5 Quick Thoughts On Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 Loss To Dallas

The Chicago Blackhawks had a five game winning streak entering tonight’s game, and when they left Dallas they no longer had a winning streak getting shut out 4-0. Here are 5 Quick Thoughts on the Chicago Blackhawks loss. 

5. The Hawks Have Never Led This Season

The Chicago Blackhawks have not led one time this season in three games against the Dallas Stars.  Both times they have played the Stars in Dallas the games have been over by the 2nd period.  This game was so bad It felt like I was watching Saving Private Ryan more than the Hawks getting destroyed on the road.

4. The Long Break May Have Hurt The Hawks

One thing I know is that when teams are playing good, it’s better to be keep playing and ride out the hot streak. In this weird schedule that the NHL has put out, the Hawks basically had all week off, and they really looked rusty!  Joel Quenneville started messing with defensive pairings which didn’t help, but that didn’t matter there was no jump in their skates tonight.

3. The Hawks need a Different Game Plan Against the Stars

The Hawks had 28 shots blocked on Thursday night which is a lot.  If you ask me what is one of the biggest differences between 80’s hockey and today’s hockey is the fact that everyone has tons of equipment on and tries to block every shot while nobody got in front of blasts like that back in the day.

Anyways, the Stars sell out on every shot, so there has to be a different game plan ready for the next time the Hawks meet up with Dallas.  Maybe this is the team that you need to make one more pass to get past the blocked shot.

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2. Stephen Johns made his mark early

The former Chicago Blackhawks prospect made some early big time hits in the first period to set the tone for the game.  The Stars out hit the Hawks by a small margin 24-19, but their hits were way more impactful than the Hawks hits.  The Stars set the tone, and the rest was history on Thursday night!  Oh by the way, I still don’t like the fact that Johns was a throw in to dump Patrick Sharp‘s old salary!

1. Ping Ping Ping

The Chicago Blackhawks lead the league in posts hit this season, and when you look back at tonight’s game it really was a game of inches. Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane hit the post before the Stars scored their first goal, so who knows what the game would have looked like if it was 2-0 Hawks early on.  As frustrating as it was to watch this game, you can’t get too upset because eventually the law of averages has to turn for the hawks this season.

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Quick Bonus Thought

We will have to wait at least until Saturday to possibly see Patrick Kane pick up his 300th career goal.  He had a couple of chances tonight, but he just couldn’t cash them in.