After watching the best hockey of this century, Chicago Blackhawks fans were given a healthy dose of reality on Saturday night. The Blackhawks are still one of the worst teams in hockey, while Saturday’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, were tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot.
First period
The Hawks played a sloppy opening frame. Although Connor Bedard had some moments, the Hawks were outplayed. Kent Johnson got Columbus on the board early with a goal. The first period ended with the Hawks trailing 1–0.
Second period
The second began with another Johnson power-play goal. With the Hawks down 2–0, Craig Smith tipped in an Alex Vlasic shot for the Hawks’ lone goal.
Craig Smith LOVES a good power play goal!👏 pic.twitter.com/QofTMIncAH
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) February 23, 2025
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The Blue Jackets scored their third goal of the game on a shot from Denton Mateychuk. Petr Mrazek should have made the save on the Mateychuk shot. It was a poor night in net for Mrazek. The second period ended with the Hawks trailing 3–1.
Third period
Fresh off an impressive showing at the Four Nations Face-off, Zach Werenski buried a breakaway chance against Mrazek. Adam Fantilli added a goal to end the game. Columbus won 5–1.
Analysis
This game was unacceptable. Aside from Teuvo Teravainen, the team had two weeks off and they came out very sloppy. This is not just about coaching; it is about player motivation. Aside from Bedard, the young players on this team better bring a better effort on a nightly basis. It did not help that Mrazek had one of his worst performances of the season allowing five goals on 21 shots.
This game will mean very little in the long term. The biggest news of late is that Seth Jones has been vocal about being traded from the Blackhawks. Jones wants to play for a playoff team. His contract is going to make trading him to a contender challenging but not impossible. The expectation is that the Blackhawks will have conversations about moving Jones.
The Blackhawks play tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 6 p.m. CST puck drop.