Blackhawks score 1st, but it's downhill from there as they fall 4-1 to the Canadiens

After not playing for five long days, the Chicago Blackhawks finally returned to game action on Friday, Oct. 23, when they hosted the 4-3-2 Montreal Canadiens. The Blackhawks were coming off a 4-0 shutout loss to the Dallas Stars (Oct. 17), so they were anxious to remedy that. It was also a "Back in Black" theme night, and the Blackhawks looked sharp in their black jerseys.

Defenseman Ian Cole celebrated his 1000th NHL game on this night. But it was certainly bittersweet for the veteran, because they team put up yet another bad outing, falling 4-1 to the Canadiens.

Here's the lineup details and game reaction.

Blackhawks lineup and special teams

Roman Kantserov - Connor Bedard - Patrick Kane

Tyler Bertuzzi - Anton Frondell - Teuvo Teravainen

Oliver Moore - Frank Nazar - Ryan Donato

Cole Smith - Ryan Greene - Jordan Greenway

Alex Vlasic - Ian Cole

Wyatt Kaiser - Artyom Levshunov

Ethan Del Mastro - Sam Rinzel

Spencer Knight/Arvid Soderblom

Scratches: Kevin Korchinski, Andrew Mangiapane (lower body), Bowen Byram (upper body)

Power play units

PP1: Bertuzzi, Bedard-Kantserov-Kane, Teräväinen

PP2: Donato, Moore-Nazar-Frondell, Rinzel

Penalty kill Contributors

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

Game Notes

• The Blackhawks got off to a fast start, creating a bunch of chances right off the bat. At the 4:23 mark of the first period, Connor Bedard got a breakaway attempt and made no mistake about finding the back of the net. He was assisted by Patrick Kane.

• But towards the end of the first, Montreal got one back. It was some nice passing in front of the net from former Blackhawk Kirby Dach to Jake Evans, notching things at 1-1. Owen Beck was credited with the secondary assist.

• While the Blackhawks led the play at the beginning of the period, the Canadiens got their feet under them as the first frame went on. By the end of the first, shots were tied 9-9.

• Alas, the Blackhawks were awarded three power plays in the second period (one started with 15 seconds to go in the first). Instead of capitalizing on them, they allowed a shorthanded goal against on the third man advantage. The top unit gave up two 2-on-1 rushes in a row, and the Habs scored on the second one to make it 2-1 for Montreal. The goal was credited to Evans, his second of the night, and assisted by Kaiden Guhle. It was not a good look for the Blackhawk's top PP unit.

• With just a few minutes to go in the middle frame, Guhle scored from the blue line, assisted by Evans and Alexandre Carrier. It's one Blackhawk's netminder Spencer Knight will probably want back. The Hawks were getting their chances in the second, but none of them were really good quality chances. They seemed to get more and more hesitant as the period went on.

• The Blackhawks switched up their top-six configuration to start the third period slotting Tyler Bertuzzi with Bedard and Roman Kantersov, and then Kane with Teuvo Teravainen and Anton Frondell. But that didn't seem to make any difference. They didn't generate a shot on goal until over halfway through the period.

• The Blackhawks emptied their net with about 2:30 to go in the game, but the Canadiens scored immeditately to make it 4-1, courtesy of Mike Matheson. Fans started leaving the United Center in droves. This ended up being the final score on what was NOT an encouraging return from a five day break.

Quotable Quotes

After the game, Connor Bedard said he felt they were the better team for the first two periods, but then it seemed to snowball. He agreed that the shorthanded goal by the Canadiens was a turning point in the game. "Our power play had a ton of looks tonight. Thought we were snapping it around, but then, you know, we'd give up some chances. They had probably two or three 2-on-ones that obviously can't happen."

With the losses adding up, I asked Bedard if he felt the team was holding their sticks too tight and thinking 'here we go again' when things start to go sideways. He didn't take the bait. "We're just focused on each game. And of course we wish to we wish to have a better first 10 games now. But wecan't change it now. Just go to work tomorrow at practice and come back Sunday and try to get two points."

Ian Cole used the word consistency to describe what the Blackhawks need to focus on moving forward. "We need to find that consistency because, like I said earlier, the first 10 minutes we looked really good, and I thought everyone was really happy with that. Obviously we didn't carry through to the full 60 (minutes). So we need to find a level of consistency in our game that we can play at to win hockey games. And if we don't find that, it's going to be tough."

For head coach Jeff Blashill's part, he stuck with the narrative that the team is close to playing the way they need to play. They just need some of their chances to turn into goals. But he acknowledged that they're in a tough spot. "Well, I'm sure they're frustrated (the players). I'm frustrated. You're frustrated. The fans are frustrated. That's a natural reaction. But the reality is, you got to find a way to kind of move past that. Because to me, being frustrated is honestly, like feeling sorry for yourself, that doesn't do anybody any good. So let's find a way to move past it and look for solutions."

Blashill said they'll look at everything; the lines, the pairings, the power play units, to see what kind of adjustments to make moving forward.

The Blackhawks will have a quick turnaround between games, as they host the Florida Panthers on Sunday, Oct. 25 for a 2 p.m. matinee game. It will also be the first of three "Best Day Ever" celebrations during the season, focusing on all the kids who love the game.

Tuesday, Oct. 27 marks a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. This will be the last contest of their seven-game homestand before heading out on a two-game road trip, versus the Detroit Red Wings (Oct. 29) and the Boston Bruins (Oct. 31).

We'll see if the Blackhawks can turn this ship around. But a 3-7-0 record to start the season is not encouraging.

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