Blackhawks miss opportunity to close gap in playoff race originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Detroit Red Wings have been playing their best hockey of the season, hands down, and the Blackhawks were fully aware of it going into their two-game series that started Thursday at Little Caesars Arena. This isn't the same Detroit team that lost five of its first six games against Chicago.
The Blackhawks are desperately trying to get back into the playoff race, but it was the Red Wings who came out with more hunger and won their third straight game for the first time all season.
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A big reason why? The Blackhawks recorded 61 shot attempts, but only 25 of them hit the net; 24 of them were blocked and 12 of them missed the net. Meanwhile, the Red Wings registered only 43 shot attempts but 28 of them were on net and four of them found the back of it.
"I thought we played hard and we had our chances," Duncan Keith said following a 4-1 loss. "But overall, the goals that they scored, we didn’t make them work as hard as we had to for ours. That’s pretty much the story of the game there."
The Red Wings turned the game in the second period, where they scored three goals in a span of 6:26 and generated 10 even-strength scoring chances to the Blackhawks' two. They also killed off three penalties in the middle frame, which prevented the Blackhawks from getting back in the game.
"They got three goals pretty quick there so we couldn’t turn the momentum back," Dylan Strome said. "Thought we played well to start and shots were unindicative of the game with how it felt on the ice. I don’t know if we had our foot off the gas or what it was. But obviously, it’s frustrating, a frustrating loss."
Head coach Jeremy Colliton didn't mind the effort, either. It was the execution that wasn't there.
"We played pretty hard," Colliton said. "No complaints with the work ethic. Obviously, they generated energy and momentum from the first couple goals they scored and they played hard and defended well. We had plenty of chances in the third. If we score one, then maybe that’s the boost we needed to get back in the game, but it's of course frustrating but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to prepare for the next one."
What made the loss even more frustrating is the fact the Nashville Predators lost in regulation, so an opportunity was missed to pull within two points of the No. 4 spot in the Central Division and have a game in hand as well. The Blackhawks need two on Saturday if they want to make things interesting going into their three-game series against the Predators next week.
"Two huge points were up for grabs and we couldn’t manage to get it done," Strome said. "I think with Nashville losing, it’s obviously a good thing. don’t fall further back in the standings. Got to go out there and find a way to get two points on [Saturday]."
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