Game Recap: Chicago Blackhawks Fall Apart in 4-1 Loss to PHI

The Chicago Blackhawks looked lost on all fronts as they lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

After a stretch of solid games, the Chicago Blackhawks put up a stinker against the Philadelphia Flyers, losing 4-1 in the seventh game of the long homestand. The Blackhawks currently sit at 2-4-2 which puts them in 6th place in the Central Division.

This was by far the Blackhawks’ worst performance of the season, after being heavily outplayed during the entirety of the game. The Chicago Blackhawks’ top-6 forwards were entirely invisible the whole game.

The Philadephia Flyers had two goals overturned, after offsides challenges, and were still able to win by a margin of 3 goals. That right there should tell you how tonight’s game went for the Blackhawks.

With Connor Murphy out of the lineup, the Chicago Blackhawks’ defense was likely to look worse, but the performance tonight was abysmal. The defensive pairing of Slater Koekkoek and Erik Gustafsson was a liability, with turnovers leading to breakaways. The age of Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith really showed as well.

The Flyers had two goals taken away in this game due to offsides review, so the score could have been even worse. The Flyers did net goals from Oskar Lindblom, Claude Giroux, former Blackhawk Kevin Hayes, and James van Riemsdyk.

The only ‘Hawks goal was netted by Brandon Saad, as he has continued to be a bright spot at the beginning of this season.

This game was sloppy from the beginning, but the Flyers dominated from start to finish. They were markedly dominant in the second period, as they outshot the Blackhawks 13-1. Even worse, the ‘Hawks had two power plays in the second, with no shots on either power play. Even the solid goaltending of Robin Lehner couldn’t stop the Flyers’ attack, as the ‘Hawks need to change their plan of attack in a bad way.

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For starters, the forward lines look like a mess, as Coach Jeremy Colliton had his forwards in a blender by the time the third period rolled around. The lack of production from the top-six is alarming, even though the Blackhawks made a push in the third, it was because of the bottom-six. Overall, the defensive performance was even more alarming, with turnover after turnover.

Calvin de Haan got burned a few times, as he is filling in for Murphy on the first defensive pairing and still adjusting to playing on his off-side. Plus, Erik Gustafsson was just being Gus and coughed the puck up multiple times in the defensive zone. It is safe to say the defense did Robin Lehner no favors tonight.

Jeremy Colliton needs to right the ship, and fast. The lines need to be shaken up and decisions need to be made. Brendan Perlini is apparently on the trade block, and this could be a shakeup the roster needs.

The only bright spot from this game was Brandon Saad, and he should be in the top-six starting on Saturday. The Chicago Blackhawks have a tough back-to-back coming up on the road in Carolina, and then, back at the United Center against Los Angeles on Sunday. This is a chance for the ‘Hawks to get back to .500 and salvage something positive from October.