Blackhawks crumble late against Devils as defensive issues continue

NEWARK, N.J. — As the Blackhawks work through some serious defensive issues, they need stellar goaltending to have any chance to win.

And that’s just to have a chance, as evidenced by the fact Spencer Knight’s sharpness in net Sunday still wasn’t enough to prevent a 5-3 loss to the Devils.

Knight saved 35 of 39 shots in a bounce-back performance after a shakier night Thursday against the Flyers. But the Hawks weren’t able to hold 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2 leads before falling apart late.

Devils star Jack Hughes, who amassed a whopping 19 shot attempts, blew past Alex Vlasic for the game-winner with 5:09 left, just 19 seconds after Dougie Hamilton had tied the game.

"Our goalies have been amazing all season," Ryan Donato said. "It’s tough to see them put in those situations where we’re giving up that many chances."

The Hawks have now conceded 49, 33, 47, 42, 39 and 40 shots on goal in their last six games, winning just one.

It's easy to focus exclusively on the defense as the culprit there — and the defense has indeed been poor — but a lack of possession time in all three zones is simply giving opponents too many opportunities to exploit those defensive cracks.

Coach Jeff Blashill believed the Hawks' approach, at least, was better Sunday.

"Our oldest center was 22, and our 'D' could be playing in the NCAA Tournament right now," Blashill said. "They're going to make some mistakes, and we're going to have to be patient.

"It's part of where we're at. We've got to keep grinding through and making sure, as we go through some of these frustrating moments where we gave up a lead late, that we're learning. There's nothing wrong with failure if you learn from it."

Frank Nazar, who recorded his first career two-goal game, expressed a similar sentiment at the end of a physically and emotionally tiring four-game road trip.

"There's no doubt in my mind that we're going to become a better hockey team," Nazar said.

"I have full belief in our team. I think our team can skate with any other team in the league. I love these guys, and I think everybody in here has the heart and skill to do it right. It's just, sometimes stuff like that happens and we've got to learn from it."

New ideas

Blashill experimented with a few interesting lineup changes. He put Anton Frondell at center in his fourth NHL game — even though he rarely played center in Sweden. He also deployed a five-forward top power-play unit quarterbacked by Connor Bedard.

Both yielded dividends. Frondell tallied two assists, and the power play converted for the first time in nine games during a five-on-three.