With the loss, the Blackhawks are now 0-3-0 against the far-superior Avalanche this season.
The Chicago Blackhawks fell 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night, marking their third consecutive loss to the division rival. Ryan Carpenter scored the lone goal for the Hawks, and Corey Crawford made 32 saves to keep the game in reach.
Duncan Keith returned to the lineup after missing the last nine games with a groin injury, but it wasn't enough for the Blackhawks to overcome the elite Avalanche offense. Keith, per usual, was relied on heavily in his return, playing 23:16 and leading the team in shots on goal with six. The Blackhawks' veteran defenseman had some choice words while describing his team's effort during a post-game interview.
"We've got to get a little more emotion. It's not going to just turn around. It's not going to just happen, we need to make it happen. We need to get a little pissed off," Keith said. "It's been a long time where we're like this. It's not going to happen unless we do it, the guys in the room here. It's up to us to figure it out and find a way."
RECAP
The Blackhawks got off to yet another slow start on Wednesday, getting outshot 19-6 in the opening frame. Crawford's strong play in net was the only reason Colorado didn't jump out to a multi-goal lead in the first period.
Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole opened the scoring on a slap shot from the point at 8:41 to make it 1-0. Connor Murphy cut across the shooting lane, partially screening Crawford, and Cole's shot perfectly fit under the crossbar.
Just 1:07 later, the Blackhawks answered back as Carpenter sniped a shot over Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz's glove to tie the score 1-1. Alex DeBrincat jumped on a Mark Barberio turnover and made a beautiful feed to set up Carpenter for the goal.
Crawford made a handful of quality saves on odd-man rushes towards the end of the period. The Blackhawks were lucky to come out of the first 20 minutes tied 1-1.
2ND PERIOD
The middle frame vs. Colorado had been particularly rough for the Hawks in the first two meetings, with the Avalanche scoring six goals in those 40 minutes. That trend continued on Wednesday, as the Avs tallied two more goals in the second period.
Nathan MacKinnon did Nathan MacKinnon things to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead at 7:49, extending his point streak to six games. MacKinnon caught Keith getting too aggressive outside the Blackhawks blueline and rifled a shot top shelf over Crawford's blocker.
Colorado added to their lead less than three minutes later, as Andre Burakovsky scored from the top of the right circle to make it 3-1. Burakovsky used Olli Maatta as a screen, shooting the puck right between his legs to beat Crawford.
After falling behind 3-1, the Blackhawks generated a couple of solid scoring chances in the second half of the period. The problem was finding a way to get the puck past Francouz. The Czech netminder stopped all 16 Blackhawks shots in the second period, including a Brandon Saad breakaway opportunity.
3RD PERIOD
With the Avalanche in defense mode up two goals, it was tough for the Hawks to get anything going against a much quicker team. The speed differential between these two squads was extremely noticeable throughout the contest. It was nearly impossible for the Blackhawks to effectively counter-attack Colorado in transition.
Dylan Strome rang a shot off the post near the mid-point of the period, but besides that, the Blackhawks didn't do much offensively in the third.
Unrelated to the score of the game, things got interesting with just over six minutes to play. Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard crushed DeBrincat into the boards with a late hit (Happy Birthday Cat), causing the Blackhawks to go after the 21-year-old blueliner post-whistle. Lucky for Girard, Erik Gustafsson got to him before heavyweight Dennis Gilbert could.
DeBrincat eventually got up under his own power and remained on the bench, but it was a scary moment nonetheless. Girard's hit went unpenalized, and to make matters worse, Erik Gustafsson somehow ended up in the box for roughing. While it was unlikely that the Blackhawks were going to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the dwindling minutes, that penalty was the nail in the coffin.
Crawford was pulled for the extra attacker with three minutes to play, but shortly after, Mikko Rantanen scored an empty-net goal to put the game away. With the loss, the Blackhawks move to 13-16-6 on the season.
"It starts in here," defenseman Erik Gustafsson said. "There's no one else that's going to take care of it. It's us here, us players... We've got to stick together here. There's nothing else we can do."
UP NEXT
The Blackhawks don't have much time to reflect upon Wednesday's loss, as they're right back in action Thursday night in Winnipeg. The Jets currently sit in third place in the Central Division with a 20-12-2 record through 34 games. It'll be another tough test for the Hawks, who are now in last place in the Western Conference. The game is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT and is scheduled to be on NBCSCH and TSN3.
For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author (@JackBushman2) on Twitter. Make sure to check out the author's podcast, Talkin' Hawkey, which can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Twitter (@TalkinHawkey).
