Chicago’s slide gets a new test
The Chicago Blackhawks are 3-7 and coming off a game that went sideways in a hurry. Connor Bedard scored 4:23 into Friday’s meeting with Montreal, and Jordan Greenway hit a post later in the first period. Then the Canadiens scored at 17:29 and kept going, winning 4-1 on four straight goals. Chicago did not record a shot on goal in the third period until the 8:45 mark.
That loss left the Blackhawks 2-3-0 on a seven-game homestand. “We’re 3-7, so that’s way far off from where we want to be,” coach Jeff Blashill said. Defenseman Ian Cole was blunter about the Montreal game: “ultimately they take it to us.”
Bowen Byram (upper body) is out, while Andrew Mangiapane has been activated from injured reserve.
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Florida has its own problem
The Panthers arrive in worse shape defensively than their record suggests. They have allowed nine straight goals, a streak that began with Brady Tkachuk’s goal in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss at Ottawa. On Thursday they were blanked 4-0 in Pittsburgh, their first shutout loss of the season, with Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs stopping Sam Reinhart on six shots and Sam Bennett on four.
The one oddity of that night belongs to rookie goalie Cooper Black. At 6-foot-9, he became the tallest goalie ever to play in the NHL, and he made 17 saves. Gustav Forsling left late in the third period after a puck hit him in the face.
Akira Schmid is expected to start in net, coach Paul Maurice said Saturday. His message to the room was short: “I just need to get their attention.” Matthew Tkachuk was just as direct: “This stuff just can’t happen.”
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