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Nick Foligno rejoins Chicago Blackhawks after leave of absence

Oct 20, 2025, 04:38 PM ET

CHICAGO — Captain Nick Foligno has rejoined the Chicago Blackhawks after taking a leave of absence because of his daughter’s follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease.

Foligno said Milana, who turned 12 last week, is home now and doing well. He described the past week as “very stressful.”

“I think we found a lot of comfort in the support of the hockey community and the fans, old teammates and my second family here,” Foligno said after practicing with the Blackhawks on Monday. “It’s amazing when you go through a hard time how everyone bands together to send you a ton of support and love and prayers, and it was felt by our family.”

Foligno also said he was thankful for the doctors and staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

“We were able to get her seen quickly and ahead of what could have been probably a lot worse,” he said.

Foligno, who turns 38 on Oct. 31, is in his third season with Chicago. He missed three games while he was away — an 8-3 victory at St. Louis, a 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver and a 2-1 overtime win against Anaheim.

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The forward has no goals and two assists in four games this season.

“He’s our leader, so you want that presence in your locker room,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I think he brings good energy, so I think it was great to have him back. Great that, considering the situation, everything went really good.”

Foligno became the 35th captain of the Blackhawks in September 2024. His father, Mike, played in the NHL for 15 years, and his brother, Marcus, plays for Minnesota.

Nick Foligno broke into the league with the Ottawa Senators in 2007. He has 247 goals and 352 assists in 1,237 regular-season games, also playing for Columbus, Boston and Toronto.

Foligno also has two sons — Landon and Hudson — with his wife, Janelle.

Milana is “probably the one that gives us the most strength, with the way she’s handled this adversity,” Foligno said. “It’s impressive for a 12-year-old girl to handle it face on.”

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Quenneville returns to face Blackhawks for 1st time since ban

Oct 19, 2025, 10:18 PM ET

CHICAGO — First-year Anaheim Ducks coach Joel Quenneville returned to the United Center on Sunday night for the first time since he and two other former Chicago Blackhawks executives were banned from the NHL in October 2021 for their mishandling of a sexual assault allegation by a former player in 2010.

Quenneville, 67, has the Ducks off to a 2-2-1 start almost four years after he was forced to resign as coach of the Florida Panthers. He was banned from the NHL for nearly three years.

“I’m grateful to be back in the game,” Quenneville said before Chicago’s 2-1 win on Ryan Donato’s overtime goal. “I’m excited about being back in here in Chicago.”

It has been a long road for Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in NHL history. His 971 career victories entering Sunday trail only Scotty Bowman’s 1,244.

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An independent investigation commissioned by the Blackhawks led to Quenneville stepping down from the Panthers in October 2021. The investigation concluded the team mishandled allegations raised by 2008 first-round draft pick Kyle Beach against video coach Brad Aldrich during the team’s first Stanley Cup run.

Former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman and assistant GM Al MacIsaac also resigned and were prohibited from working in the NHL.

They were reinstated by the league in July 2024. Bowman became the Edmonton Oilers’ general manager three weeks later. The Ducks signed Quenneville in May to replace Greg Cronin.

Quenneville has spent parts of 25 NHL seasons behind the benches of St. Louis, Colorado, Chicago and Florida. He guided the Blackhawks for more than 10 years and led them to championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

The Blackhawks fired Quenneville in November 2018 after a 6-6-3 start. He joined the Panthers for the 2019-20 season.

Quenneville returned to the United Center for the first time with Florida in January 2020 and received a video tribute from the Blackhawks and a roaring ovation from fans. He was behind the Panthers’ bench in the arena four times during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, but no fans were present.

Quenneville seemed a little uncertain about how he might be received by United Center fans this time.

“The memories we had were all very positive here,” he said. “I’m just happy to be back in that building and hear the crowd being excited, and the crowds look like they’ve been good so far this year.”

When asked if he expected acknowledgment from fans, Quenneville responded with his signature, “We’ll see.”

The reaction turned out to be muted and mixed.

Public address announcer Gene Honda called Quenneville’s name in a routine introduction as the visiting team coach about 10 minutes before the opening faceoff. A handful of fans cheered and about the same number booed, with only about half of the United Center’s 19,717 seats occupied.

