After tying the score and controlling the second period, the Blackhawks surrendered five goals and 19 shots on net in the final 20 minutes.
The Chicago Blackhawks fell to Artemi Panarin and the New York Rangers 6-3 at the United Center on Wednesday night. The score was tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, but the Blackhawks defense collapsed in the third period to let another crucial two points slip away.
“One of the worst third periods — or worst periods in general — we’ve had. I would say ‘collapse.’ Look at their goals. A lot of alone chances right in front,” Robin Lehner said. “We got out-battled. I need to make an extra save, but honestly, that period was not very good.”
With the loss, the Hawks are 1-5-2 over their last eight contests and 26-26-8 through 60 games on the season. They remain eight points back of the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference with 22 games to play.
“Makes you angry, because it’s a game that we looked for like we needed this game,” coach Jeremy Colliton said. “We didn’t do the things right from the start to put ourselves in the best position to win. We just didn’t have enough guys ready to play.”
RECAP
Filip Chytil opened the scoring at 1:58 of the first period by beating Lehner five-hole from the left circle after blowing past Adam Boqvist in transition.
Neither team created much offense in the opening period, but with time dwindling in the opening frame, Alex DeBrincat rang a shot off the post from the left circle, and then Brett Howden’s breakaway opportunity was stopped by Lehner at the buzzer.
2ND PERIOD
After looking a bit sluggish during the first period, the Blackhawks seemed focused and energized out of the intermission. Dominik Kubalik tied the score at 2:29 with his 24th goal of the year on a one-timer after Duncan Keith made a beautiful no-look pass for his 500th NHL assist.
Patrick Kane tallied the secondary assist on Kubalik’s goal, which gave him a point against all 30 opposing teams this season.
The Blackhawks went on to dominate puck possession for a significant chunk of the period, but Rangers’ goaltender Igor Shesterkin stood on his head to keep the game even 1-1. The 24-year-old rookie netminder stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced and looked sharp even after taking Jonathan Toews’ stick to the mask.
3RD PERIOD
Unlike the first two periods, the final 20 minutes were full of chaos and up-and-down action. The two teams combined for seven goals and 31 shots on goal, but the majority of both came from the Rangers.
Pavel Buchnevich put the Rangers up 2-1 at 2:33 after Chris Kreider split Keith and Toews with a pass from behind the Blackhawks’ net.
Less than two minutes later, Ryan Strome, who was 3-0 in the NHL against his little brother, Dylan, coming into Wednesday, beat Lehner off a rebound to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. Keith wasn’t able to tie-up Strome’s stick to prevent him from jumping on the loose puck in front of the net.
Kubalik answered back for the Blackhawks with his second goal of the game and 25th of the season after chipping the puck past a Rangers’ defender and beating Shesterkin with a nifty forehand-back maneuver.
Unfortunately, the Blackhawks weren’t able to sustain any momentum after Kubalik’s second tally, as the Rangers scored the next two goals within 53 seconds of each other to grab a 5-2 lead.
Kreider made it 4-2 by beating Lehner five-hole with his backhand after Boqvist got caught flat-footed in transition for the second occasion. Panarin extended the Rangers lead to 5-2 with a slap shot from the slot for his 30th strike of the season.
Toews made a quick play behind New York’s net to dodge two defenders and find Drake Caggiula alone out front to bring the Hawks to within two goals, but Mika Zibanejad answered right back by deflecting Buchnevich’s pass into a yawning cage for the 6-3 final.
“Our third period, just nowhere near good enough, especially away from the puck,” Colliton said. “We just didn’t have enough guys going. We’re a team that we need everyone going to compete. When we have everyone going, we have a good chance to win every night, and that’s just not what we had tonight. Very disappointed.”
UP NEXT
The Blackhawks have Thursday off before they take on the Nashville Predators Friday night at the United Center. There’s been some bad blood between these two teams this season, which all stemmed from Pekka Rinne’s comment that his 3-0 victory over the Hawks on Oct. 29 was one of the “easier shutouts” of his NHL career. The Blackhawks responded with a 7-2 beatdown of the Preds at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 16, but Nashville won the last meeting 5-2 on Jan. 9.
The Predators are currently 29-23-7 through 59 games and are five points ahead of the Blackhawks in the wild-card race with a game in hand. They are just three points back of the Coyotes for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Friday’s matchup against the Preds is the last game at the United Center for the Blackhawks until Mar. 3.
The contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT and is scheduled to be on NBCSCH, FS-TN, and NHL.TV.
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).
