Hawks lose first shootout of season
The Blackhawks finally gave young goalie Arvid Soderblom some goal support Tuesday, something he hasn’t received much in his career to date.
But Soderblom’s issues in terms of controlling rebounds — something he has struggled with a lot in his career so far — escalated into a bigger problem, and a rare chance to earn a victory eluded him as the Hawks fell 4-3 to the Predators in a shootout.
All three Predators goals were off rebounds, although the second was a bang-bang play and the first and third could have been covered better by Connor Murphy, Kevin Korchinski and Jason Dickinson, as coach Luke Richardson pointed out.
‘‘[Soderblom is] a typical young goalie now: He’s big and he’s a blocker,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘I thought he actually covered the puck quicker tonight than he did earlier in this year, but we’ve also got to do a better job [defensively].’’
With Anthony Beauvillier’s U.S. visa issues finally sorted out and Lukas Reichel reinserted in the lineup, the Hawks were able to reunite veterans Dickinson and Nick Foligno — the only players below rookie Connor Bedard’s top line who have been able to generate offense consistently.
They did so again Tuesday, scoring all three goals to help the Hawks get to overtime and eventually their first shootout since February. Bedard converted the first official shootout attempt of his career, but all three Predators shooters scored against Soderblom.
‘‘You saw, when we had success, what we were doing: We’re playing fast, we’re playing north, we were quick with our decisions and moving the puck,’’ Foligno said. ‘‘It’s there. We just don’t sustain it enough, or we have these little breakdowns that cost us.’’
Soderblom’s 27 saves on 30 shots (excluding the shootout) slightly improved his season save percentage to (a still-subpar) .884, but he’s probably well above .900 because of his size and positioning when facing shots he can square up against.
It’s just the rebounds that are undermining his efforts. He has faced 6.88 rebound attempts per 60 minutes this season, the sixthmost among 64 goalies around the league.
Bettman talks Perry
Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in Seattle — during the NHL’s board of governors meetings — that he’s ‘‘comfortable’’ with how the Hawks handled their internal investigation into forward Corey Perry’s misconduct, even though the league was informed but not involved in the process.
Meanwhile, the NHL announced its 2024 draft will be held June 28-29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Based on how this season is going, the Hawks likely will be making another top-five pick.
Rolston on the forecheck
Prospect forward Ryder Rolston, who is in his first pro season in the AHL, entered play Tuesday with six points in 15 games for Rockford.
Rolston was never a major point-producer in college at Notre Dame, either, but he’s an intriguing prospect because of his elite speed and his ability to use that speed to make an impact on the forecheck. His stick use also has improved, making his forechecking even more disruptive.
‘‘When he’s hounding pucks, he’s really effective,’’ Rockford coach Anders Sorensen said. ‘‘Some guys are almost better pro guys than they are college guys. It’s maybe a little bit too early to say [definitively], but he might fall in that category because he is so quick. At this level, if you can play with that tenacity and intensity every shift, you can be effective.’’
Rolston is worth monitoring. And with his overly loose jersey always blowing in the wind behind him, he’s easy to spot.