The Blackhawks are still waiting for their first road win of the season, and Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Islanders only stretched that skid further. The encouraging part for Chicago is that the schedule is about to swing the other way: seven straight games at the United Center, where the team has not lost yet.
Even in defeat, this was probably Chicago’s strongest effort away from home so far. The puck moved better, the chances were cleaner, and the Hawks actually held a 22-15 edge in 5-on-5 chances. The problem was finishing, and Ilya Sorokin made sure of that with a strong night in net for New York.
Chicago had to shuffle its forward groups after Teuvo Teravainen sat out following what looked like an ankle injury in the home opener against the St. Louis Blues.
Dominic Toninato slid into Teravainen’s spot on the third line, while Roman Kantserov was bumped up to the second line alongside Anton Frondell and Tyler Bertuzzi. That trio looked lively, skated well together, and created some real looks.
Frondell, in particular, keeps piling up offense. He now leads all NHL rookies with four points - one goal and three assists - over a week into the season.
“Obviously, you play a certain way for a while, and you need to adjust. You need to find ways to create.
You need to find ways to find your teammates. It hasn’t really been there the first five,” forward Patrick Kane said (from ‘Patrick Kane, Blackhawks offense feeling ‘out of sync’ after another loss,’ New York Times, Oct.
9, 2026).
The lone Chicago goal came from Frank Nazar with about 2:30 left in the third period, and it came into an empty net. Kane set him up in the inner slot, and Nazar buried a wrist shot to spoil Sorokin’s shutout bid.
Not long after that, things got chippy. Nazar appeared to catch Islanders captain Bo Horvat up high after Horvat fired at the empty net to put the game away. Nazar received a five-minute major and a game misconduct, and because the hit was to the head, further league discipline seems likely.
That’s not the kind of player Nazar is known to be. After the hit, he appeared apologetic while officials reviewed whether the penalty would be upgraded to a game misconduct along with the five minutes.
His presence has mattered with Connor Bedard out, and if the league adds more punishment, Chicago would feel that loss too. Nazar has been one of the Hawks’ most promising young players early in the season.
“I thought we were the better team, and we beat ourselves,” head coach Jeff Blashill said.
Goaltending remains another big question for Chicago beyond Spencer Knight, who is clearly the No. 1 after a strong home opener in which he was the game’s first star. Arvid Soderblom has not met expectations, both this season and over the last few years while backing up Petr Mrazek and then Knight.
The organization does have young options coming. Drew Commesso is in Rockford with the Icehogs, and Adam Gajan is with the Indy Fuel. The question is when Chicago will turn to them.
Soderblom could be moved at the March deadline, and based on his production and recent performance, the Blackhawks seem to be reaching the point where they should move ahead with Commesso as Knight’s backup. Commesso signed a two-year, $1.75 million contract on July 6.
In Other News...
Islanders Fans Have A New Puppy Story To Follow This Season
The Islanders spent part of their week at UBS Arena doing more than hockey work, taking part in the 10th annual Pucks and Paws Calendar photo shoot with the Guide Dog Foundation. The project pairs current and future service dogs with players, and the calendar goes on sale Nov. 25 with proceeds supporting the foundations work for veterans, first responders and people who are blind.
It also keeps the teams Puppy with a Purpose tradition rolling along in its seventh year, giving fans another offseason-adjacent storyline to track once the ice gets busier. This latest puppy is just getting started on the path that service-dog candidates follow, and the Islanders are again tying one of their most feel-good community efforts to a cause with a bigger purpose than anything that shows up in the standings. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Already Face A Depth Problem Four Games Into The Season
Four games into the season, the Islanders are already trying to patch together a lineup that has been hit from several directions. Mat Barzal is still working his way back from a knee injury after missing training camp, and the blue line has taken another hit with Isaiah George suffering a long-term injury in a recent game. For a team built around structure and depth, that kind of early attrition puts pressure on every pairing and every line combination far sooner than anyone expected.
The timing is especially awkward because the injury list keeps growing before the schedule has even settled in. With Alexander Romanov unavailable and the defense already thin, the Islanders do not have much room for error as they sort through replacements and call-up options. And with Bo Horvat also dealing with a head injury, the team is now facing questions up front as well, leaving its depth chart looking a lot shakier than it did just days ago. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Prospects Big Opportunity Just Took A Brutal Turn
The Hamilton Hammers got a real showcase night in their first home game as the Islanders new AHL affiliate, with more than 14,000 fans packing the building and giving the operation an immediate jolt of buzz. Even in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Toronto Marlies, there was plenty for the organization to like about the setting, which had the feel of an important first step in building the next wave of Islanders depth.
Isaiah Georges night, though, changed the tone quickly. The defenseman left in the second period with an injury, and head coach Jay McKee did not sound optimistic about a quick return, a tough development for a young player who had already dealt with injuries last season. For an Islanders prospect group that needs every meaningful game it can get, losing one of its more interesting blue-line pieces this early is a brutal twist to start the affiliation era. [Read more 🡒]