Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The Chicago Blackhawks were routed by the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 on Monday at PNC Arena as their road losing streak reaches 21 games.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. This game went exactly how I thought it was going to go. The Hurricanes have been the best puck possession team in the league for about five years now, and they flexed their muscles against a rebuilding Blackhawks team. Carolina led 5-1 through 40 minutes and was in full control before letting its foot off the gas and allowed Chicago to push back in the third period.
2. The Hurricanes led in shot attempts (79-37), shots on goal (42-17), scoring chances (39-18), and high-danger chances (16-7), per Natural Stat Trick. Pure domination.
3. Connor Bedard had a three-point outing with a goal and two assists. He could've had a fourth point but he had a goal taken away for the second straight game and third time this season because of an offside challenge. Bedard has factored in on six of the seven goals Chicago has scored since he returned to the lineup. Difference-maker.
Chicago Blackhawks
4. Bedard had zero shots on goal going into the third period, but Hurricanes goaltender Spencer Martin appeared to poke the bear by giving Bedard a shove at the end of the second. I'm not sure what Martin was upset about though because it was his teammate Dmitry Orlov that pushed Bedard into Martin near the end of the period. When Bedard scored the goal that got taken away in the third, he stared down Martin. It was hilarious.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
5. The Blackhawks were gifted a 5-on-3 power play for 1:41 just three and a half minutes into the game, but they couldn't capitalize on that opportunity despite recording three shots. When they didn't convert on any of those chances, you knew the Blackhawks were going to look back on that and see it as a huge missed opportunity. And it was.
6. Nick Foligno extended his point streak to six games after scoring his 13th goal of the season and adding an assist. He has four goals and three assists over that stretch after having only one point in his previous 10 contests.
7. The Blackhawks are now 0-20-1 over their last 21 road games. They have a -60 goal differential over that span. Their next road game isn't until March 4 in Colorado, which means they're going to be approaching four months without a road win by the time that game rolls around. Bedard admitted that he and his teammates are "embarrassed" by that franchise record.
8. Tyler Johnson committed a slashing penalty in the first period, and it was pretty laughable. Boris Katchouk's hooking penalty in the second period was soft, too. The Blackhawks killed off both of those penalties, but still. Yikes.
9. Anthony Beauvillier returned to action after being out since Jan. 2 with a wrist injury. He skated on the second line with Joey Anderson and Jason Dickinson. It was tough to judge his individual performance because Carolina had the puck all night.
10. The Blackhawks assigned Lukas Reichel to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs after his season-long slump continued after the bye week and All-Star break. The team exhausted all of its options, and this was the last resort. It was time. Let's see how he responds.
