The Chicago Blackhawks have had a tough season. The team has been going through many growing pains that come with a lineup filled with younger players, and not a lot of great veterans to help lead them and show them the ropes. This team has a long way to go to become competitive in a very competitive league, but plenty of good developments have come out of this season as well. Arvid Soderblom got the last start of the season, hoping to improve his ghastly record this season. Colin Blackwell and MacKenzie Entwistle checked into the lineup, with Connor Murphy coming out.
First period
The Los Angeles Kings mustered a good amount of shots on goal with 14, but Soderblom stood tall and kept them out of his net. With just over five minutes remaining in the period, Lukas Reichel stole the puck off the face-off and beat the Kings’ defense to put it past Cam Talbot, making the score 1–0 Blackhawks. They would take that lead into the intermission, despite getting just four shots on net themselves.
Lukas Reichel puts the Hawks up first! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fxABFyYzgo
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 19, 2024
Second period
The second period was all LA. The Kings went on a rampage, with 11 shots on net, and putting three of them in. Viktor Arvidsson got his fifth of the season to sneak through Soderblom’s legs, knotting things up at 1–1. The Blackhawks showed a sign of life on the first penalty kill. Jason Dickinson put home his own shorthanded rebound, but it was called back after it was determined to have been put in with a kick. It would take until their next power play, but Quinton Byfield would put the Kings in front 2–1 with a tip-in right out in front of the Blackhawks’ net.
The Kings would increase their lead just a couple minutes later. Former Blackhawk forward Phillip Danault would steal the puck from Jarred Tinordi behind the net and get it in front where it found Trevor Moore, who buried it to make it 3–1 Kings heading into the second intermission.
Third period
The Blackhawks went on the power play early in the third and made the Kings pay. Tyler Johnson scored what may be his final goal in a Blackhawks uniform, potting his 17th of the season past Talbot, making it a 3–2 hockey game. Just over two minutes later, Joey Anderson got the puck from Landon Slaggert in front and tucked it under the arm of Talbot, knotting the game up at 3–3.
Anybody awake? We’ve got a tie game! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OAcT4hso33
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) April 19, 2024
The Blackhawks were not satisfied with simply tying it though; they wanted to go full spoiler mode in game 82. On only the 11th shot of the game, Ryan Donato tipped home the go-ahead goal, making it 4–3 with chird-teen chirdy…two, in the words of the great Pat Foley, left in the third. That would prove to be too much time though, as the Kings tied things up again with 1:20 left on another Arvidsson goal, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
The Blackhawks’ season was over very quickly, as Adrian Kempe would put home the game winner just six seconds into overtime, giving the Kings the 5–4 victory, and sending the Blackhawks home for the summer.
Analysis
Not to sound like a broken record, but this Blackhawks season has been defined by the same characteristics: Lack of shots, lack of face-off wins and too many stupid penalties to give their opponents chances to score. This game was not different, as they were lucky to even have the chance to send the game to overtime with 13 total shots on goal. But, with young players come plenty of growing pains, and plenty of chances to learn. With Slaggert and Nazar making their debuts toward the end of the season, we have been able to see a glimpse of what the Blackhawks’ future is, and it is a bright one. Patience will be their friend, as they need to let the young core they have develop, as well as add more young pieces to put together a competitive team.
With the season over, we at The Rink want to say thanks for being along for the ride this season. We know this has not been an easy one to stick with, but we appreciate you being with us in following this team. Stay tuned for more coverage this summer!