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RECAP: Blackhawks fall 4–2 to Jets in Sorensen’s debut

  
RECAP: Blackhawks fall 4–2 to Jets in Sorensen's debut
Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets scores a goal past Arvid Soderblom of the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period at the United Center on Dec. 7, 2024, in Chicago. (Photo courtesy of Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

The first game of the Anders Sorensen era was against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon. The Blackhawks’ interim head coach did not have a soft landing spot to start his NHL career.

While the result of the game was similar to that of the Luke Richardson era, there were some noticeable changes out of the gate. The Hawks played a 2-1-2 forecheck, which he hopes will keep his forward more active. In addition, Sorensen asked his defenseman to get more involved up the ice and chip in offensively.

The newly minted interim coach also made some changes to the forward lines.

The biggest change was making Philipp Kurashev the center for the top line with Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen.

First period

The game began eerily similar to their last game, as Alex Vlasic scored the first goal of the game, his second in the last two games.

After the Vlasic goal, the Blackhawks lost goalie Petr Mrazek for the rest of the game with a lower-body injury. This was a huge blow to the Blackhawks.

Later in the period, Gabe Vilardi of the Jets tied the game at the 13:31 mark. Chicago did respond with a goal from Alec Martinez at 19:47, his first as a Blackhawk.

The first period ended with the Hawks up 2–1.

Second period

In the second period, the Jets tied the game up with a goal from Nino Niederreiter. Arvid Soderblom saved the eight other shots in the period. The period ended with the scored tied at 2–2. 

Third period

With the scored tied at 2–2, the Jets’ Mark Scheifele scored the eventual game-winning goal at 13:10 gone by. The Hawks tried to make a comeback by pulling Soderblom late in the period. The Hawks’ empty net lead to a Mason Appleton goal for the Jets.

The final score was 4–2 in favor the Jets.

Analysis

While the results were the same, the Sorensen era gives up hope for the future. Despite the lowest shot output of the season, the Hawks seemed to play better on offense. The task for Sorensen is to make the offense more potent while not sacrificing their defensive structure, which has been a strength this season.

Let’s keep in mind that is going to take some time for the team to change. The new interim coach had only one practice to start implementing his style of play.

While the result of the game hurt, the biggest loss of the contest was the injury to Mrazek. Mrazek, who has dealt with groin injuries in the past, has been a stalwart in net. Before the injury, he had posted a respectable 2.83 goals against average and .906 save percentage in 20 games. Due to the injury, Soderblom becomes the Hawks’ primary netminder with Drew Commesso becoming the backup. While Commesso might not be ready for the NHL, he is being pressed into action this season because of Laurent Brossoit’s unavailability due to injury.

With Mrazek injured, Sorensen now has a tougher task of ahead of him for the rest of the this season.

Update: Mrazek placed on injured reserve

While writing this recap, The Rink learned that the Mrazek was placed on injured reserve and Commesso was recalled. In addition to Commesso, the Blackhawks recalled Kevin Korchinski. While the move might appear curious on the surface, it makes sense in context. Martinez left Saturday’s game with an injury as well and is expected to be out of the lineup for a short period of time. Korchinski began the year in Rockford after spending all of last season in the NHL. In Rockford with Sorensen, Korchinski has excelled, becoming a dynamic offensive defenseman. The thought process could be that the Blackhawks want to see if Korchinski’s play at Rockford can translate in the NHL with Sorensen.

The Blackhawks’ next game is Monday at 7 p.m. EST against the New York Rangers.

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