Blackhawks come unglued after another back-breaking mistake in loss to Devils
NEWARK, N.J. — The Blackhawks have lost many games this season due to small third-period mistakes.
Their 4-1 defeat Saturday to the Devils can be added to the list.
Tied 1-1 with less than 10 minutes left, young defenseman Wyatt Kaiser had an obvious opportunity to clear the puck after a marathon shift of two-plus minutes stuck in the defensive zone. But Kaiser was indecisive and held it too long, Devils forward Jesper Bratt cut him off and forced a turnover and Jack Hughes scored the goal-ahead goal seconds later.
"I think there were a lot of moments in that shift where we could have done things a lot better," interim coach Anders Sorensen said.
That's undoubtedly correct, but if the Hawks had done any one of them, the shift wouldn't have continued, and Saturday's narrative could've been different.
Those singular breakdowns at the worst times explain how the Hawks have scored first an NHL-leading 19 times in 30 games — and been leading, tied or trailing by one goal in the third period 29 times in 30 games — yet sit in last place with a 9-19-2 record.
The Hawks' fourth line and top defensive pair were the ones swamped on the deciding shift, not the Jason Dickinson-led third line, but Dickinson knows exactly what that kind of fatigue-related mental impairment feels like.
"Once you get tired like that, the brain starts to shut down," Dickinson said. "You stop seeing the open ice. You stop seeing the other options. And you...miss a guy in your back side because you're so focused on what’s in front of you and you’re not able to see the whole ice. It gets a lot tougher, once you’re that gassed, to really make the best possible play."
That's a universal truth in hockey, but these Hawks also seem predisposed to a less excusable type of mental weakness: Fragility. When one thing goes badly — especially in higher-pressure situations, such as third periods and road games — it often snowballs into an avalanche of self-destruction.
After conceding three Islanders goals in a two-minute, 19-second span on Thursday, the Hawks one-upped themselves Saturday, allowing Hughes' goal to mark the first of three Devils goals in a two-minute, six-second span that blew the score out of proportion.
"Why are we getting so down after a goal?" captain Nick Foligno asked. "It's the reality of the NHL. You're not going to win every game 1-0. Teams are going to score and we do it to other teams, so why are we so flustered after they score one on us? Now teams come in waves and we don't know how to handle it.
"It seems like we're trying to get the goal back right away or we're forcing things. It's unacceptable at this point. Anders has put in a hell of a game plan. We really like the way we have to and will play for him. We've just got to start playing the whole game like that."
Sorensen's game plans and system changes do seem effective. The Hawks have looked like a more dangerous, cohesive team over the past week, even if his 1-3-0 record as coach doesn't reflect it.
They easily could've enjoyed a better fate Saturday, considering they led 1-0 at the second intermission — thanks to stellar play by rookie goalie Drew Commesso — and also hit the post three times. Connor Bedard, who had an erratic performance with intermixed moments of brilliance and foolishness, was responsible for two of those posts.
It's largely the Hawks' own fault, however, that they so rarely achieve those better fates.
"You’ve got to mitigate the mistakes so that, when they happen, it’s once and we move on." Dickinson said. "It seems like it happens, and then it happens again and we’re caving in [on] ourselves."