Blackhawks Fall Again To The Jets

photo from blackhawks.nhl.com

The third meeting this season between the Blackhawks and the Jets started off much better than the previous two, but a bad penalty and two goals thirty seconds apart in the third period left the Blackhawks with a 3-1 deficit to climb out of with ten minutes left to play.


The Blackhawks looked a lot better this game than they've looked in the last few, coming out strong and opening the scoring. I've said this a lot on here, but Brandon Saad keeps going from strength to strength, scoring his thirteenth of the season on a beautiful backhand. It's only the second goal they've scored against the Jets this season. Saad is on pace for over fifty points this season, and he's currently riding a three game point streak, where he has three goals and an assist.

The other goal scorer for the Blackhawks has been a long time coming. After arriving from Finland last year, the Blackhawks first round pick from 2013, Teuvo Teravainen seems to be carving a space in the roster for himself, playing well in his first five games in the NHL this season, and he finally scored his first NHL point to cut the Jets' lead to 3-2 late in the third period. Unfortunately, the boost of momentum wasn't enough, and less than seven minutes later, the Jets sealed a victory with the empty netter.

Andrew Shaw is not having a good season. He has twelve points in forty one games, two in his last eighteen. On the Jets' first goal, he knocked Corey Crawford's goal stick away from him, and seconds later the Jets scored. He then took an ill timed holding penalty halfway through the third period, and the Jets scored the 2-1 goal, giving them all the momentum they needed to score the 3-1 goal half a minute later. He didn't see the ice again until after the empty net goal. Shaw's play had been littered with bad penalties recently, and though he's been playing well with Patrick Sharp and Teravainen, he needs to either start producing, or stop making bad plays. He's played himself into the bottom six this season, and after a two million dollar contract extension, that's not what Quenneville wants from him, especially after the production he got in the playoffs last year, playing him with Saad and Patrick Kane.

Apart from the thirty second defensive breakdown where two goals were scored, Corey Crawford had another strong game, making thirty one of thirty four saves, good for a .912 save percentage. He's currently fifth in the league for GAA, and eighth for save percentage. If he can keep playing like he has been since the first Minnesota game last week, he's only going to go from strength to strength, and we might see numbers like we saw at the start of the season.

My Three Stars of the Game

3. Corey Crawford. Crawford is looking better and better recently, and he made some highlight reel saves in this game. It's a shame the skaters couldn't force OT for him, because he was solid behind them, and you can't really fault him on the 1-1 goal or the 2-1 goal. 

2. Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien started the season as a forward, but since the Jets lost all of their top four defencemen, he moved back to the blue line, where he normally plays, and he's been performing well. He's eighth in the league for hits, and he's putting up points too, collecting a goal and an assist this game.

1. Zach Bogosian. Bogosian's only been back from his injury for six games, but in those six games he has five points, including a two point night last night. The Jets have been performing admirably without their top four defencemen, but as they start getting them back over the next month or so, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, led by Bogosian.

Next game: January 18th, vs. Stars