5 Thoughts: Chicago Blackhawks defeat New York Islanders at home

After a wacky 13-goal game against the Washington Capitals, the Chicago Blackhawks played a more normal game against a red-hot New York Islanders team.  Here are my 5 Thoughts on the 3-2 shootout victory.

1 – A sloppy start almost triggered another wacky game.

At just the 2:19 mark,

Chicago Blackhawks

center

Artem Anisimov

lost a draw in his own zone.  Anisimov may have been held on the play by

Valtteri Filppula

, but

Henri Jokiharju

then whiffed on the puck, enabling Filppula to gain control of the puck and slip it through the pads of goalie

Cam Ward

.  It appeared it might be just another one of those nights for the ‘Hawks.  This was a breakdown in bing-bang-boom fashion, and it shouldn’t happen.  Take a look.

After this early goal, the ‘Hawks still didn’t settle down to control the play.  They were outplayed in all three zones by a well-coached Islanders team.  However, the top forward line of Drake Caggiula, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane managed some significant possession time in the offensive zone. The chemistry between Toews and Kane this year has been on par with what we used to see from them in their early years.  The addition of Caggiula has been a pleasant surprise.  His hustle and hockey sense have made him a great complimentary winger on that line.  And Kane has been complimentary about his play:

But back to the sloppy first period.  The stats show just how lucky the ‘Hawks were to escape that period down by a lone goal.  The Chicago Blackhawks have been hot and cold out of the gate.  They need to be better.