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,
center
lost a draw in his own zone. Anisimov may have been held on the play by
, but
then whiffed on the puck, enabling Filppula to gain control of the puck and slip it through the pads of goalie
. 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:
Patrick Kane said Drake Caggiula "played a perfect game. Won a lot of battles, did a lot of good things. ... It's unfortunate that he probably didn't show up on the score sheet more than he did, but he played a great game for us."#Blackhawks
— John Dietz (@johndietzdh) January 21, 2019
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.
First period stats at 5-on-5:
— Blackhawk Up (@Blackhawk_Up) January 23, 2019
Scoring chances: 16-4 NYI
High-danger scoring chances: 7-0 NYI
Not good at all for the #Blackhawks