10 observations: Arvid Söderblom pulled in Blackhawks’ shutout loss to Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The Chicago Blackhawks were shut out for the 10th time this season after falling to the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 on Friday at the United Center.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The Blackhawks were seeking to win three in a row for the first time all season but they never had a chance to make it happen after quickly falling behind 4-0 in the first period. It felt like the game was over before it even started.
2. Arvid Söderblom’s night was short-lived. He gave up four goals on 15 shots in just 12:52 of action in the first period before Petr Mrazek entered in relief. The first goal is definitely one he’d like to have back. The next three were not his fault; there were some tough defensive breakdowns, and it felt like the goalie pull was more about trying to get the Blackhawks’ attention. Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson doesn’t do that very often.
3. Landon Slaggert made his NHL debut, and roughly 40 members of his family and friends made the drive from South Bend to watch. Notre Dame is on spring break this week, so some of his teammates got to make the trip too. He skated on the fourth line with Ryan Donato and MacKenzie Entwistle and had two shot attempts, two blocked shots, one hit and one takeaway in 10:32 of ice time. Looking forward to seeing what he’ll bring to the table over the final month.
4. Connor Bedard was limited to zero shots on goal through two periods. He had three in the third period but it was empty calories at that point. I bet he’ll bounce back in a big way on Sunday vs. San Jose.
5. The Blackhawks went 0-for-4 on the power play after going 10-for-20 with the man advantage in their previous four games. They had their looks, they just couldn’t capitalize.
6. The Blackhawks were credited with 23 hits. The Kings had only eight. Indicative of one team having the puck all night and the other team chasing it.
7. Taylor Raddysh has only five goals this season. His expected goals going into the game, per Money Puck: 12.4. He’s snakebitten.
8. Reese Johnson was placed in concussion protocol on Thursday and did not play in this game. He suffered the injury in Tuesday’s third-period scrum vs. Anaheim that nearly led to a goalie fight between Petr Mrazek and John Gibson. The good news is, Johnson apparently was feeling much better on Friday morning and got in a…