After a 1-0 loss to the rival Blues, the Blackhawks extended their season-opening losing streak to 9 games. Overall, there wasn't a whole bunch to negatively critique as the work ethic and compete level were present from start to finish. So what gives?
A key theme throughout the game was the Hawks inability to capitalize on not only Blues turnovers but also well-played offensive drives. It's one thing to make your own luck but it's another thing to pounce on the misfortune of the opposition which didn't happen.
With 14 giveaways, the Blues dodged many bullets en route to shutting out the Hawks. Credit where it's due, though, as the Blues still turned in a solid effort and ended up getting the last laugh. The Hawks ran out of lives in the end to earn their first win.
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Blackhawks: Game Summary
Final pic.twitter.com/3UgbOOryVy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 31, 2021
Kubalik - Dach - Kurashev DeBrincat - Strome - Hardman Carpenter - Toews - Hagel Gaudette - Entwistle - R Johnson
de Haan - S Jones Gustafsson - Murphy Phillips - McCabe
Fleury Lankinen
Scratches: T Johnson
Scoring Recap
1st Goal (0-1): Krug (Tarasenko, Perron) PP
SOG For/Against: 25/37 PP: 0-for-2 PK: 2-for-3 Faceoffs Won: 45%
FINAL: Blues 1, #Blackhawks 0
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 31, 2021
Shot attempts: 70-56 STL
Shots on goal: 37-25 STL
5-on-5 scoring chances: 37-28 STL
5-on-5 high danger chances: 12-9 STL pic.twitter.com/AMokbXDHen
* Marc-Andre Fleury seemed to be off balance and swam in his net all night atempting to make saves on a wing and a prayer reminiscent of Dominik Hasek.
* Seth Jones played a really strong all-around game making an impact -- more positive than negative -- every shift and earning his keep as the team's #1 defenseman.
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IceHogs: Game Summary
Final. pic.twitter.com/u6ViJitMPq
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) October 31, 2021
Slavin - Gicewicz - Busdeker Nylander - McLaughlin - Connolly Pour - Reichel - Teply Morrison - G Mitchell - Wilkie
Stanton - Galvas Beaudin - I Mitchell LeGuerrier - Krutil
Soderblom Delia
Scoring Recap
1st Goal (1-0): Nylander (Beaudin, Connolly) PP 2nd Goal (2-0): Reichel (Beaudin, I Mitchell) 3rd Goal (2-1): Borgman (McKenzie, Cecconi) 4th Goal (3-1): McLaughlin (Connolly, G Mitchell) 5th Goal (4-1): Slavin (Busdeker, Gicewicz) 6th Goal (4-2): Peterson (Tufte) 7th Goal (4-3): Peterson (McKenzie, Damiani)
SOG For/Against: 19/48 PP: 1-for-5 PK: 6-for-6
Thoughts & Notes
* Arvid Soderblom made an amazing 45 saves on 48 shots as he filled up the net with his big frame and moved post to post with power and agility.
* Nicolas Beaudin was much better with gap management but still needs to work on his keep-ins at the point as many pucks slither past him to the neutral zone.
* Ian Mitchell as well as Beaudin improving their defensive coverage and decision making even though they both need to gain more strength to beat the bigger opponents.
* Jakub Galvas was quite good at board battles and also willing to fight in the paint despite giving up quite a bit of size.
* Alex Nylander continued his upward trajectory being noticeable in all zones, making multiple touches each shift, weaving in and out of traffic to hunt down pucks, and earning PK time.
* Lukas Reichel showed off speed to burn up and down the ice and has kept the pace up offensively by creating prime scoring chances with little time, space, and support.
* Dylan McLaughlin nailed fundamentals of 3-zone play and leveraged his sublime vision and hockey sense to generate opportunities for himself and linemates.
* The Hogs 4th goal was an excellent display of winning battles, cycling along the boards, and making quick passes to advance the puck to the net.
Highlights
Highlights 🎥: Arvid Soderbloom makes 45 saves and we take down the Texas Stars, 4-3, and head home for #OpeningWeekend next Saturday and Sunday at the BMO!
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 31, 2021
Watch: https://t.co/OI4c1HKTL8
See you on the boards!