On Saturday night Chicago Blackhawks took on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Saturday night. This was their first game back from the Four-Nations Face-Off break.
The Blue Jackets are on the verge of the playoff line so they have a lot to play for in every game. The Blackhawks are still a rebuilding team looking to gain traction. It showed in this matchup.
Chicago was no good right out of the gate. Things were sloppy out there for them and it didn’t always feel like everyone was skating hard. Their 1-0 deficit by the end of the opening period seemed a bit lucky as it could have been way worse.
Kent Johnson, who scored the opening goal for Columbus, also scored a second to make it 2-0. After Craig Smith got the Blackhawks back within one, the Jackets blew the game open.
Columbus scored three unanswered goals and took the game 5-1. The Blackhawks outshot the Jackets 28-21 but nothing was dangerous enough to make an impact outside of the Smith goal. Elvis Merzlikins also played well in net as he saved 27 of 28.
One day later, the Blackhawks returned home to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto was the final Original Six team to visit the United Center in 2024-25.
Things started better for Chicago in that one as Teuvo Teravainen gave them a 1-0 lead in the first period and that score followed them to the intermission.
When they came back in the second, the Leafs started to take over. In the middle frame, the Leafs scored three unanswered to make it 3-1. Eight seconds after that third Maple Leafs goal, Philipp Kurashev kept the Blackhawks in it by getting them back within one heading into the second intermission.
In the third period, the Maple Leafs scored two more and won the game 5-2. The Hawks exit the weekend 0-2 following the break. They played a bit better with a little more energy on Sunday but still didn’t get the result.
The rest of this season is going to be tough for Chicago if they continue to play the way they did over the past weekend.
The Hawks will be back in action on Tuesday night when they make their first-ever trip to Utah to take on the Hockey Club. That’s a compelling matchup against a scrappy team trying to stay in the playoff mix.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
Read the full article here