The Ducks conducted background checks and spoke with Beach before hiring Quenneville, who said he has accepted responsibility for his role in failing to properly address the allegations and has engaged in educational activities to deepen his understanding of sexual assault scenarios.

“Right from the day that we joined the Ducks, it’s been a lot of positivity,” Quenneville said. “Just getting around people that are in the game, being around the organization, having a young team, kind of reminds me of the team when we were here.”

With Anaheim, Quenneville took over a team with the NHL’s third-longest active playoff drought. The Ducks finished sixth in the Pacific Division last season at 35-37-10 after being in the bottom two for the previous four years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Donato scores in OT, Blackhawks edge Ducks in Quenneville’s return to Chicago

CHICAGO — Ryan Donato scored from the edge of the crease at 2:58 of overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Anaheim 2-1 on Sunday night in Ducks coach Joel Quenneville’s first game at United Center since being banned in a sexual assault scandal.

The ban stemmed from the scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks squad that surfaced in October 2021. Quenneville was forced to resign as Florida’s coach, then banned from the NHL for nearly three years before taking over the Ducks in May. He won three titles in 10 years with the Blackhawks.

Donato had his third goal in three games. Connor Bedard set it up from behind the net to cap a 3-on-1 rush. Frank Nazar also scored to help Chicago improve to 3-0-1 in its last four.

Spencer Knight made 38 saves and was beaten only on Mason McTavish’s power-play goal from a sharp angle with 35.8 seconds left in the third period.

McTavish scored on a rising shot from low in the right circle for his first goal of the season on Anaheimâ€s 36th shot and fifth manpower advantage. Wyatt Kaiser had been sent off for delay of game with 1:47 left after lifting the puck over the glass.

Knight outdueled Lukas Dostal, who stopped 28 shots in Anaheim’s second straight loss.

Ducks: At Nashville on Tuesday night.

Blackhawks: At Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

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Boeser scores late into shootout, lifts Canucks to win over Blackhawks

Jake DeBrusk and Max Sasson scored in regulation as the Canucks got their second straight win after trailing 2-0 after the first period. Kevin Lankinen, who began his career with the Blackhawks, finished with 31 saves against his former team.

Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for the Blackhawks, who had won two straight. Spencer Knight had 30 saves.

After the first seven skaters of the shootout failed to score, Boeser ended it as he skated in on Knight and snapped it past the goalie on the glove side.

Vancouver outshot Chicago 11-7 in a scoreless third period.

Trailing 2-0 after one period, DeBrusk — celebrating his 29th birthday — pulled the Canucks within one with a power-play goal at 6:49 of the second. DeBrusk had several whacks at the puck in front and sent an attempt off Knightâ€s blocker and in for his first of the season.

Sasson tied it with 6:18 remaining in the middle period as he scored on a tap-in from the left side of the crease off a pass from Filip Hronek.

Donato got the Blackhawks on the scoreboard first with a power-play goal as he tapped in a pass from Andre Burakovsky at the right doorstep with 7:19 remaining in the first period.

Bertuzzi doubled Chicago’s lead with 46 seconds to go in the first as he scored on the rebound of Sam Rinzel’s shot into the top left corner past Lankinen, who had lost his stick 10 seconds earlier.

Canucks forward Teddy Blueger made his season debut after recovering from a suspected knee injury during the pre-season.

Canucks: Visit the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

Blackhawks: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

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Observations From Blues’ Embarrassing 8-3 Loss Vs. Blackhawks, Falling To 0-2 At Home

ST.
LOUIS – The
St. Louis Blues thought they had their game trending in the right
direction following a two-game Western Canada sweep.

Wins
over the Calgary Flames (4-2) and Vancouver Canucks (5-2) were
supposed to get the Blues continuing in their march and trending in
the right direction.

Well
…

They
hit the home ice for the second time in as many games this season,
this time against their Central Division rival Chicago Blackhawks,
who they had beaten five games in a row and outscored 28-15, but the
Blackhawks took advantage of a rare night of shoddy goaltending and
poor team habits and play, blitzing the Blues 8-3 at Enterprise
Center on Wednesday.

