Sloppy First Period Shoots Blackhawks in the Foot

photo from canada.com

It seems to be happening all too often recently. The Blackhawks are conceding two or more goals early in the first period, and find themselves playing catch up for the rest of the game. It feels like they're struggling to come out of the locker room ready to play, and they have to rely on their second and third periods. In this case, good goaltending from Washington and a late power play goal were the final nails in the coffin for Chicago.

Late Second Period Collapse Hurts Blackhawks

photo from blackhawkup.com

For the first thirty five minutes of last night's game, the Blackhawks played a "perfect" game of hockey, going 2-0 up against a struggling Washington team until a bad defensive breakdown led to a 2-on-1 and then the Capitals' first of three goals in the last six minutes of the period.