HAWKS RALLY BUT FALL IN OVERTIME
Whether the Blackhawks play well, terribly or anything in between, they can’t seem to avoid losses.
Their most thorough offensive effort in quite some time Friday still ended in a 3-2 overtime defeat against the Jets.
“We did a lot of good things,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “We had some sustained O-zone time, as well. We were getting pucks to the net. Our forwards did a great job getting pucks low-to-high and getting it out of pressure, and the ‘D’ was shooting a lot more than we have in the past.
“It’s just an unfortunate bounce in OT. It doesn’t really surprise me at this point, to be honest. It’s kinda crazy.”
The Hawks, who have lost 11 of 12 games dating to Jan. 20, outshot the Jets, who boast the Western Conference’s third-best record, by a 35-31 margin. They also had a 14-8 advantage in high-danger scoring chances; that plus-six margin was their best of the season.
They battled back from a 2-0 deficit with a Colin Blackwell breakaway goal in the second period and a Tyler Johnson backdoor tap-in with 42 seconds left, a reward for their valiant third-period push.
But only 25 seconds into the overtime — with rookie star Connor Bedard having yet to touch the ice — Jets forward Kyle Connor’s shot deflected erratically off Nick Foligno, giving Petr Mrazek no chance to save it.
“We were hoping, if we [could] get the puck and sustain it, then they’re tired and stuck out there, and we had [Philipp] Kurashev and Connor cued and ready to go,” coach Luke Richardson said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get that far.”
RADDYSH SNAKEBITTEN
Forward Taylor Raddysh rewatches all of his shifts from every game, but he admitted he rewatched his second shift from Wednesday against the Flyers a few more times than usual.
On that shift, Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson robbed Raddysh on a two-on-one rush, denying him some long-awaited relief. After another outing Friday without hitting the back of the net, Raddysh has gone 24 consecutive games without a goal.
“It’s obviously frustrating when you’re not scoring, and it’s in the back of my head every day,” Raddysh said. “I tell you guys one thing, and I might be mad at myself for another thing, so it’s hard. But you’ve got to stick with it. If you’re getting chances, that’s all you can really ask for. At times, the puck will go in. At times, it won’t. Right now, it hasn’t gone in.”
Raddysh remains stuck at only five goals after reaching the 20goal plateau last season. He entered Friday having seen 37 consecutive shots on goal saved by opposing goalies.
On that chance against Ersson, Raddysh — after receiving a seam pass from Johnson — decided to settle the puck for a half-second, then shot it just inside the post. But his spot turned out to be exactly where Ersson put his glove.
“A chance like that, you probably score nine out of 10 times,” he said. “You’ve just got to miss his glove.”
BUBBLE BUDGET
Bedard is no longer the only Hawk wearing the full-face shield called a bubble. Defenseman Louis Crevier is donning one, too, after suffering some dental damage when a shot by Bedard deflected into his mouth during practice Tuesday.
Crevier had one tooth pulled and will need root canals and stitching on several others, Richardson said. He has been medically cleared to play but remained a scratch Friday.
“We’re blowing our budget on the bubbles,” Richardson joked. ✶