10 observations: Blackhawks fall to Coyotes in overtime originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Blackhawks fell to the Arizona Coyotes 3-2 in overtime at the United Center on Sunday.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. Jonathan Toews was honored before the game for hitting the 1,000-game milestone. It was a terrific ceremony all around, but the highlight of the night was when former alternate captains Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw made a surprise appearance. The crowd absolutely erupted. The four of them, Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane presented Toews with a silver stick.
2. Some big news dropped during the broadcast: Chris Vosters has been named the new voice of the Blackhawks and will officially start on April 14. He replaces a legend and future Hall of Famer in Pat Foley, who’s irreplaceable, but I think fans are going to warm up to Vosters over time. He’s young, talented, witty and likes to keep things light on the broadcast.
3. The Blackhawks controlled the pace of play in the first period. It was a different story in the second. The Coyotes led in shots on goal (15-5), scoring chances (13-9), high-danger chances (7-1) and goals for (2-0), per Natural Stat Trick, although those numbers looked a lot more one-sided prior to Chicago’s late-period push.
4. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, the Blackhawks have faced a lefty goaltender 12 times. They’re now 2-7-3 in those games. Karel Vejmelka has given Chicago two of those losses — one in regulation and one in overtime.
5. Scoring chances when the DeBrincat-Strome-Kane line was on the ice together during 5-on-5 action: 14-7 Chicago. Scoring chances when they weren’t on the ice: 16-9 Arizona.
6. Dylan Strome scored his 20th goal of the season, which ties a career-high. Since Jan. 4, he now has 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) in 34 games. If Jake DeBrusk got a two-year extension with Boston at a cap hit of $4 million, what does Strome’s next contract look like? On a…