One Point

The Blackhawks managed to capture a point against the Nashville Predators last night. Chicago put up 3 goals against one of the best goalies in the NHL, and score their 4th short handed goal of the season. Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, and, you guessed it, Artem Anisimov all scored to give the Blackhawks a shot in OT. Let’s take a look at some of our takeaways from last nights game

1 Kane on the Rise

Patrick Kane played yet another great game registering 2 assists on the night. Kane, in the midst of another career year, has 8 points in the last 4 games. People were doubting Kane going into this season, wondering if it was time for his points and production to take a hit as he ages, but now Kane looks even better now than he did when he was a rookie.

2 Power Play Production

Alex Debrincat scored a one timer on the power play to tie the game for the Blackhawks in the first period. Chicago has managed to improve on their power play the last few games. The Hawks went 1 for 2 on the night. If they managed to score on the other power play the Hawks would have walked away with 2 points rather than 1. There is always room for improvement.

3 Delia Dilemma

Colin Delia made 33 saves last night to keep the Hawks in another close game. Delia has emerged to be a rising star in the Hawks uniform, and has made the absence of Crow more bearable. Odds are Corey Crawford is not the Blackhawks goalie of the future, the way Delia has played makes it look like he is the next guy in the blue paint for Chicago. The Hawks also have goalie Cam Ward in their system, and have been using Ward and Delia to split the starting role in Crow’s absence. Chicago will have to pick one of them the longer Crow stays out.

4 Playing from behind

Chicago was playing from behind throughout most of this game. Every time the Hawks looked like they were coming back Nashville scored, like when Debrincat scored with 2 minutes left in the first to tie the game, then 8 seconds later Viktor Arvidsson took the lead right back for the Preds. The Blackhawks are going to need to improve upon finishing strong in every period. What should have been momentum for the Hawks going into the second period turned into momentum for the Preds.

5 Covering the right spot

All 4 of Nashville goals have one thing in common. They all came from the slot. Chicago needs to make sure they have guys in red jerseys in front of the net blocking passes. 2 or 3 times the Hawks were caught out of position they let up some timely goals. Delia did stop a lot of great scoring chances, and the 4 he let through were not his fault. The hawks defense needs to make sure they do not let players take clean shots in the slot.

6 Missing Seabs

The Hawks defense looked pretty good last night despite missing Brent Seabrook. Seabrook has an undisclosed injury and did not play in the game. Chicago plays next on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights in what should be a tough game. Vegas has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL with a 7 game win streak and a record of 8-0-2 in the last 10. The Hawks are going to need everyone at there best if they are going to have any chance to win. I hope to see Erik Gustafsson paired up with Henri Jokiharju in the next game. The Blackhawks would have a great offensive minded defensive pairings in the NHL. Chicago currently sits 8 points out of a playoff spot. They are not done yet. A nice win streak could really push the Hawks back into a playoff spot.

Time will tell, puck drop is Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights.