending might not be a problem this year.

3. Taylor Hall Injured - Hall took a hit from Brandon Carlo last night. After that, he was out for a few shifts but came back for one. After that one shift, Hall didn't come back. It was stated by Head Coach Luke Richardson after the game that Taylor is «week to week.» It's unfortunate because he and Bedard were actually doing a good job on the first line and were building some chemistry. Taylor has always had lingering injuries in his career. Hopefully he can get better soon and be back out on the ice as soon as possible.

4. Almost Connecting - Kevin Korchinski and Connor Bedard were both top 10 picks these last two years, and last night they almost connected on a 2-on-1. Bedard had the puck and was going up the ice. Korchinski met him and was ready for the one timer if needed. The only problem: they were going up against one of the best defenseman in the league, Charlie McAvoy. Bedard chipped it over to Korchinski. Korchinski then took a shot which was bound to go in, but McAvoy put a stick on it and redirected it to the left of the net. Blackhawk fans should be really excited about this, as the two of them, 18 and 19, are already showing a lot of promise.

5. The Puck is a Hot Potato - There are a lot of young guys on the defense. It's not a bad thing, there's just a lot of learning to be done on the back end. Well, one thing that should be addressed is the puck being treated like a hot potato between them. All of them when they get the puck are so quick to get it off their stick and don't actually think about what they're going to do. This leads to multiple interceptions and more offensive chances for Boston, as you saw the past couple nights against the Bruins and Penguins. The young d-men just need to work on that and start scanning the ice instead of panicking and trying to get the puck off of their stick.