10 Observations: Against late-game goals, Hawks lose to Yotes originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks lost a lead and lost 4-2 to the Arizona Coyotes at Mullet Arena on Saturday.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. Late-stage goals have been a killer for the Blackhawks all season. They conceded the decisive goal at 2:12 in the second game and it gave life to the Coyotes. They then gave up the go-ahead goal with 3:12 left before the end of regulation time, which turned out to be the winner.
2. Tough loss for the Blackhawks, who were very strong in the driver’s seat in two periods. They had just 21 shots on target, which is the fewest in a game this season. Despite the result, a lot more positives than negatives in this game.
3. The trio of Joey Anderson, Boris Katchouk and Jujhar Khaira have been red hot lately. And it stayed that way after Khaira deflected a Jarred Tinordi shot just 35 seconds into the game to give the Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead. Katchouk was also promoted to the second power play unit, finishing with five shots on target and eight shot attempts. He had a shot-first mentality all night.
4. The Blackhawks were in a serious rut on the power play, but they finally came through in this game. They generated 21 shot attempts, 13 shots on goal and 11 chances to score in an 8:16 power play time, per Natural Stat trick, and went haywire on the fourth opportunity when Caleb Jones found the back of the net after Coyotes goalie Ivan Prosvetov lost his skate blades and could not be reset. A much-needed confidence boost for the Blackhawks’ PP.
5. If you see little Patrick Kane in Clayton Keller, you’re not alone. Keller’s favorite player growing up was Kane, and he tries to model his game after him. He had one goal and two assists against the Blackhawks and now has 34 points since the NHL All-Star hiatus. Only Connor McDavid (42) has more points on this track. He flirts with superstar status.
6. With the pair of Connor Murphy and Tinordi on the ice together, the Blackhawks led 21-6 in shot attempts. They were pretty dominant.
7. Lukas Reichel’s line didn’t have the best game, but created a few chances. He didn’t get an assist on Jones’ power-play goal but he made the game possible by hitting the net hard. He also almost collided with Andreas Athanasiou in a 2v1 early in the game.
8th. Wyatt Kaiser made his NHL debut after signing his entry-level contract earlier this week. It’s funny that his debut took place in a college arena too. I thought he looked balanced and in control. He looks taller than he is – 6ft, 173lbs – and maybe it’s because he’s an excellent skater and has a big stick that allows him to close the gap on players quickly. Potentially a nice play for the Blackhawks moving forward.
9. The fourth line from MacKenzie Entwistle, Mike Hardman and Buddy Robinson was very noticeable. The three rarely gave up anything when they were on the ice together.
10 The Coyotes are at home 20-11-3 this season. They are traveling 7-21-8. Pretty crazy inequality. In the mullet arena, they are seemingly unbeatable.
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Source : sports.yahoo.com