Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks the start they wanted. Spencer Knight gave them another chance to hang around. Everything in between belonged to the Detroit Red Wings.
Chicago fell 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, a game that followed a familiar script: an early lead, too little offense after that, and no way to survive once the other side took control. Bedard scored 5:59 into the opening period, but the Blackhawks mustered just that one goal in a loss that dropped them to 4-9-0. They’re now 0-5-0 on the road.
The bigger problem is the same one that keeps showing up. The Blackhawks have scored six goals in their last five games, going 1-4-0 in that stretch.
Through 13 games this season, they’ve managed only 27 goals, barely over two per night. That kind of production leaves almost no margin, even when Knight is giving them solid work in net.
On Thursday, Knight stopped 27 of 30 shots and held up long enough for Chicago to stay in the game. But the offense never matched him.
The Blackhawks put eight shots on goal in the first period, then just 11 over the final two frames. By the time they generated a few looks late, Detroit had already put the game away.
Bedard’s goal came off a rebound from Wyatt Kaiser’s shot, with Roman Kantserov earning his first NHL assist on the play. It was Bedard’s third goal of the season and stretched his point streak to three games. Chicago’s top line of Teuvo Teravainen, Bedard and Kantserov was the team’s best unit early, and Kantserov almost doubled the lead later in the period when his snap shot from the right circle rang off the iron.
Still, the Red Wings owned the overall edge. They carried the better of the play through 20 minutes and outchanced Chicago 12-5 in the opening period. Detroit’s pressure only grew from there.
The turning point came in the second period, when the Blackhawks had a chance to swing momentum back. Frank Nazar broke in alone, was hooked by Andreas Englund and was awarded a penalty shot at 11:18.
Gibson denied his forehand-backhand attempt, and the game stayed tied. Missed chances have become part of Nazar’s story this season, and this one was a costly one.
Viktor Arvidsson tied it at 7:31 of the second period, deflecting William Willander’s shot from the left point past Knight. After that, Detroit kept leaning on Chicago, finishing the period with a 21-11 shot advantage and a 23-8 edge in scoring chances through 40 minutes.
The third period opened with another blow. Just 38 seconds in, Patrick Kane was called for high-sticking Lucas Raymond, and Raymond cashed in on the power play at 1:09 with a wrist shot over Knight’s blocker. That gave Detroit a 2-1 lead and forced Chicago into chase mode again.
The Blackhawks had a few good looks to pull even. Oliver Moore, Alex Vlasic and Ryan Greene each had a quality opportunity while Chicago trailed by one, but Gibson turned them away. Outside of those chances, there wasn’t much push.
Arvidsson added the insurance goal at 15:26 after Alex DeBrincat’s shot left the puck loose in the crease. Then, with Knight pulled for an extra attacker, Teuvo Teravainen turned it over and Arvidsson buried the empty-netter from center ice to complete the hat trick.
Before the game, Detroit honored Patrick Kane with a video tribute on the jumbotron during the first TV timeout. It was his first game back at Little Caesars Arena after spending the previous three seasons with the Red Wings before departing this summer.
For Chicago, though, the headline remained unchanged: Knight did enough to keep things respectable, and the offense didn’t do nearly enough to back him up. The Blackhawks will try to get their first road win of the season Saturday against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden.
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