Blackhawks give up a 4-goal lead, fall to Jets 5-4 in a shootout

The Winnipeg Jets have been on a tear lately, winning their last five games; including an 8-3 rout over the Dallas Stars this past Thursday (Nov. 12). Before that...they lost nine games in a row. Sounds familiar to Chicago Blackhawks' fans, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks came into this contest on Saturday (Nov. 14) coming off of a feel-good 3-2 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. It was a win that was desperately needed after losing nine of their previous contests. Could they put together another win?!

It sure looked like it, as they got out to a strong 4-0 lead. But then somehow it slipped away. The Jets are known for their comebacks, and they did just that. Here's game highlights and reaction from the players and coaches.

Blackhawks lineup & special teams

Kantserov-Bedard-Bertuzzi

Teravainen-Frondell-Donato

Moore-Nazar-Kane

Smith-Greene-Mangiapane

Vlasic-Rinzel

Cole-Levshunov

Kaiser-Del Mastro

Knight/Commesso

Extras: Greenway, Boucher, Korchinski, Bowen Byram (upper body)

Power play units

PP1: Nazar, Bedard-Kantserov-Kane, Rinzel

PP2: Bertuzzi, Moore-Donato-Frondell, Levshunov

Penalty kill contributors

Teravainen, Cole, Vlasic, Frondell, Smith, Nazar, Mangiapane, Greene, Kaiser, Levshunov

Blackhawks game notes

• Less than two minutes into the game, Oliver Moore delivered a nifty centering pass to Tyler Bertuzzi to make it 1-0 for the Blackhawks. Connor Bedard was credited with the secondary assist. It was just Bertuzzi's third goal of the season, snapping a 12-game goal drought.

• A little later in the first frame, Anton Frondell scored the second goal of the game for the Blackhawks, redirecting a shot from Teuvo Teravainen and past Jets netminder Stuart Skinner. The Blackhawks were up 2-0 and off to a great start. But could they keep the momentum going?!

• With 42.7 seconds left in the period, the Blackhawks were granted a power play, as Brayden Yager was called for tripping. They converted in beautiful fashion, with Patrick Kane feeding Bedard from behind the net. It was also a heads up shot by Sam Rinzel, who was credited with the secondary helper.

• At the end of the first period the Blackhawks were winning 3-0, with goals by Bertuzzi, Frondell & Bedard. Shots were tied 8-8. It was obviously a good start for the Hawks, taking advantage of their opportunities.

• About halfway through the second period, Kane was called for high-sticking and then Frank Nazar for tripping just a few seconds apart. On the ensuing Jets' 5-on-3 power play, Ian Cole, Alex Vlasic and Teravainen were caught on the ice for almost the entire two minutes. But they held strong and the Jets weren't able to convert.

• Not that long after, the Blackhawks were awarded a power play of their own. They converted for the second time of the game to lead 4-0. This time it was Nazar at the net, receiving a pass from Teravainen. It was both Teravainen and Rinzel's second assists of the day.

• Alas, the Jets got one back to make it 4-1. Mark Scheifele did the honors, assisted by Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor. It was a historic goal for Scheifele, as this was this 930th point which surpassed Dale Hawerchuk for most points in Jets franchise history.

• But the Jets weren't done yet. Just two minutes later Connor scored, to cut the Blackhawks lead to 4-2. Scheifele provided the assist. That was the score at the end of the second period, with Winnipeg leading 17-12 in shots.

• At the start of the third period, Cole was called for holding and Cole Perfetti scored on the power play (helpers by Gabriel Vilardi and Scheifele). Just like that, a four goal lead by the Blackhawks was cut to one.

• About midway through the third period Bertuzzi was no longer on the bench. He did not return to the game and head coach Jeff Blashill had no update on him postgame.

• The Blackhawks did a good job of playing keep away for the remainder of the period, and trying to create some offense when they had the chance. But then the Jets pulled their goalie with 2:31 to go in the game. Vilardi scored to tie it 4-4, assisted by Scheifele and Neal Pionk. For the second consecutive game, the Blackhawks headed to overtime.

• After plenty of chances from both sides, neither team was able to score in overtime, and the Blackhawks headed to their first shootout of the season.

• Scheifele and Connor both scored for the Jets in OT, with Bedard being unable to convert for Chicago. It was up to Kane to keep the Blackhawks in the game, which he did. Showtime gave the Blackhawks some hope.

• But then Roman Kantersov wasn't able to get it done on his chance, and that was the end of the game. 5-4 in a shootout for the Jets. It was yet another disappointing loss for the Blackhawks; albeit they did pick up a point.

Quotable Quotes

Postgame, goaltender Spencer Knight was pretty matter of fact about things. "You just gotta play 60-minutes. When we're up and we're down, we gotta be looking at it like, it's a 60-minute game, it's not a 20-minute game."

Defenseman Alex Vlasic said they stopped playing the way that made them successful as the game went on. As the Jets started stacking up the goals, they played more and more on their heels. I asked him if they could build on scoring four goals despite the loss, and he thought they could. "Yeah, I think it all stems from how we were playing smartly. We were playing smart with the puck, covering defensively, and I thought we did a good job with that the other game too. Just making sure we have out responsibilities in check, and I think that'll lead to us having the puck more. And that's kind of what it seemed like tonight. We just seemed in the first period a little bit, all over them."

Coach Blashill felt this was a learning lesson for the team on how to find a way to close out the game. "I would say the end of the second is the big lesson in today. We've got to find a way to give them zero momentum. When they come right out in the third and we take a penalty, you can't do that...we just gotta find a way to stay on our toes while still checking well. I thought we did it the first half of the game, and I didn't think we did it the rest of the second half."

Despite the loss, the Blackhawks picked up a point and improved to 5-13-2. They also scored four goals, including two on the power play. Those aspects can be seen as positive. They'll have to keep working on their finish, and hopefully take that lesson away from this contest.

The team will continue their homestand hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (Nov. 17) for an Original Six matchup. They will also be celebrating their Centennial game, commemorating the Blackhawks inaugural NHL game on Nov. 17, 1926 (also against the Maple Leafs). They'll then welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (Nov. 19), before heading out on a three-game road trip.

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