Blackhawks stumble out of the gate against Oilers after late Bedard scratch

Just when we thought the Chicago Blackhawks were over the flu bug that ran amok in their locker room over the weekend, it claimed one more victim before puck drop. Those who were hoping for the Connor vs Connor match-up were bummed to learn that Connor Bedard would not play against the Edmonton Oilers because of illness. We had to settle for Connor Murphy vs Connor McDavid, instead.

The Blackhawks have plenty of experience playing without Bedard and have found success with a simple, predictable style of hockey. There wasn’t enough of that kind of hockey played, especially in the first period, in a 4-1 loss to the Oilers.

“It’s a hard league,” said captain Nick Foligno. “It’s a league where you have to find your game, regardless of how you feel. We didn’t make it hard on them. They were getting passes to the slot. That’s not like us. We’re a team that really protects the middle well, makes it really hard to get through. We’re fast, but we didn’t look as fast as we needed to be. It’s all those things rolled into one.”

Colton Dach Gets New Life

Colton Dach was not expecting to play tonight. He was an extra during morning skate and was headed to the press box for the evening. With Bedard being a late scratch, he was reinserted into the lineup. This is a big season for Dach, as he needs to prove he deserves to be part of the long-term plans. With a slew of talented young prospects on the way over the next year or two, it will be more difficult to keep his spot on the roster unless he ramps up his game. While he’s added a physical edge to the Blackhawks’ lineup, his overall play has been inconsistent throughout the season, which is why he was slated to be a healthy scratch in the first place.

Dach made the most of his opportunity and was noticeable for much of the night. He had a couple of scoring chances in the second period. Early in the frame, he pounced on an Alec Regula pass and got off a shot from the slot, but he didn’t convert. About four minutes later, he fired a backhand shot from in close, but Connor Ingram’s glove hand was quick enough to nab the shot out of midair.

While his line with Foligno and Ryan Donato spent much of their time on the ice being hemmed in their own zone, Dach had a decent night. He finished with two shots on goal on three attempts, three hits, produced three scoring chances, two of which were high-danger, and even got 2:15 of power-play time.

Landon Slaggert Making the Most of His Time

With Bedard out of the lineup, Landon Slaggert got bumped up to the second line with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev. They were tasked with defending the Connor McDavid line much of the night. They finished the night with a 66.67 Corsi for percentage (CF%), with 12 shot attempts to just six allowed. They held a 7-1 advantage in scoring chances, but were on the ice for the first two Oilers’ goals.

I still don’t know if Slaggert has a long-term future with the Blackhawks, but he has been excellent since returning from the Rockford IceHogs. He’s providing speed and energy, a physical edge, and a responsible defensive game. He had four shot attempts, two hits, and a blocked shot while playing 1:25 on the penalty kill. Blashill obviously likes what he’s been seeing, as Slaggert was originally in the lineup over Dach. Giving him the assignment of defending the McDavid line shows a ton of trust from his head coach.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• Teuvo Teravainen did not return after the first period. After the game, Blashill confirmed that he suffered an upper-body injury and did not fall victim to the stomach bug that took Bedard out. We’ll get a better update on his condition at Wednesday’s practice.

• Spencer Knight was terrific. He had to be sharp early in the game, and he was up to the challenge. None of the three goals could be blamed on him. Zach Hyman was allowed to stand at the side of the net where he’s made his living on the first goal. The second goal was banked off the back of his left leg. The third goal, in the final minute, was the product of an ill-advised pass by Wyatt Kaiser into the slot. Knight faced 11 high-danger scoring chances in the first period and only allowed one goal. The best of his 31 saves came on Kasperi Kapanen in the opening frame.

• Artyom Levshunov played 24:33, with 5:33 coming in one second-period shift. He was on the ice for an entire power play and then got stuck on the ice for far too long once it expired. He was a victim of the long chance, and the extended shift was the longest by any player in the league this season. The rookie blueliner had another effective night with three shots on goal, six shot attempts, a blocked shot, and a career-high six shots on goal.

• Tyler Bertuzzi had the Blackhawks' lone goal, for his team-leading 24th tally of the season. This is already his second-best season when it comes to goals. He's only six shy of tying his career-high of 30 with 36 games left to play.

• We have to mention the penalty kill for giving up zero shots on goal in four minutes against the NHL’s top power play. That’s beyond impressive.

• Before the game, Nick Lardis took a photo with Hyman, who is one of the owners of the Brantford Bulldogs, along with his brother and father. The Hyman family watched Lardis put up 71 goals for their team last season.

• Finally, the newest member of the Chicago Cubs, All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, was in attendance and got a big ovation from his new hometown fans.