The Blackhawks dropped the ball last night in Vegas, losing 5-2 to the defending Western Conference champions. There are plenty of things the Blackhawks could have done better, plenty of individual performances that left me wanting more, but there were also a few bright spots.
Let’s start with a positive, Spencer Knight. Knight’s numbers on paper don’t look amazing as he logged an .889 save percentage, allowing four goals on 36 shots. However, I would attribute that more to the team in front of him rather than his individual play.
There were moments in this game where Vegas could have opened the flood gates, perhaps leading to a seven or eight spot against the Blackhawks, but Knight came up huge. He made two incredible odd-man rush saves when his team was on the powerplay, but kept turning the puck over upon entry.
That leads me to the first negative, the powerplay. The Blackhawks had two powerplays this game, scoring on zero of them. In fact, the Blackhawks only had two shots on the powerplay all game, plus a one attempt off the post from Patrick Kane.
The issue with the powerplay remains the same as last season, the zone entry. Powerplay coach Mike Vellucci is insistent on the push back entry, which has not worked consistently for the Blackhawks at any point. Adding Patrick Kane and Bowen Byram help with that, but we didn’t see it tonight. Too many times the defenseman came up the ice posing zero threat, allowing Vegas to read the drop pass and get in the way.
Once the Blackhawks are in zone, however, they can look dangerous. The second powerplay had some consistent movement in the third period.
The much anticipated Bowen Byram debut did not go how many pictured it would, especially after the hattrick in his unofficial debut. Byram led the team in time on ice with 25:08, was a -2, and had zero shots on goal. Notably, he also didn’t play a second on the penalty kill.
The fourth line of Cole Smith, Ryan Greene, and Jordan Greenway was pretty much the only line for Chicago that was consistent through the entire game. Greenway scored in the second to get the Hawks on the board. The line was dangerous offensively at times, physical, and overall relatively safe. If your fourth line is your best, however, you probably aren’t winning the game.
Forward Andrew Mangiapane also left the game early in the second period and did not return. Jeff Blashill confirmed Mangiapane will not play the rest of the road trip. expect Teuvo Teravainen to slot in.
To end on a good note, Patrick Kane scored a beautiful goal in his first game back in a Hawks jersey. His goal moved the Hawks within one in the third, however, Vegas struck back 39 seconds later to re-take the two goal lead. That was a theme in this game, anytime the Hawks got momentum, which they did a few times, Vegas took it right back.
Patrick Kane had a decent game, he showed he still has it and that he can be a contributor on this team.
All in all, it’s the first game of the season, the Hawks are young, have plenty of new faces, and started on the road against a good team. Give them time to settle in, this team is better than it was last year.