Jake
Neighbours had a goal and an assist, Dylan Holloway and Tyler Tucker
scored for the Blues (2-2-0), but Joel Hofer, who was terrific last
Saturday in Calgary, was pulled in the second period before
re-entering the game in the third.

“I
thought that our game was building the right way in Vancouver, but
our execution today did not match the Hawks’ execution,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
“We’re playing the hawks, division rival, our biggest rival. I
don’t think that was the case. We didn’t execute well. That’s
just our mental sharpness was not great.”

Let’s
look at Wednesday’s observations:

*
Hofer had a rare bad night – In his young career, Hofer has had off
nights, but nothing like this.

He
allowed four goals on 14 shots, and the first two that went inset the
tempo for what would be a horrendous night. He departed the game at
7:09 of the second period, then Jordan Binnington finished the rest
of the period before returning for the third. In the end, it was
seven goals allowed on 22 shots. His numbers after one game (2.00
goals-against average, .931 save percentage) ballooned to 5.01 GAA
and .824 save percentage at the end of the night.

“Our
tandem
is excellent,” Montgomery
said.
“Some nights, you’re going to win games 2-1. We won in Calgary,
we won in Vancouver because our goaltenders were excellent. Sometimes
we need to win 5-4.”

Hofer
is normally so good as a puck handler, and he was already on display
killing Chicago’s rims around the net, but when he went behind the
net, got a puck, looked up the middle of the ice and tried to play it
to Pavel Buchnevich, it was so off the mark and right onto the tape
of Ilya Mikheyev, who couldn’t believe his fortune and deposited
the biscuit into the net at 3:09 for a 1-0 Hawks lead:

The
Blues fought back with Neighbours, who has four goals in four games,
finding the back of the net for the fourth time in three games when
he collected a loose puck in front of Colton Parayko’s jab at the
puck to tie it 1-1 at 4:29:

But
Hofer allowed another bad goal, this time to Lukas Reichel from a bad
angle at the bottom of the left circle on the short side at 5:23 to
make it 2-1 Chicago:

They
fought back again when Holloway started a play and finished it,
getting his first of the season at 14:54 to tie the game 2-2,
creating a turnover in the neutral zone, then finishing from the left
circle Jordan Kyrou’s pass:

“In
the first period, we showed good resolve, came back twice and then
just our habits just weren’t consistent enough to play winning
hockey,” Montgomery
said.
‘Can’t give up that many odd-man rushes, we can’t give up that
many Grade A looks off the rush.”

The
Blues are so used to their goalie tandem either keeping them in a
game or even stealing them games. They’re not nearly used to having
to bail them out, perhaps a reason why they played so poorly after
the first period.

“I
don’t think we’re worried about our goaltenders at all,” Blues
captain Brayden Schenn said. “We have two of the best goalies in
the league and a great tandem. If you want to talk about the goals,
let’s maybe talk about the team and how we’re giving up odd-man
rushes and point-blank chances. You can talk about the goals all you
want, but if we’re not doing a good enough job in front of them, it’s
just that simple.

“People
are going to look at our goaltenders, (but) I think we’re looking at
ourselves individually and as a team playing in front of them. We
just haven’t done enough of a good job defensively, especially at
home, in front of them. Obviously the goalies would say different,
but as a players we feel that we have to do a way better job.”

Chicago’s
expected goals in the game were at 3.09, according to
naturalstattrick.com, which tells you that there were too many pucks
on this night going in that shouldn’t have, including the one
Binnington allowed to Jason Dickinson at 8:52 of the second that made
it 5-2:

*
Two bad results at home – Including the playoffs, the Blues won
their last 15 games on home ice and on most of those occasions, done
so in convincing fashion.

It’s
only two games, yes, and I agree, the result in the opener (a 5-0
loss to the Minnesota Wild) wasn’t as bad as the score indicated,
but this marks two games now in which the Blues have not even been
competitive in, in front of their home fans, being outscored 13-3.

“That’s
a fair question. It’s been only two games … I think through two
road games, even six periods on the road, we’ve played four good
periods,” Schenn said. ‘We need to clean up a lot of things with
our habits and details and tracking and puck play and willingness to
compete for one another. I think it starts with that.”

Why
has it happened so often here, though?

