10 observations: Hawks lose to Bruins with 17 seconds left in regulation originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks fell to the Boston Bruins 4-3 at T.D. Garden on Thursday.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
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1. What a heartbreaking way to lose a game, and how bizarre is this: Boston scored with 17 seconds left in regulation, the same place Chicago scored twice in a 17-second span to win the 2013 Stanley Cup.
2. The Blackhawks committed three penalties in the second period and the Bruins made them pay on two of those thanks to Jack Ahcan and David Pastrnak. The Bruins went into this game with the third-ranked power play at home, and we saw why. They generated seven scoring chances on those three opportunities, per Natural Stat Trick.
3. The Blackhawks generated zero scoring chances on their first two power plays. They had four scoring chances on their third opportunity and capitalized on it. A much better response.
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4. Brandon Hagel found the back of the net twice, giving him 20 goals on the season. He's now on an 82-game pace of 29. I can assure you, GM Kyle Davidson is going to get a ton of calls on him leading into the NHL trade deadline. He's so valuable, and his $1.5 million cap hit makes him even more attractive to teams around the league. The only way you move him is if somebody offers you a package you simply cannot refuse.
5. After having five primary assists in Tuesday's 8-3 win over Anaheim, Patrick Kane registered yet another one to put himself at 1,153 points for his NHL career. That's now tied with Bobby Hull for second in franchise history.
6. The recipient of that Kane assist in the first period? None other than Alex DeBrincat, who stayed hot by scoring in his fifth straight game. He also scored his 34th goal of the season and is on pace to finish with 47. Does he finish with 50? He's certainly going to be knocking on the door of it.
7. The Blackhawks had only seven shot attempts and three shots on goal in the second period. The Bruins had 23 shot attempts and nine shots on goal; 14 of those shot attempts and five of those shots on goal came during 5-on-5 action.
8. Chicago's third line of Dominik Kubalik, Philipp Kurashev and Tyler Johnson had a tough line. When the three of them were on the ice at even strength, the Bruins led in shot attempts (7-1), shots on goal (4-1), scoring chances (7-1) and goals (1-0).
9. This was a physical game from start to finish. The Blackhawks finished with 28 hits and the Bruins had 26. No surprise, as the Bruins rank third in hits-per-60 minutes this season and the Blackhawks rank 11th.
10. Here's a fun stat for all you betters: Boston is now 6-23 against the spread at home this season, which is the worst record in the league.
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