10 observations: Soderblom shines but Hawks fall to Jets originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks fell to the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 at the United Center on Friday.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
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1. The Blackhawks are 0-3-0 against the Jets this season, and they've been outscored 14-3 in those three games. The good news for the Blackhawks is, the two teams meet only one more time, on Feb. 11 in Winnipeg.
2. In the first period, Philipp Kurashev's failed zone exit led to a direct goal for the Jets, who went ahead 1-0. In the second period, Kurashev saved a puck from leaving the zone and it directly led to a goal seconds later for the Blackhawks, who trimmed their deficit to 2-1. Taketh, giveth. By the way, turnovers at the blue line is something Luke Richardson wants his team to cut down on. He has said this for weeks now.
3. I don't think I've ever seen Jack Johnson get as mad as he did at the end of the first period, and I don't blame him. He was whistled for cross-checking Michael Eyssimont, but at the end of the shift, Eyssimont then took advantage of Johnson laying on the ground by shoving his head into the ice. Johnson flipped and was tagged with the extra roughing penalty while Eyssimont got nothing from it.
4. The worst part about Johnson's four-minute penalty and none for Eyssimont? The Jets scored on the power play to put themselves ahead 2-0. That added salt to the wound and turned out to be a massive swing.
5. Arvid Soderblom was really good, yet again. He was the reason this game was as close as it was. I think he has a sneaky great glove hand, probably one of the better ones in the entire NHL.
6. Dylan DeMelo was penalized for an illegal check to the head on Colin Blackwell, which prompted Reese Johnson to come to his teammate's defense. Will be interesting to see if the league takes a look at that and disciplines DeMelo further or feels a penalty was enough.
7. Josh Morrissey continued to bolster his Norris Trophy case by recording two assists, which gives him 30 points on the season. That ranks tied for No. 3 among all defensemen. He has one goal and six assists in three games against the Blackhawks this season. They're calling him Josh "Norrisey" in Winnipeg.
8. There were exactly 60 whistles in this game. That's a stoppage per minute. Gross. I can't remember the last time I saw 67 faceoffs in a regulation game.
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9. Jarred Tinordi made a surprise return to the lineup after missing the last five games with a hip injury. He left after his very first shift but returned for the second period with a face shield because he took a skate to the face seconds into the game, although nobody really saw it in real-time. Sam Lafferty also returned from his back injury and centered the fourth line.
10. Tyler Johnson (ankle) joined the team for morning skate on Friday and could play next week if all goes well. Alex Stalock (concussion protocol) has also practiced for two straight days, and Petr Mrazek is already on the ice skating after suffering another groin injury on Saturday. The Blackhawks are finally starting to get some bodies back. Now they just need to keep it that way.
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