Chicago Blackhawks Fall to Nashville in Overtime: 5 Takeaways

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Coming off back-to-back wins against hot teams, the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed the Nashville Predators to the United Center. Nashville took the lead early while Chicago fought back to drop the contest in overtime.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t complete the comeback, losing 4-3 in overtime. They now sit at 16-22-8 for the season and 1-1-1 against Nashville this year. Here are my five thoughts on the loss.

1 – Collin Delia’s lack of experience (finally) showed.

It’s a small sample size, yet going into this game against the Nashville Predators the rookie goalie was sitting at .947 save percentage and 2.19 GAA. For comparison, Cam Ward has posted .889 SV% and 3.80 GAA in his first year in Chicago.

As of right now, Collin Delia looks to be the goalie of the future. Recently, general manager Stan Bowman has sang his praises:

“It almost looks like his third year in the league. There’s no panic to his game. For me, that’s probably the most promising part of it is just the way he looks like he belongs here.”

However, a performance like what we saw at the United Center Wednesday night leaves quite a bit to be desired from the rookie goaltender.

Collin Delia not gobbling up pucks as he usually does. Two glove attempts, puck popped out both times. #Blackhawks #Preds
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) January 10, 2019

His confidence was shaken in vital rebound opportunities. Getting rattled when pucks are at his feet can result in easily goals for the opposing team.

2 – Penalties continue to be an issue

The Chicago Blackhawks were hit hard with penalties in pivotal situations. Brendan Perlini‘s double-minor for high stick against Dan Hamhuis forced Chicago to end the first period 2-1 on the penalty kill.

Not ideal.

Fortunately, Jonathan Toews notched a SHG shortly after David Kampf was called for tripping to cut the lead back to one goal; 3-2 Nashville. Penalties against a hot divisional opponent like Nashville will forced Chicago to claw back all night.

Jonathan Toews with the shorthanded goal, but look at the backhand feed from Kruger! #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/5SQzhA5Owv
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 10, 2019

The Blackhawks started the second and third periods shorthanded and trailing a goal. Additionally, Chicago is 4-18-3 when the opponent scores first.

The Blackhawks need to start periods at full strength to gain momentum early.

CHICAGO, IL – JANUARY 09: Alex DeBrincat #12 of the Chicago Blackhawks reacts after scoring against the Nashville Predators in the first period at the United Center on January 9, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) /

3 – DeBrincat Bumped Up

Last night, Alex DeBrincat was promoted to the top line with Toews and Dominik Kahun and logged 17:01 TOI. He currently sits at 36 points this year and certainly deserves Kane-Toews level ice time.

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DeBrincat’s hustle and goal scoring ability was on full display last night. He made his presence felt on the first line and added a power play goal as well. DeBrincat generated 7 shots on goal and it doesn’t feel like an overstatement to say that the vast majority of them had a realistic chance of going in.

As a result, this move sent Saad to the third line with Kampf and Drake Caggiula. Saad, though playing less minutes, was still a notable factor on that third line.

4 – Seabrook and Forsling Out; Jokiharju Returns from WJC

The defensive pairings were shaken up with the return of Henri Jokiharju and Brent Seabrook out with illness. Additionally, the Chicago Blackhawks placed Gustav Forsling on IR retroactive to January 5th with a torso injury Wednesday afternoon.

Erik Gustafsson was paired with Duncan Keith and logged 24:04 TOI. His night started out rough as he lost the puck behind his net, giving Nashville the first goal of the game.

Another look at Sissons' goal ... Gustafsson wasn't really helping out Delia. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Om8zQaRj7S
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) January 10, 2019

Gustafsson not only turned the puck over, but was completely out of position when the goal was scored. He was covering the short side goal post at best, but that doesn’t really accomplish anything.

Gus stood and watched, half-screened Delia and then looked surprised to see the puck go in.

Not great.

If Seabrook or Forsling aren’t back by Saturday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, Gustaffson should be bumped for Jokiharju.

5 – Potential Fixes

Kahun wasn’t productive on the first line tonight, and I don’t think he shouldn’t stay there long. In my opinion, putting Strome and DeBrincat together is more vital than keeping Kane and Strome on the same line.

If Colliton is looking for offensive production out of Saad, he needs to be bumped to the first or second line. He doesn’t play like a defensive minded forward, and is a better asset when paired with other goal scorers. Swapping Artem Anisimov for Saad could be mutually beneficial.

Previously, Jokiharju looked great when paired with Keith. Any confidence he found while winning gold with Finland at the World Junior Tournament likely won’t manifest itself on the third defensive pairing with Brandon Davidson.

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Tonight was not the best showing, but Delia has to be the guy in net moving forward. Using the defensive pairings efficiently while putting the forwards in propitious slots will take a lot of weight of Delia’s shoulders.

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