The Chicago Blackhawks lost their second straight game, but earned a point on Saturday night in a hard-fought overtime loss at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres. Chicago had a 3–1 lead going into the third period, but were doomed by too many penalties.
Scoring recap: After a torrent start to the game, Buffalo cashed in first when Victor Olofsson clapped one home to take a 1–0 lead. The Blackhawks then tied the game with Jason Dickinson’s spirited effort to crash the net. Chicago extended their lead to 3–1 in the second period with tallies from Sam Lafferty and Taylor Raddysh. Tage Thompson scored twice in the third period to level the game at 3–3. In the overtime frame, Olofsson scored the game winner, his second of the game, converting a one-timer.
The good: Arvid Soderblom was brilliant, keeping the Hawks in the game early and registering 41 saves on the evening. It is early, but Chicago is clearly responding under the guidance of new head coach Luke Richardson. Though the talent is not there, they are competing, staying disciplined and are playing a gritty brand of hockey that has eluded Blackhawk teams in the last few years.
The bad: The team is competing and currently overachieving. Yes, there is plenty of time left and the early start for the Hawks will tail off at some point. How much it tails off will be interesting to monitor. With three potential generational talents in the upcoming 2023 NHL Entry Draft (Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Matvei Michkov), it is critical that the rebuilding Hawks are in the best possible chance to have a top-three lottery pick come June. Sorry fans, but we should be rooting for them to lose.
The ugly: Through his first eight games as a Washington Capital, former Blackhawk Dylan Strome has one goal and five assists. One of his six points is in even strength hockey and he is a -5 to start the season. He is the same one-dimensional player, folks, and those that miss him should start to feel content that Kyle Davidson did the right think by letting him walk away.
The Blackhawks play next at home on Sunday versus the Minnesota Wild. That game will be at 6 p.m. CDT on NBC Sports Chicago.