Fresh off their 4-2 win over the Canadiens on Friday, the Blackhawks returned to the United Center to host the New York Rangers. Chicago iced the same lineup, including Arvid Söderblom in goal..an opportunity interim head coach Anders Sorensen said the netminder had earned with his recent play. “It was an easy decision to go back to him,” Sorensen said before the game.

Here’s how the contest went down…

Game Summary

The line of Taylor Hall, Jason Dickinson, and Nick Foligno started the game for the Blackhawks with solid results. Moments later, Wyatt Kaiser drew a penalty and the Hawks were on the power play 1:13 into the game.

They failed to convert on the chance, but Tyler Bertuzzi would give the Hawks a 1-0 lead moments later. Connor Bedard forced a turnover and fed Bertuzzi right in front of Rangers goalie Louis Domingue.

Later in the period, Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski snuck a point shot through traffic, tying the game at one.

With 1:38 left in the first period, the Rangers capitalized on an awful turnover from Craig Smith, whose backhand pass was intercepted. Söderblom made several initial saves, but inevitably, New York scored on Will Borgen’s second goal of the season.

The second period got off to a sloppy start for both teams, and it didn’t take long for New York to extend their lead as Filip Chytil wristed a shot past Söderblom’s blocker.

3-1 Rangers.

After the goal, Sorensen mixed up the forward lines, promoting Colton Dach to Bedard’s line while Ilya Mikheyev was moved down with Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teräväinen. Both lines responded with solid shifts.

Halfway through the frame, the Blackhawks were pinned deep, thanks in part to the official, who got in the way of a clearing attempt behind the net. The Hawks eventually got it out and to center ice, but the puck spat back to Reilly Smith, who was off on a breakaway vs Seth Jones and Kaiser, both exhausted after the extended defensive shift. Smith tucked it past Söderblom to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.

The second period onslaught would continue. Old friend Artemi Panarin circled the Hawks zone and threw a shot toward Söderblom. Vincent Trocheck got a piece of the shot. 5-1 Rangers.

The Hawks temporarily stopped the bleeding, as Kaiser scored his first NHL goal with 2:00 left in the frame. Nazar, falling to his knees, put a backhand pass right on Kaiser’s tape, and the defensemen wristed it past Domingue.

The third period started with a couple of decent shifts from the Blackhawks, but when the results didn’t come, the game bounced right back to where it was in the second period.

Chytil scored his second goal of the game after a K’Andre Miller point shot hit Söderblom, then Chytil and in. It was about as fluky as goals get, but they all count. Perhaps this is something the Blackhawks should learn from.

Rangers win 6-2.

Jay’s Final Thoughts

Simple hockey works. The Rangers kept it simple the entire game. Aside from Smith’s breakaway, every one of their goals was a redirect, a shot through traffic or a simple “why not?” kind of shot. If you’ve watched any of our other 39 postgame shows, we might sound like a broken record, but it’s a cliche because it’s true. To quote my legendary pal Barry Rozner, “Put puck on net, sometimes puck go in.”

Aside from the Blackhawks 17 giveaways in this game, what frustrated me most was their lack of intensity. The first shift was good. The first goal was (again) good, but at no point in this game was the energy of Friday’s win over Montreal apparent in this game. Lazy passes, missed checks, lost board battles…it’s a game we’ve seen over and over again.

“We weren’t making simple play and hard plays,” Bertuzzi said after the game. “I wish I had the answer.”

They’ve changed coaches. They’ve changed lines. It’s time to start changing personnel as soon as possible. Despite some ugly metrics, Dach, Nazar, and Kaiser were among the team’s better players. Meanwhile, Smith is turning pucks over. Dickinson was on the ice for three goals against. That’s just naming a few players.

The one constant this season has been the veteran players. They’re happy to preach in the media about how the Hawks need to play…yet when the smoke clears, they’re as much to blame as their young teammates.

“It has to be a group thing,” Sorensen said when asked if there’s someone who can take charge. “I do think we have some guys who are trying to do that. It’s not fair to put it on one or two guys to constantly be in that role. It has to be a group effort.”

I’m also curious to see who Sorensen will sit after this game. Smith’s brutal turnover led directly to a Rangers goal, but Nolan Allan finished -4. Make your predictions now. I’m betting Allan will be the player taught “accountability.” That has to be frustrating to the young players, who have to be feeling like their not being held to the same standards at the veterans.

Nuggets and Timbits

• The Blackhawks scored the first goal of the game for a league-leading 25th time. They’ve won 13 times in 40 games.
• Bedard’s assist on Bertuzzi’s first-period goal extended his scoring streak to seven games (3G – 6A). It was also his 16th point in 14 games under Sorensen.
• Kaiser’s first NHL goal came in his 71st NHL game. It’s crazy to imagine it’s taken that long, considering how well he’s played overall.
• The Blackhawks were credited with 17 giveaways in the loss. The Rangers had four. That is the story of the game.