The Blackhawks did not carry Tuesday night’s win over the Kings into their Dad’s trip opener, and the result in Detroit was as ugly as the score suggested.
Chicago, which entered Thursday at 4-8-0 and sitting 31st in the league, dropped a 4-1 decision to the Red Wings and slipped to 4-9-0. It was a flat, frustrating performance from a team that had just started to show a little life, and the road struggles continued. The Blackhawks still haven’t won away from home.
The night carried a little extra attention because it was Patrick Kane’s first game against his former club. It also came against a Detroit team without Dylan Larkin, who did not play while suspended for not playing while seeking a trade.
Chicago’s lineup stayed mostly steady, with the forward groups unchanged from the end of the previous game. Head coach Jeff Blashill said Teuvo Teravainan and Ryan Greene were swapped mid-game - Teravainan moving to the top line and Greene dropping to the fourth - in an effort to create more of a four-line threat.
Alex Vlasic missed the morning skate because of illness, according to Blashill, but he still dressed. Spencer Knight got the nod for the eighth straight start.
The Blackhawks did get the game’s first goal, their third opening tally in the last four contests. Wyatt Kaiser fired on net, Bedard cleaned up the rebound, and Roman Kantserov picked up the secondary assist for a 1-0 lead.
But that advantage came with warning signs. Chicago was out-attempted 23-16 in the first period, and Detroit had the only power play of the frame. The shots on goal were even at 8-8, but the Red Wings were clearly dictating more of the play.
That trend only intensified in the second period. Detroit spent much of the frame in the Blackhawks’ zone, and the pressure finally broke through at 7:31 when Viktor Arvidsson tied it up off assists from William Wallinder and Alex DeBrincat. At that point, the Wings were already ahead 6-0 in shots in the period.
Frank Nazar had a chance to put Chicago back in front later in the second after drawing a penalty shot on Andreas Englund for hooking, but John Gibson stopped him. The rest of the period belonged almost entirely to Detroit, which owned a 13-3 shot edge in the frame.
The third period never tilted back in Chicago’s favor. The Red Wings scored quickly on their fourth power play of the night, with Lucas Raymond converting just after a high-sticking penalty by Kane. Moritz Seider and Arvidsson were on the assists.
Detroit kept rolling from there. Arvidsson struck again at 15:26, finishing a play set up by DeBrincat and J.T.
Compher. Then, after Chicago emptied the net with a little over four minutes left, Arvidsson completed the hat trick on an empty-net goal, with Emmitt Finnie getting the helper.
Teravainan’s pass on that sequence stood out for all the wrong reasons.
By the end, the Red Wings had the edge in shots on goal, 29-19, and scoring chances, 60-44. The Blackhawks looked listless for long stretches, and the final 4-1 score felt like a fair reflection of the night.
There were a few individual numbers worth noting, even in a game Chicago would rather forget. Knight stopped 27 of 30 shots for a .900 save percentage, which kept the score from getting even uglier.
Oliver Moore went 8-for-9 on faceoffs, while Nazar finished 4-for-8. Jordan Greenway took zero shots on goal but had five shot attempts, which was a curious number for a fourth-line winger.
Bedard led the Blackhawks with four shots on goal and six shot attempts.
Afterward, Blashill made his frustration clear.
"We've had a lot of games throughout this season where we did a lot of good things and maybe beat ourselves with critical mistakes...
"Tonight, to me, wasn't that at all. It's a step backwards. Because you just had too many guys that weren't skating,…
The Blackhawks now turn to Boston, where they’ll face the Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 31, in a noon start. After that, they head back to Chicago to host the Colorado Avalanche on Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
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