Too Far Down: Wild 4, Blackhawks 1
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
The Blackhawks fell once more to the Wild. They did, however, score a goal this time. The Chicago Blackhawks took the ice in St. Paul on Thursday evening, hoping to snap a 2-game preseason losing streak in a matchup with the Minnesota Wild. While the Hawks were able to snap their 2-game goal drought, they were unable to come away with much else, losing 4-1.
The Wild jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Marco Rossi took advantage of a misplay behind the Blackhawks net.
Marco Rossi makes it 1-0 and it looks so good. pic.twitter.com/AJPQlbHj6R— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) October 7, 2022
Minnesota quickly doubled their lead just 13 seconds later, going up 2-0 thanks to a goal from Frederick Gaudreau. They held this lead for the reminder of the period.
Frederick Gaudreau cleans up Sam Steel's effort. suddenly 2-0 MIN. pic.twitter.com/6i2Jw6jov1— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) October 7, 2022
Following a seven-period scoring drought going back to their Oct. 1 game against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks finally found the back of the net on a goal by Jack Johnson.
Jack Johnson scores his first unofficial goal with the #Blackhawks: pic.twitter.com/FnMuN42GKK— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) October 7, 2022
Late in the second period, Mats Zuccarello’s goal put the Wild back up by two, giving them a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Kirill and Mats, hanging out again. 3-1 MIN thanks to Zucc. pic.twitter.com/64QlgYy5R9— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) October 7, 2022
In the third and final frame, Sam Steel added to the Wild lead after a breakdown by an unorganized Blackhawks defense, making the Minnesota lead 4-1 with only 13:44 remaining in the game.
The Blackhawks’ 4-1 loss on Thursday night is their third straight loss of the preseason.
Notes
The Blackhawks offense is getting hard to watch. It’s only preseason, but if they carry this play into the regular season, it’s going to be a long year. Their goal differential could be scary.
What makes things even worse is that the Hawks went 0-for-6 on the power play. Yes, you read that correctly. The Blackhawks had six opportunities with a two-minute, one-man advantage and came away with absolutely nothing. That’s abysmal special teams hockey, folks.
The defensive breakdowns were the kind of thing you see from a young team in preseason. However, the ways in which the Hawks turned the puck over, blew coverage and generally looks dysfunctional are a bit concerning, particularly when it comes from the veterans.
The Blackhawks ended up outshooting the Wild 26-23. But, with six freaking power plays, you should obliterate the shot count.
There are a lot of guys on this team with the last name of Johnson.
Game Charts
What’s next?
The Blackhawks play their final game of the 2022-23 preseason when they take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at the Enterprise Center. Puck drop is at 7 p.m....
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