“The
details are obviously not sharp,” Blues
defenseman Colton Parayko said. “It’s
not our group and not where we want to be. We’re going to rebound
as a group, we’re going to come ready to work. We have a great
group in this locker room. We all believe in each other. We’re
going to rebound, just come prepared to come work for each other in
practice Friday and obviously Saturday at the game.”

Former Blue Scottie Upshall said it best in a tweet and I agree with the soft hockey, and that’s inexcusable for a team that was a playoff team a year ago and looking to maintain its stature:

*
Habits weren’t sufficient enough, play looked very soft – The
Blues had their fair share of attacks at the Hawks, and had a goalie
(Arvid Soderblom) they’d been able to beat up quite a bit (5-0-0),
but the times they either didn’t funnel pucks to the goal or were
not connecting in the O-zone, they were getting counter-attacked
often and giving up prime scoring chances.

It
occurred often in the second period when Chicago outscored the Blues
3-0 and at one point held an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.

“Habits
and details aren’t there, especially at home,” Schenn
said.
“We have to take pride in playing for one another, especially at
home, make it a hard place to play. I take full responsibility for
that. Obviously I can help with that and lead the charge. I think one
of the things you can control is your compete level and your habits.
We, and I, have to be better at that.”

Montgomery
mentioned reloads of the puck, and it was not near good enough, which
in turn allowed Chicago to play the way the Blues were playing in the
two games they won: on their toes, their front feet and transitioning
in five-man units.

“We’ll
watch the tape, we’ll look back at it,” Montgomery
said.
“This game got away from us because of our own habits and actions.

“Reloads
and gaps are a big part of how we want to play. The reloads were not
consistent and that makes it hard on the defensemen.”

* Mailloux’s struggles continue – It’s tough to pick on one
particular player when so many did not meet expectations,
particularly that top line of Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Pavel
Buchnevich, which was a combined minus-6 with three shots on goal and
on the ice for four goals against.

But
for Mailloux, who was a team-worst minus-4 Wednesday and now is a
minus-7 for the season in just four games, he’s been on the ice for
exactly zero goals-for at 5-on-5 and seven against.

He
coughed up the puck trying to rim it around the net early in the
second period that was picked off by Connor Bedard that led to
Reichel’s go-ahead goal that made it 3-2 at 2:49 that started a
snowball affect for the game:

I’ll
say it over and over that comparing Mailloux to Zack Bolduc is like
comparing apples to oranges. One is a defenseman that has barely
scratched the surface, one is a forward who has more experience and
who was ahead of the curve as far as teaching last season that was
coming on.

The
Blues believe in the 22-year-old and understand this is going to take
time.

“He’s
going to be a great player,” Parayko
said.
‘You watch him skate, you watch him shoot, he’s steady, he’s
strong back there. There’s no doubt about that. I’m looking
forward to watching that guy grow and become a dominant force back
there. I have full faith in him. He’s a great player. We’re just
all looking forward to watching him grow, but at the end of the day,
it’s a group effort no matter what. That’s the bottom line. We’re
all wearing the Bluenote together.

“It’s
got to be difficult obviously going to a new team and you want to
play well and things like that. He’s a great player. I have full
confidence in him. I’m just looking forward to watching him
continue to grow and just keep building.”

We
know the offensive capabilities Mailloux has, but here’s an example
of a pinch that went awry when he pinched along the right boards, the
puck was tipped out and Mailloux is caught out of the play and Frank
Nazar turns it onto a goal with Neighbours trying to chase him down
when Philip Broberg probably should have:

They’re
details that – again – with time will be worked out. By the way,
Mailloux did get physical on the play when Neighbours was tackled after the goal when he was trying to defend Hofer after Nazar ran into him in the net.

There are options the Blues will have to look at here.

Do they sit Mailloux in favor of Matthew Kessel? Do they go with seven defensemen inserting Kessel into the lineup to watch some of Mailloux’s minutes? Or … do they send him down to Springfield since he is waiver’s exempt? Remember, GM Doug Armstrong said it’s Mailloux’s job to lose.

“He’s
played 11 games or 12 games,” Schenn said. “There’s a lot of
pressure on him coming from outside. I believe in Logan Mailloux, we
believe in Logan Mailloux, and the organization does. I think people
are always going to look at this one-for-one. It’s not a one-for-one.
It’s a long-term plan, and he’s a great player.

