Blackhawks: One Line That Stood Out Against The Red Wings

The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings six to four last night, there definitely was a lot to take away from the game, especially the play of one line.

The Hawks’ power play was great, scoring a power-play goal and passing the puck around all night, the main issue for the team was the penalty kill that gave up four goals on the night. However, maybe that should be taken with a grain of salt, as the Hawks’ penalty kill is not going to throw their bodies in front of pucks in preseason games like they would during the regular season.

They were caught out of position a few times on the penalty kill, and that definitely will be something they go over as training camp comes to an end, so we will have to wait and see what they look like come October 13th.

The Blackhawks had one line that stood out from the rest.

The fourth line tonight consisted of Brandon Hagel, Adam Gaudette, and Mackenzie Entwistle. The group only played 11 to 12 minutes during the game, but they were really effective during that time. Entwistle scored two goals and Hagel had three assists on the night.

They generated a lot of scoring chances and played the game on another level against the Red Wings. Check out Hagel’s great pass to set up one of Entwistle’s goals:

Figuring out the Blackhawks bottom-six group of forwards is definitely still a work in progress, but I have to say the idea of a Hagel-Gaudette-Entwistle fourth line definitely does not hurt my feelings!

The bottom six is not going to get any easier to figure out. A great showing tonight from Entwistle who had two goals shows the depth this team has. I wouldn’t be surprised if during the next preseason game the Hawks move someone else into that position to see how they do a guy like Jujhar Khaira would be an interesting fit for the next preseason game.

Stan Bowman Shouldn’t be Blamed if the Blackhawks Stumble

The fourth line tonight definitely gave Stan Bowman and Jeremy Colliton something to think about when it comes to who should be in the lineup. Their job is going to be kind of difficult getting the lineup down to the 12 starters for opening night.