The Chicago Blackhawks paid a visit to Missouri to take on the St. Louis Blues in their third preseason game of the year. They decided to bring a mix of their NHL lineup and AHL players for this one. That includes Patrick Kane, who played in his first and only exhibition game.
It wasn’t a great game for the Chicago Blackhawks. They lost 1-0, and it would have been worse if it weren’t for Arvid Soderblom. Chicago’s goalie made 35 saves on 36 shots. The only goal he allowed was an early 3rd period tally to Calle Rosen.
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Rosen’s goal was the result of a Blackhawks turnover. Connor McMichael and Pavel Buchnevich made a nice play and then found Calle Rosen, who blasted it past Soderblom.
If Arvid Soderblom can play the way he did in this one and in the first preseason game he played, he will earn the full-time backup role and be more than competent throughout the year. Soderblom playing well behind Spencer Knight will be one of the keys to the team taking a jump in the standings.
Patrick Kane and his line with Frank Nazar and Roman Kantserov had some nice moments, but they were never able to solve Jordan Binnington. If this group stays together, they will produce in the regular season, but they are still working off some rust.
On the other hand, the rest of the lines were not at their best. Specifically, Anton Frondell’s line with Nick Lardis and Ryan Greene was suspect. It’s not a likely trio when things start to count, but those three individuals will all admit they have to be better.
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During the 3rd period, Blackhawks prospect AJ Spellacy was ejected with a game misconduct (and a five-minute major) due to a headbutt. We’ll find out later if the league is going to take a look at it.
Once again, Kevin Korchinski was one of the better-looking defensemen on the team. If he isn’t one of the seven who make the team out of camp, he probably never had a chance to begin with. Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov haven’t been bad by any means, but it’s hard to say they’ve been better than Korchinski.
Did the management group learn anything from this game that will impact their roster decisions? It’s hard to say because the Blackhawks were outplayed for most of the night, but Soderblom and Korchinski didn’t hurt their cases.
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The Chicago Blackhawks did not score a goal in this game.
What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
The Chicago Blackhawks will wrap up the preseason with one final home exhibition game on Saturday night. This will mostly be an NHL-loaded lineup, with the exception of Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks are saving that excitement for the home opener.
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