Blackhawks Recap: Patrick Kane Red Wings flatten Hawks in Motor City

The Blackhawks made a brief stop in Detroit to face the Red Wings on Friday night, looking to win their second game in a row. The Wings had a five-game win streak on the line, while Connor Bedard was looking to extend his eight-game point streak.

Game Summary

After Teuvo Terävävainen and Taylor Hall failed to shoot on good looks, Alex DeBrincat gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead with his 18th goal of the season 4:26 into the period. Hall left for a line change, leaving Alex Vlasic and TJ Brodie to defend a Red Wings 4-on-2. During the intermission report, Tony Granato said that the defense was counting on Hall for coverage on that play, but he opted to change instead.

4:06 later, Detroit would head to the power play after a Ryan Donato trip. The Hawks would kill the advantage, and Donato would waste no time tying the game. Seconds after leaving the penalty box, he took a perfect pass on the tape from Bedard and one-timed it past Red Wings’ goalie Cam Talbot.

With Bedard taking a late first-period penalty, the Hawks would begin the second on the penalty kill, and Detroit would score quickly. Vlasic advanced the puck up the boards to Jason Dickinson, who, instead of clearing the zone, tried to force the puck back to Vlasic in the middle of the ice. The pass was immediately intercepted, and in the back of the Blackhawks net after Lucas Raymond buried a pass from DeBrincat. Vlasic could have been a little more conservative and stayed back on the play, but from my view, it looked like such an easy clear, Vlasic was probably looking to change. The fact that he was surprised by the pass would also indicate he was caught off guard and wasn’t simply thinking offense.

Judge for yourself…

The Red Wings held an 11-1 second-period shot advantage 11 minutes into the frame, indicative of the play. Chicago had 13 giveaways at that point in the game, and it only got worse. The Hawks were outshot 17-2 in the period.

It was the worst period of the season by a wide margin, but somehow, the score was still 2-1 when the third period began. It was a literal miracle, and I’m using “literal” literally.

The Detroit onslaught would continue as Andrew Copp made it 3-1 Detroit 5:00 into the third. Kane picked up his third assist of the night on the goal, adding insult to injury.

Two minutes later, it was 4-1 on a nice one-timer by Albert Johansson. At least Kane didn’t get an assist on that one.

Teräväinen would cut the Wings’ lead in half after roofing a nice backhander after a laser pass from Nolan Allan. Colton Dach got the secondary assist and his second NHL point.

Interim head coach Anders Sorensen pulled the goalie with 3:46 to go, and Teräväinen got his second goal in just over six minutes, and the Hawks were within one. However, Detroit would put the final nail in the coffin when Marco Kasper scored into the empty net with 1:39 to go.

Detroit wins 5-3.

Jay’s Final Thoughts

• Donato scored a goal and had seven of the Blackhawks’ 15 shots on goal. Last month, I wrote about the Hawks re-signing him, and I stand by it. He’s one of the few veterans on this team who brings it every game. Reward him, and send a message to the team that effort and execution get rewarded.

• Speaking of veterans, two of the game’s biggest mistakes came from two of the guys we expect better from. Hall’s early line change and Dickinson’s shorthanded turnover put the Hawks behind the eight-ball.

• Go watch that Ben Pope video of Philipp Kurashev again. I said it in the postgame show, and now that I’ve had a few minutes to settle down, I still believe it. Waive him. Send a message. Here’s a guy in a contract year who has been healthy scratched for four consecutive games, and he pulls the old “dead controller defense.” That play alone tells me everything I need to know about his desire to be a Blackhawk. Maybe he’d prefer to be an IceHog. Accommodate him and reward Landon Slaggert or Cole Guttman for their efforts in Rockford. “[We] expect more,” Sorensen said after the game. Should you, though, coach?

• Darren Pang made an observation during the Blackhawks’ disastrous second period. “The Hawks keep trying to push things in the middle of the zone. Keep the puck. Keep it going around the boards.” Pang mentioned that Seth Jones said they had success hanging on to the puck and not turning the puck over in their win over Colorado. “I didn’t think our defenseman didn’t support each other very well,” assistant coach Kevin Dean said after the period. “We had a lot of room for improvement. Let’s put it that way.”

Nuggets and Timbits

• With his assist (the 99th point of his career) on Donato’s first-period goal, Bedard moves into second place all-time for a Blackhawks teenager with 66 assists, passing Kane.

• The assist also extended Bedard’s point streak to nine games (4 G – 8 A).

• The Blackhawks were credited with 23 giveaways in the loss.

• Kurashev returned to the lineup for the first time in four games. The Blackhawks were credited with 23 giveaways in the loss. There is a 0.0000001% chance he plays Saturday vs Edmonton.

• TJ Brodie entered the game with 299 career assists. He got his first NHL assist (on a Lee Stempniak goal) vs Corey Crawford and the Blackhawks.

• Tyler Bertuzzi cut his hair. While his long-haired look ruled, Bertuzzi donates his locks to Wigs for Kids when he returns to Detroit. This is the third consecutive year he’s made the gesture.

• I’m about to share something horrifying. Proceed with caution. In the second period, the Red Wings had a 32-2 shot attempt advantage. That is not a typo. 32-2. That’s a 5.88 Corsi percentage for Chicago. At least their two shot attempts ended up on goal.

Get Chicago's Best Sports Content In Your Inbox!Become a smarter Chicago sports fan with the latest game recaps, analysis and exclusive content from CHGO’s writers and podcasters!

Just drop your email below!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Sign Up Now!

66731