Jeff Blashill loses patience with Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks after awful loss to Red Wings
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Jeff Blashill called out the Blackhawks after a 4-1 loss to the Red Wings on Thursday, saying too many players lacked the legs and the effort.
Jeff Blashill did not hold back after the Chicago Blackhawks fell 4-1 to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.
The head coach called it a clear step backward and pointed to poor skating, a lack of battle and sloppy details across his lineup.
Blashill had stayed fairly upbeat after many of the team's earlier losses, since most of them came down to costly mistakes in games that were otherwise decent.
This one, he made clear, was a different story.
"We've had a lot of games throughout this season where we did a lot of good things and maybe beat ourselves with critical mistakes...
"Tonight, to me, wasn't that at all. It's a step backwards. Because you just had too many guys that weren't skating, didn't compete hard enough or not enough attention to detail."
- Jeff Blashill
"Tonight, to me, wasn't that at all. It's a step backwards. Because you just had too many guys that weren't skating, didn't compete hard enough or not enough attention to detail."
- Jeff Blashill
Chicago fell to 4-9-0, is still winless in five road games, and has now scored two goals or fewer in five straight.
Bedard scores, little else works
Connor Bedard supplied the lone Chicago goal, deflecting a Wyatt Kaiser shot past the Detroit goaltender.
Beyond that, it was a rough night.
Patrick Kane said things went wrong in nearly every area and admitted he has to cut down on his penalties.
He and Nazar each finished a minus-3.
Blashill also put young forward Anton Frondell in the group that fell short.
Frondell skated only 11:44, the second-fewest minutes on the team.
Bruins loom on Saturday
There is no time to sulk. Chicago closes out its two-game trip Saturday afternoon against the Boston Bruins, who sit at 9-4-1, in a Halloween matinee.
The Hawks had just come off what might have been their most complete team effort of the year in a win over the Kings on Tuesday, which makes Thursday sting even more.
Blashill kept a positive tone for most of the season, but that goodwill tends to run out when the same problems keep following the team on the road.
How his players respond against Boston will say a lot about where this group really stands.
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