Soderblom, second line help Blackhawks steal two points from the Islanders

The New York Islanders played with a sense of urgency for much of the night, especially to start the game and throughout the third period. They are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference and can’t afford to leave any points on the ice. The Chicago Blackhawks weathered the storm and stole a 4-3 win thanks to a second line that’s clicking and another big performance from Arvid Soderblom.

The Islanders scored on the opening shift before allowing straight goals to the Blackhawks. They threw everything they had at Soderblom in the third period, but somehow the visitors survived and escaped the USB Arena with two points. If the Islanders miss the playoffs by two points or less, remember this game.

The Blackhawks will practice tomorrow, and head coach Jeff Blashill can’t wait to get his group on the ice.

"We've got a chance tomorrow to meet and go through some things that we could have done a better job of in the third,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, which allowed them momentum. But we do that with two points under our belt, which is a great thing."

Frondell Finds the Scoresheet in His Debut

About nine months ago, Matthew Shaefer and Anton Frondell were the first and third overall picks of the NHL Entry Draft. Tonight, they met on the ice as Frondell made his NHL debut for the Blackhawks.

The 18-year-old Swedish forward admitted that the last couple of days have gone by really fast as he’s gone from having his SHL playoff run end to playing in New York in about 72 hours. He met the team last night and had dinner with his teammates, getting to know them off the ice. His parents and sisters followed him from Sweden to be at the UBS Arena for his big night.

Frondell was not worried too much about making the transition from the SHL to the NHL, as the situations are similar for him.

“I’m young, on a pro team back there just like it will be here,” he said. “Playing pro hockey with men, it’s good. Competing, battling, where everyone is strong and knows the game. They were all more experienced than me. And also playing with those guys, like (Marcus) Kruger, who can teach me things every day, has helped me a lot.”

Blashill had a simple message for his newest forward: just be himself. He added that mistakes will happen, so don’t worry about making them. It’s the learning from said mistakes that is the key. Frondell was put right onto the top line, where his head coach felt he belonged.

“He’s earned the opportunity to be up there and capitalize on the confidence he’s gained coming into the league,” Blashill said. “It’s a good chance for him. It’s three good players on that line, and hopefully they can create some stuff for us.”

After being on the ice for a goal against in his first shift, Frondell showed off his high hockey IQ in picking up his first NHL point later in the opening period. Instead of forcing the puck to Bedard, who had the attention of two defenders, he got it to Ilya Mikheyev for a 2-1 lead.

Frondell played 15:44 in his NHL debut, including 2:29 on the power play. He finished with two shots on goal, five shot attempts, a hit, and two blocked shots. Unfortunately, the top line did not get much time in the offensive zone. They had just a 24.32 Corsi for percentage (CF%). They were outshot 18-4, outchanced 17-2, and allowed nine high-danger scoring chances and two goals.

Chemistry Brewing on the Second Line

Nick Lardis is doing everything in his power to never play on the fourth line again, and he’s getting a lot of help from Frank Nazar. With all the attention given to Frondell, it was this young duo who stole the show tonight.

The second line combined for seven points, as Lardis, Nazar, and Bertuzzi each found the back of the net. Lardis led the way with this first three-point game in the NHL, which started with the Blackhawks’ opening goal. After Nazar missed the net on a 2-on-0 rush, he found the trailing Lardis for his seventh goal of the season and second in as many games.

After recording the secondary assist on Bertuzzi’s late first-period goal, Lardis returned to favor Nazar early in the second period. The Islanders stopped playing because they were expecting a whistle of icing, which they should have gotten, and Lardis jumped in hard on the forecheck to set up the tally.

The line finished with a 54.84 CF%, which is impressive when you consider the Blackhawks had a 34.65 CF% as a team. They produced nine of the team’s 23 scoring chances in addition to scoring three of their four goals. While we are dealing with a very small sample size, Lardis and Nazar could be forming the foundation for a very long and prosperous relationship.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• After making 45 saves in his last outing against the Colorado Avalanche, Soderblom made 44 huge stops tonight to help play spoiler against the Islanders. He endured an early onslaught and gave the Blackhawks a chance to get back into the game. He made big saves early and late in the second period to keep the Blackhawks ahead by three goals. However, it was in the third period that he earned his game check. The Islanders had 49 shot attempts, 23 shots, and 26 scoring chances. He faced 20 high-danger shots on the night and stopped 17 of them. Tonight was his fourth start of the season with at least 44 saves. He improved to 2-2-0 in those games.

• Artyom Levshunov's progression since the Olympic break has been fun to watch. However, tonight was a rough game for the rookie defenseman. His turnover led directly to the Islanders’ goal on the opening shift. Although he wasn’t officially credited with any giveaways, his puck management was not great. The Blackhawks were outshot 21-8 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 and gave up 15 high-danger chances. He still produced six shot attempts, two of which were on goal, and dished out four hits.

• Bertuzzi’s first-period goal gave him 26 high-danger goals on the season, the most in the NHL. Unfortunately, Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars scored two high-danger goals to overtake Bertuzzi with 27.  

• Sacha Boisvert’s visa paperwork finally cleared just before the Blackhawks took to the ice for their morning skate today. Look for him to make his NHL debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

• One last fun Frondell moment, I loved seeing Bedard giving him the opening faceoff in his NHL debut.