Blackhawks: 3 Takeaways from Game 2 against Golden Knights

After getting majorly outplayed in Game 1 of the series, the Blackhawks looked to bounce back and claim a victory on Thursday evening. While they did look a little bit better, they still were unable to record the win against the high-flying Golden Knights squad.

The Chicago Blackhawks always seem to struggle when they play against the Vegas Golden Knights. Before Game 2 on Thursday night the Hawks record against the Knights already was pitiful, as they were 1-7 against Vegas since they came into the league in 2017-18.

As many of you have probably seen, this trend continued in Game 2. Chicago quickly fell into a 2-0 hole in the opening frame of the game. This was a dreadful start for the #8 seed, who were already down 1-0 in the series.

Chicago was able to mount a comeback, as Kirby Dach banged home a rebound on the backhand for his first career playoff goal. The tally narrowed the deficit to only a one-goal margin only three minutes into the second period. Dominik Kubalik continued his excellent rookie campaign by ripping a wrist shot off the post and into the net, tying the game at two only nine minutes later.

After Mark Stone was able to clean up a rebound to put Vegas back in front 3-2, it looked like Vegas would have the lead heading into the third. However, the Blackhawks yet again were able to find a way to draw even.

With only 20 some seconds left in the period, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, and Dylan Strome teamed up to execute a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play that Strome was able to burry into an open net. This knotted the game back up at 3 goals apiece heading into the third.

After a back and forth affair in the third, each team went scoreless in the period. This meant that the matchup was heading to overtime, which is somewhat of a common theme for the Blackhawks in the playoffs.

With only 7 minutes gone into overtime, Vegas’s Reilly Smith was able to fire home his third goal of the series to deliver Vegas the win. It was a relatively easy finish for Smith, as the Blackhawks left him wide open in the slot.

Now already down 2-0 in the series, the Blackhawks will have to battle back throughout the remaining games if they want a chance at advancing to the second round. Here are three takeaways following the Game 2 overtime loss to Vegas:

Takeaway #2: What has happened to Alex DeBrincat?

Throughout the season, it is evident that Alex DeBrincat has taken a step back since he signed a contract extension this past summer. Coming off of a season in which he scored 41 goals last year, he was only able to score 18 goals this past season. Some good news for the Hawks is that he is still under his entry-level contract this season, but if his current performance continues when his $6.4 million contract kicks in next season, Chicago could be into some salary cap trouble once again.

While DeBrincat has been playing fairly well in his first-ever playoff appearance so far, (4 assists in 6 games) he still has yet to score a goal. This is not a good sign, as he has been playing with Kirby Dach and Patrick Kane for the majority of the playoff run. He had an impressive training camp, as he scored some goals and had some slick assists during team scrimmages.

Could DeBrincat be becoming more of a playmaker instead of a pure sniper? He has not tallied a goal in his last 9 games but has had 7 assists over that span. His skating ability and speed still look to be top-notch, but his shot accuracy has not been the same this season.

His secondary assist in Game 2 did set the table for the pretty passing play that the Hawks used to tie the game, (see above) but the Blackhawks will need to have DeBrincat contribute some depth scoring if they want to advance further in the postseason. When you give a contract extension that big to a former 40 goal scorer, they need to put the puck into the back of the net in the postseason.

Takeaway #3: Is Corey Crawford the guy next season?

It has been very clear that Corey Crawford has not looked the same this postseason. He let up some questionable goals against Edmonton, and even more so since the series against Vegas began. Crawford is 35 years old and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. With no real goaltender prospects in the pipeline, will the Blackhawks want to resign Crawford?

It’s no question that Crawford has dealt with numerous amounts of injuries over the past couple of seasons, and that he’s getting older. Fresh off of testing positive for Covid-19, this postseason has been a question mark for the two-time Stanley Cup champion.

While three out of Vegas’s four goals were not at the fault of Crow, Tomas Nosek’s goal during the first period was another that Crawford should have had. Take a look at this slow-motion replay:

https://twitter.com/GoldenKnights/status/1294034948509196288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Yikes. I’ll give Crawford some credit where credit is due, and say that he did play an impressive third period, but some of the goals he has let in since the postseason has begun have been back-busters.

The postseason has been a roller-coaster for Corey, as he has been lights out and made some impressive saves as well. But at age 35, the injury issues, and some of the softies he’s let up this postseason warrant the Hawks to resign him for the starting job? Hmmm. It will be something that Stan Bowman will have to think long and hard about in the short amount of time before next season gets underway.

Can the Hawks turn the series around before it is too late? Find out in game three of the series, which is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:00 PM CT.