1 week Ago
ELMONT, N.Y. — Scoring first hasn’t been a problem for the Blackhawks this season, but maintaining momentum after doing so has been.
That was the case under ex-coach Luke Richardson, and it was again Thursday under interim coach Anders Sorensen in a 5-4 loss to the Islanders. Connor Bedard gave the Hawks an early lead, marking the 18th time in 29 games they’ve gone up 1-0 — the most in the NHL. But the Islanders ripped off five consecutive goals before holding on for the win, dropping the Hawks to 8-8-2 when scoring first and 9-18-2 overall.
“We were in the game up until the 10-minute mark of the second period, and [then we] started getting away from things,” forward Tyler Bertuzzi said. “It carried on to the third, and we can’t let that happen.” The Hawks were not only in the game but actually controlling play before a goaltender inference penalty against Philipp Kurashev led to the Islanders’ tying goal.
That flipped the mood entirely, and the hosts subsequently blew things wide open with three goals less than three minutes apart in the third period — chasing Hawks goalie Arvid Soderblom, who had a rough night. Bertuzzi scored twice in the final 70 seconds to make the final score look more respectable, and Bedard also tallied two assists during the late-game rally. The 19-year-old star now touts five points in three games under Sorensen, and his goal Thursday came off a slick move and an even prettier shot that will air on repeat in his highlight reels for a while.
It was an encouraging sign about his rebounding confidence . Another encouraging sign was the scoring-chance totals during five-on-five play: 28 for the Hawks, 13 for the Islanders. That marked the Hawks’ largest positive differential of the season, and it came on the heels of another strong performance Monday against the Islanders.
Sorensen’s systems worked well overall despite the poor goaltending, even though the coach wasn’t thrilled after the game. “We did some good things, but then again, the mental lapses we had there in the second and in the third [are] something we’ve got to clean up,” Sorensen said. “We’re all aware of what we need to do here.
It’s just a matter of working through it. Last game was a step forward, and then [this was] a little step back.” Hawks goalie prospect Drew Commesso had been preparing all week to make his NHL debut during the Hawks’ back-to-back set this weekend, but his arrival came earlier than expected.
Emotions of “excitement and joy” ran through Commesso’s head when Sorensen signaled he would replace Soderblom for the final 12 minutes Thursday. He ended up facing only two shots, stopping both. The 22-year-old Massachusetts native has struggled in the AHL this fall, but his success for three years at Boston University and last season with Rockford represent a much larger sample size.
He’ll make his first NHL start either Saturday at the Devils or Sunday at home against this same Islanders team. Veteran defenseman Alec Martinez — who was previously deemed day-to-day with a neck injury — left midway through practice Wednesday, left the Hawks’ road trip and flew back to Chicago for further evaluation. Sorensen resisted admitting Martinez suffered a setback, but it seems like he did.
Seth Jones seems to be getting closer to returning to the lineup. Sorensen said Jones will skate “in the next few days.” It has been a little over three weeks since he was ruled out for four weeks with a foot injury.
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