Blackhawks hold off Islanders in Anton Frondell's impressive NHL debut

ELMONT, N.Y. — Through one game of the Anton Frondell era, the Blackhawks are undefeated.

The Hawks held on by the thinnest of threads Tuesday night to win 4-3 in Frondell’s NHL debut, dealing a blow to the Islanders’ playoff hopes in the process.

The No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, who arrived in the U.S. from Sweden on Monday, attempted five shots in 15:44 of ice time, skating on the first line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene, as well as on the top power-play unit.

He earned his first point with a savvy assist in the second period in which he grabbed a loose puck as he skated into the neutral zone, kept his head up, spotted speedy Ilya Mikheyev streaking down the left side and fed him a pass. Mikheyev buried his 14th goal of the season through Islanders goalie David Rittich’s five-hole, giving the Hawks a lead they never relinquished.

“It was wide open, so why wouldn’t I pass it?” Frondell said.

He said he didn’t know what to expect from his first NHL shift.

“I felt like, ‘Oh, wow, this is going really fast,’ ” he said. “Like, [Islanders star Mathew Barzal], when he comes at high speed, it’s hard to know what to do. But I just tried my best, tried to compete. I’m happy my first game is over.”

Hawks coach Jeff Blashill was more impressed with Frondell’s decision-making on the assist than Frondell was, noting that most young players would have focused on Bedard slicing down the middle and not noticed Mikheyev open on the wing.

Tactical use of his body was another skill Frondell improved on significantly this season in Sweden. He demonstrated it Tuesday both offensively (protecting the puck along the boards with his body on numerous occasions) and defensively (boxing Islanders forward Bo Horvat out of the crease on a rush chance in the second period).

“He doesn’t cheat for offense . . . [because] really, for two years, he’s played pro hockey,” Blashill said. “Sometimes when guys come from junior or college, they never have to defend because they have the puck the whole night. . . . For him, he’s had to defend. He’s had to be a fourth-liner. He’s had to do those kind of things. That helps him grow.”

Fellow Hawks rookie forward Nick Lardis was another standout Tuesday, notching his the first multipoint game of his career with one goal and two assists.

Lardis’ elevation to the second line with Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi two games ago has elevated his play. The Hawks generated a 15-12 advantage in scoring chances during his five-on-five ice time while the Islanders built an enormous 40-8 advantage when he wasn’t on the ice.

“I think Lardis’ game [Sunday against the Predators] was his best game, and this one might have been better,” Blashill said.

Said Lardis: “[I’m] making sure I’m winning those plays on the walls and making sure I’m getting the puck out, especially in games like that where a team is kind of dominating us in the third period.”

That description isn’t hyperbole. The Islanders, after trailing 4-1 at the second intermission, mounted a spirited push led by rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who played nearly 32 minutes.

The defensive structure that worked so well for the Hawks right after the Olympic break has sprung major leaks lately. They also weren’t hard enough on pucks, either. Goalie Arvid Soderblom had to make 44 saves to rescue the win.

“We did a couple things that allowed more momentum from them, and it just built and built,” Blashill said. “We’ve got a chance [Wednesday] to meet and go through some things that we could have done a better job of in the third . .. but we do that with two points under our belt, which is a great thing.”