Blackhawks Recap: McDavid Oilers too slick for Bedard, Blackhawks

After a disastrous performance Friday night in Detroit, Blackhawks interim head coach Anders Sorensen mixed up Saturday’s lineup in hopes of taking a win from Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Philipp Kurashev was scratched in favor of Lukas Reichel, who played right-wing on a line with Frank Nazar and Colton Dach. Teuvo Teräväinen skated with Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno, while Alec Martinez returned to the lineup, replacing Wyatt Kaiser.

Game Summary

The Blackhawks struck first when Teräväinen ripped a one-timer from Dickinson 4:45 into the game, but the goal doesn’t happen if Seth Jones doesn’t strip McDavid at the other end. McDavid was moving toward Arvid Söderblom’s net with speed, but Jones surgically plucked the puck away, sending the Hawks off the other way.

The Blackhawks would increase their lead when Foligno snuck a seemingly harmless ring-around play from Teräväinen behind Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.

The Hawks led 2-0 heading into the first intermission but had a solid first period in Detroit on Friday, only to get blitzed by the Wings in the second. Had they learned their lesson?

Edmonton, who entered the game with a +24 goal differential in the second period this season, got on the board 22 seconds into the frame. Ilya Mikheyev made a turnover at the Oilers blue line and the Oilers were off the other way. Vasily Podkolzin calmly deposited a puck behind Söderblom, who misread and overslid a centering pass from Viktor Arvidsson. It appeared that Söderblom was expecting a behind-the-net bank shot, but it never came. Söderblom lost his footing and overcommitted. It didn’t help that Connor Bedard tried to leave the zone too early, and Tyler Bertuzzi wasn’t able to get back in time to tie up Podkolzin.

Blackhawks legend and radio analyst Troy Murray made a great point in the second intermission. Mikheyev’s turnover was especially damaging in the context of the start of the period. The Hawks were up 2-0, and Mikheyev had the chance to make a simple play. Instead, he tried to force a play, and the Oilers immediately have momentum on their side.

Fortunately, the Blackhawks struck back. Nolan Allan found an open Ryan Donato in the slot. Donato turned and fired his 13th goal of the season past Skinner.

3-1 Chicago.

The Blackhawks barely survived a shift from the McDavid line after an icing call. The Dickinson line, which had drawn the McDavid matchup all game, was exhausted, and after an uncharacteristic missed shot by McDavid and a few great saves from Söderblom, the Hawks maintained the 3-1 lead.

With 4:11 left in the period, Adam Henrique cut the Chicago lead to 3-2 after deflecting a Ty Emberson shot past Söderblom.

The Oilers weren’t done. Corey Perry (of course) found a deflected puck, walked in on Söderblom, and wristed past him. There seemed to be a defensive miscommunication on the play, as Jones initially backed off of Perry. By the time he recognized the situation, it was too late.

Arvidsson took a whack at the puck at Söderblom’s feet as the horn sounded on the period. Louis Crevier responded with a crosscheck, sending Arvidsson to the ice. Crevier and Arvidsson were both tagged with slashing penalties, so the third period would begin four-on-four.

The third period began with a feeling of inevitability. The Oilers had all the momentum heading to intermission and would get a power play 6:18 into the frame. Sure enough, Zach Hyman scored his 14th goal of the season after a Leon Draisaitl shot rebounded right to Hyman in front. The Blackhawks we very passive on the penalty kill, which is somewhat understandable considering Edmonton had McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Evan Bouchard on the ice. Good luck!

Sorensen pulled Söderblom with 2:13 to go in the game. The Hawks got their first power play since the 16:05 mark of the second period in their win over Colorado when Bertuzzi drew a high stick from Henrique. They had 52.9 seconds to tie the game up. The Hawks got several great looks, and would take the final faceoff of the game with 5.6 seconds to go. Foligno would win the faceoff, but the puck eluded Bedard at the left point and escaped the zone.

Oilers win 4-3.

Jay’s Final Thoughts

• The TJ Brodie over Kaiser thing is a bit befuddling. Before the game, Sorensen said it was “performance-based,” but analytically, Kaiser had a better game than Brodie vs Detroit. I compared both players’ rates at 5v5 over the season, and they’re basically identical, with a slight edge to Kaiser. If that’s the case, why isn’t he the one playing? I’m all for a meritocracy, as long as it applies to everyone on the roster, not just the youths.

• I don’t want Blackhawks fans to start hating on Brodie the way they do on Jones and now, sadly, Artyom Levshunov. Brodie isn’t a complete zero defensively. Him and Kaiser are virtually the same. My point in illustrating his mistakes are more about the lack of justice in the lineup decisions. Brodie, and other vets, seems to be Teflon while Kaiser and other young players sit after a less-than-perfect game. My concern is diminished confidence from a young player trying to find his way in the NHL. It could be crushing if every mistake or misstep is met with a benching.

• I really liked the idea of Reichel, Nazar, and Dach, but it just didn’t work on Saturday night. Perhaps it might against a lesser opponent, but they were absolutely crushed possession-wise. They were out shot-attempted 13-0, but somehow only outshot 3-0. I’m not pulling the plug on it completely. Maybe give it a period against Calgary on Monday and see, but not great after one game.

• Stick taps to the Foligno – Dickinson – Teräväinen for more than holding their own against the Hyman – McDavid – Nugent-Hopkins line. McDavid finished a -2 with only one shot on goal and four shot attempts. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks trio managed a pair of goals vs that line. McDavid’s line got their chances, but Dickinson and company minimized their impact impressively.

• Friday was a loss. Saturday was a loss. Didn’t they feel different, though? The Hawks, predictably, got smoked in possession, with the Oilers holding a 63-45 shot attempt advantage, but they were engaged the entire game. They competed, and despite being significantly less talented than Edmonton, hung in until the final seconds. That is precisely what makes the loss to the Detroit so damn frustrating.

Nuggets and Timbits

• The Blackhawks scored the game’s first goal for a league-leading 26th time. That’s second in the league behind Columbus (27) and tied with Buffalo. The Blackhawks are 11-13-2 while scoring first. Columbus is 16-6-4. Buffalo is 12-9-5.

• Bedard’s nine-game point streak (4G – 8A) ended Saturday night. His next point will be the 100th of his career.

• With his second-period goal, Donato passed his season goal total from last year. He had 12 goals in 78 games last season. This year, he has 13 goals in 41 games. #ResignDonato

• The Oilers are now +26 in goal differential in the second period.

• The Bedard and McDavid families shared a suite for tonight’s game at the UC. Pretty cool.

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