The Blackhawks were back on track after picking up a win in a good, hard-working effort, this time against the Boston Bruins. As I touched on in the preview yesterday, it was going to be interesting to see what this Boston Bruins team looked like one year removed from their record-setting campaign, with some big pieces missing. Last season, the Hawks were winless, going 0-9 in back-to-back games, so it was going to be fun to see how this year's team would fair in this category. Unfortunately, it was more of the same, as they would drop this one 3-1. Sticking to what I preached last year, this is exactly the type of hockey I want to see from this team. Despite not winning, they were never truly out of this one. They stuck around and battled, making the Bruins earn these two points. This season, the only expectations for this team are to continue to build on Coach Richardson’s systems, grow the new culture of this team, and watch the young players grow and continue to develop. Starting out 1-1 on the road is a damn good start for this team. Three Takeaways Connor Bedard is getting there. After a shaky first game, the kid seems to be settling in. I still think we are waiting to see the Bedard show in full effect, and it is going to come. Watching the way he controls the puck and is able to see the path to the net is so damn fun to watch. There is no quit in this kid, and that was shown in his first career goal. Sure, it wasn’t a beauty of a dangle and made the goalie look silly, but it showed his ability to stick with the play and never give up.
Arvid Soderblom Continues Solid Goaltending This season, with the tandem the Hawks have, it's going to be anyone's net that wants it. After the performance we saw from Mrazek, I was curious how Soderblom was going to answer, and he didn’t disappoint. Stopping 30 of 32 shots and finishing with a.938 save percentage, the young goalie is doing his best to keep his name in the conversation about the future of the net. Three Stars 1st Star: Connor Bedard's First Career Goal 2nd Star: Arvid Soderblom, 30 saves 938 Save Percentage 3rd Star: Jason Dickenson Answering the bell after a nasty hit on Guttman The Hawks will have a few days off before their next game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. It will be interesting to see what the lines will look like in this one with Hall out. I’d like to see Raddysh get some minutes on Bedard's wing, but we will have to wait and see.
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