Chicago Blackhawks shut out in loss to NHL-best Colorado Avalanche
The Chicago Blackhawks have seen number nine a few times over the past few days. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very lucky.
The Buffalo Sabers hosted a Hawks team that was tired of going back-to-back and taking a 2-0 lead against the Seattle Kraken the day before. The Sabers allowed nine goals to the Hawks in their 9-3 win Friday.
The Hawks returned home to kick off their second four-game homestand. Maybe they could rest a bit and get things back on track?
Not with the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche coming to town. It was still a huge opportunity for the Hawks to bounce back in the best way possible.
The home team gave the Avalanche a human look. However, they didn’t make them beatable, as Colorado left the United Center as winners of nine straight games.
The Hawks (10-8-4) left a donut on the scoreboard by losing 1-0 to the Avalanche on Sunday. Colorado won its 16th game of the year and blanked the Hawks and Nashville Predators on its back-to-back road trip.
It was the sixth time the Avs (16-1-5) shut out the Hawks in their last 10 meetings. This is the first time the Hawks have been shut out since April 7, 2024. They have not been shut out in the 2024-25 season.
“The other team is going to fight back, that’s the fact of life,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “We did a great job in our structure (and) we stayed there.”
The only goal of the game came from a rare mistake by goalkeeper Spencer Knight, who made 24 saves in his 15th start. He passed the puck straight to center Tristen Nielsen and Cale Makar found the back of the net on the rebound of Knight’s save.
Without the giveaway, Knight kept the Hawks within striking distance of the Avalanche. The home team was outshot 19-1 in the second period after winning the category 11-2 in the first.
Ryan Greene had four scoring chances in the first period, but couldn’t capitalize against goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who made 22 saves and earned his ninth career shutout. He didn’t score a point, but it was a remarkable performance as a winger on the top line.
“The keeper made some good saves, (but) I thought he did the right things,” Blashill said. “He just didn’t really get in, (which) was the story for us the whole first (period).”
The second period has tormented the Hawks all season. They have allowed 25 goals between intermissions, tied for sixth in the NHL.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong after the first intermission for the Hawks. The team doesn’t know either.
“I don’t think there’s a magic answer like, ‘In our second periods we just decide not to try,'” center Jason Dickinson said. “Is it as simple as teams seeing what we do in the first half and making adjustments and now we try to adapt to their adjustments? Maybe that’s really hard to say.”
Dickinson returned to the lineup after suffering an injury suffered in an October 30 away game against the Winnipeg Jets. He wanted to come back when he was 100 percent healthy and feeling good during his first action in almost a month.
“It took a little while for my legs to get back to where they should be,” Dickinson said. “There are a few hiccups I’d like to get back, but that’s to be expected.”
It was a better response from the Hawks after their performance in Buffalo two days prior. They raced to the puck, created takeaways and left the Avalanche skaters confused in the first and third periods.
“It’s just one of those nights where things really weren’t going well,” defenseman Wyatt Kaiser said. “So (we) each go in and get back to work (get) confident in our game (because) we know we can be a good team, so we should go out there and start playing.”
