Oil Slick (connor murphy)

Last night's 5-2 loss to the high-flying Oilers was a perfect example of how teams with speed and skill are going to keep giving the Blackhawks fits no matter who the coaches are and with the defensive scheme remaining the same as the previous coaching regime.

The defense was so bad the Hawks gave up a pair of shorthanded goals plus the world's best player in Connor McDavid scored a greasy goal in the slot and not one of his patented markers where he beats you with lightning speed and sublime stickhandling.

On the first goal, how does a team simply leave McDavid all alone around the net? Looking at Kirby Dach and Seth Jones on that one as they both just ignored McDavid to fixate on the puck instead. As a result, McDavid easily gained inside positioning.

In a span of 40 seconds after scoring opened, the Hawks went for the 2-point conversion with a pair of boneheaded plays as Philipp Kurashev was called for tripping to send the Oil to the power play then Jonathan Toews went off for highsticking to make it a 5-on-3.

The shortie given up to Kailer Yamamoto is exactly why the "push 'em back" entry on the power play -- particularly the drop pass and especially with no mustard on it -- is purely idiotic serving zero purpose or imparting zero advantage. Absolutely none.

Then on the 4th goal given up in the 1st period, the manner in which Ryan McLeod skated down broadway unscathed between a triangle of Chicago players was vintage puck watching and poor defensive coverage reminiscent of the not-too-distant Jeremy Colliton era.

If it weren't for Kevin Lankinen, the Oilers would have ran up the score to the tune of 7 or 8 goals or possibly more. His team left him out to dry yet he saved their bacon with not only key saves but several outstanding ones at that to keep them alive.

It didn't help with icing two 4th lines as Mike Hardman and Jujhar Khaira took the wings on the 3rd when both are 4th liners. Instead of having Kurashev play on the 4th, bump him up to the 3rd along with Dylan Strome and either Henrik Borgstrom or Adam Gaudette.

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Blackhawks Game Summary

Starting Lineup

DeBrincat - Dach - Kane Kubalik - Toews - Hagel Hardman - Strome - Khaira Kurashev - Carpenter - R Johnson

Gustafsson - S Jones McCabe - Murphy Stillman - C Jones

Lankinen Fleury

Scratches: Borgstrom, Gaudette, T Johnson, de Haan

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (0-1): McDavid (Hyman, Bouchard) 2nd Goal (0-2): Barrie (Draisatl, McDavid) PP 3rd Goal (0-3): Yamamoto (Sceviour) SH 4th Goal (0-4): McLeod (Foegele, Broberg) 5th Goal (1-4): DeBrincat (Dach, S Jones) 6th Goal (2-4): DeBrincat (Kurashev, Dach) 7th Goal (2-5): Draisatl (Bouchard) SH

SOG For/Against: 30/33 PP: 0-for-3 PK: 3-for-4 Faceoffs Won: 44%

Game Notes

* Although he needs to push the pace more defensively, Dach has picked up the pace on the other end of the ice with strong forechecks, puck battles, and heads-up playmaking to set up teammates for chances.

* Running dry on offensive stats, Strome is still generating scoring opportunities by getting shots off with haste rather than wasting time for pretty plays to develop.

* Kurashev continued to show composure with the puck to maintain momentum while also slowing the game down just enough at times to make appropriate plays.

* Brandon Hagel had a near scare as it appeared he re-injured his shoulder after colliding into the glass late in the 2nd but he bounced back to play in the 3rd.

* Patrick Kane was kept off the scoresheet for the first time since the Jets game on November 5.

* Connor Murphy and Caleb Jones had somewhat inflated TOI as they had an almost 5-minute shift at the start of the 2nd as the Oil hemmed the Hawks in their end for almost a quarter of the period.

Highlights

Goal by Alex DeBrincat

IceHogs Game Summary

Starting Lineup

Nylander - Reichel - Connolly Altybarmakian - McLaughlin - Busdeker Barratt - Slavin - Gicewicz Howarth - G Mitchell - Osipov

Kalynuk - I Mitchell Phillips - Regula Galvas - Beaudin

Delia Soderblom

Scoring Recap

1st Goal (0-1): Noesen (Poturalski) SH 2nd Goal (0-2): Gust (Smith, Lajoie) PP 3rd Goal (1-2): McLaughlin (Busdeker, Galvas) 4th Goal (2-2): Barratt (Altybarmakian, McLaughlin) PP Shootout (3-2): McLaughlin

IceHogs: * Nylander (miss) * Reichel (miss) * Connolly (miss) * McLaughlin (goal)

Wolves: * Noesen (miss) * Bokk (miss) * Poturalski (miss) * Gust (miss)

SOG For/Against: 22/31 PP: 1-for-4 PK: 2-for-3

Game Notes

* Dylan McLaughlin factored in both regulation tallies for the Hogs (goal, assist) and scored the shootout winner.

* Although he didn't record an assist on the first one, Andrei Altybarmakian was the catalyst for both Hogs goals using swift puck movement.

* Making his first start since October 23, Collin Delia settled down after giving up 2 goals on the first 3 shots and ended with 31 saves plus stopping all 4 shooters in the shootout.

Highlights

Next Game @ Canucks

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See you on the boards!

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