It was one other tough loss for the Chicago Blackhawks, this time by the hands of a fellow Unique Six franchise within the Toronto Maple Leafs, dropping 4-1 and dropping to 8-15-2 on the season.
The Blackhawks are nonetheless in final place in the complete NHL and losers of seven of their final 9 video games, relationship again to their Nov. 14, 3-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken.
Listed below are three takeaways from the Blackhawks’ Dec. 2 matchup in opposition to the Maple Leafs.
Blackhawks Outplayed Maple Leafs in 2nd Interval
Down 1-0 going into the second body, because of an Auston Matthews objective close to the top of the primary, the Blackhawks got here out firing, throwing pucks on the Toronto objective and forcing Maple Leafs’ goaltender Anthony Stolarz to hustle.
Sadly, Stolarz did simply that, stopping each shot he confronted by way of the primary two durations and defending Toronto’s lead, which was prolonged when John Tavares scored his eleventh objective of the season to make it 2-0.
Was {that a} double doink? 👀 pic.twitter.com/Jl9u5KV3OX
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 3, 2024
Facet notice: how good has John Tavares been this season? The 34-year-old had the captaincy eliminated in favor of the youthful Matthews, and has responded with not only a optimistic perspective, however is producing at a close to point-per-game tempo, with 11 objectives and 11 assists for 22 factors in 23 video games. Say what you’ll about his lack of foot pace and his defensive sport beginning to deteriorate, however his manufacturing has by no means been in query by way of his seven seasons in Toronto.
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The Blackhawks didn’t let the second objective deter them and continued to press within the Maple Leafs’ zone, but it surely wasn’t sufficient. Stolarz, acquired by the Maple Leafs within the offseason after enjoying the function of backup goalie for Sergei Bobrovsky on the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup run, has been improbable this season, posting a .924 save proportion (SV%) and a couple of.23 goals-against common (GAA) with an 8-4-2 document by way of 14 appearances.
Lukas Reichel Will get on the Board
Going into the third interval with the identical perspective they’d going into the second, the Blackhawks fired pucks at Stolarz and created havoc within the Toronto zone. Simply minutes into the ultimate body, T.J. Brodie – who could have performed his finest sport as a Blackhawk, clearly in opposition to his former membership – intercepted a clearing try and stored the stress going within the Maple Leafs’ finish.
After a number of level photographs with an absurd quantity of site visitors in entrance of Stolarz, a rebound discovered Lukas Reichel’s stick, which he barely squeaked previous the objective line, chopping the deficit to 1.
Reichel sneaks one in and the #Blackhawks are on the board 👀 pic.twitter.com/43D7hdXyGT
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) December 3, 2024
I’ll say this about Reichel, who now has three objectives and 6 assists on the season for 9 factors in 21 video games: he’s regarded loads higher within the final handful of video games, regardless of being relegated to third- or fourth-line duties below head coach Luke Richardson. It’s felt like we’ve reached a degree the place the 22-year-old winger isn’t requested to do, effectively, something past not getting scored on.
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That being mentioned, there are moments throughout a sport the place you’ll be able to inform the offense is there, the talent to make one thing occur within the opponent’s zone is in his repertoire. You may solely hope that Richardson trusts Reichel with extra ice time as we method the vacation season.
Regardless of the Reichel objective, the Maple Leafs responded 20 seconds later with Fraser Minten scoring to make it 3-1, and Matthew Knies including an empty netter to shut it out for the Buds.
Blackhawks Proceed Enhancing, Regardless of Losses
I mentioned this after their loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 29, and I’ll say it once more: the Blackhawks are enjoying higher, and they’re much higher than their document suggests. However, like I mentioned after that Wild loss, your document is your document, and no quantity of “yeah, buts” and “what ifs” can change that.
If you happen to’re into the entire “Deserve To Win O’Meter” by way of MoneyPuck, the Blackhawks really had a 59.8 p.c probability of profitable the sport, indicative of a membership that comfortably outplayed their opponent. However which means nothing when you can’t bury possibilities, and it particularly means nothing in case your opponent has arguably the best objective scorer within the NHL.
Going ahead, the Blackhawks want extra from quite a few gamers, however maybe most essential is Tyler Bertuzzi, who has no objectives in his final 10 video games. For somebody who performs on the primary line with the likes of Connor Bedard and Taylor Corridor, in addition to getting first-unit energy play minutes, not scoring is unacceptable.
Chicago performs one other Unique Six franchise of their subsequent matchup after they tackle the Boston Bruins on Dec. 4. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT.