“Like
I said, he’s played four games for us and it’s a new organization …
new coaching, new system, there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it.
Honestly, I think he’s getting … there’s no reason to put pressure
on the kid. He’s young, and he’s getting his feet wet, and he’s going
to be a good player for a long time, and I firmly believe that.”

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Blackhawks edge past Mammoth as Blashill picks up first win

CHICAGO — Andre Burakovsky snapped a third-period tie, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Utah Mammoth 3-1 on Monday night for coach Jeff Blashillâ€s first win with his new team.

Chicago dropped its first three games despite being tied at 2 after the second period in each contest. It was outshot by Utah 23-14, but a wide-open Burakovsky beat Vitek Vanecek low on the stick side for the deciding power-play goal with 11:05 left.

Ilya Mikheyev had two goals for the Blackhawks, including an empty-netter in the final seconds. Spencer Knight made 22 saves.

Blashill, 51, was hired by Chicago in May. It’s his second stint as a head coach in the NHL after he went 204-261-72 in seven seasons with Detroit.

JJ Peterka scored for Utah, which dropped two of three on its season-opening road trip. Vanecek finished with 11 stops.

The Mammoth played without defenceman Sean Durzi, who is expected to miss four weeks with an upper-body injury. Durzi had an assist during Saturday nightâ€s 3-2 overtime win at Nashville.

Looking for the tying goal, Utah got a power-play opportunity when Connor Bedard was sent off for holding with 8:19 to go. But Chicago killed it off.

Utah controlled the action in the second, outshooting Chicago 13-3 in the period. But the Blackhawks went in front when Mikheyev drove to the net and stuffed it in at 9:21 for his first goal of the season.

Peterka responded 1:02 into the third, tying it at 1 when he beat Knight from the side of the net. It was Peterka’s first goal since he was acquired in a June trade with Buffalo.

Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson returned to the lineup after missing Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to Montreal with an upper-body injury. He skated with the team Monday morning and said he had bounced back quicker than he had expected.

Both teams play again Wednesday night. Utah has its home opener against Calgary, and Chicago visits St. Louis.

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Blackhawks Are A More Competitive Team In 2025-26, In Large Part Due To The Emergence Of Frank Nazar

As we begin the 2025-26 regular season, some things in the NHL arenâ€t changing – namely, the Chicago Blackhawks are still a win-challenged team, as theyâ€ve gone 0-2-1 in their first three games.

The Blackhawks have kept the scores close, as all three games were one-goal games. So, having only one standings point to show for it has to be disappointing to Hawks fans, players and executives.

That said, one of the bright lights of Chicagoâ€s first three games is the performance of blossoming star center Frank Nazar. The 21-year-old is currently tied for third place in NHL scoring, with four assists and five points. Itâ€s unfair to expect the second-year NHLer to sustain his current point pace, but after Nazar posted 12 goals and 26 points in 53 games with the Hawks last season, heâ€s now got the opportunity of a lifetime this season.

It was always going to be a tremendous long shot for the Blackhawks to be even in the conversation for a playoff berth, so the winless three-game start to the season canâ€t be a surprise. This is still a franchise with serious holes in the lineup, and thereâ€s going to be pain ahead for Chicago, no matter what Nazar does.

But for Hawks fans whoâ€ve suffered through the bad part of the competitive cycle virtually all teams go through from generation to generation, having another legitimate star player to invest their time, money and emotion into is no small step forward. Nazar is blossoming before their eyes, and Blackhawks fans are stoked to see it.

With a continued strong start, Nazar has the potential to open up even more opportunities for himself. Namely, weâ€re talking about him making Team Americaâ€s 2026 Olympic roster. With the U.S.â€s center spots basically taken up by Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel, New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes, and New York Rangers star J.T. Miller, thereâ€s not an opening for Nazar. But maybe Nazar gets on the roster to fill one of the two extra forwards spots. Thatâ€s not unreasonable for him to aim for.

So, having Nazar continue his hot streak helps the Blackhawks on numerous levels. If he plays well, he takes some heat off of Bedard, who has had to bear the brunt of the spotlight as Chicagoâ€s foundational player. Nazar isnâ€t at Bedardâ€s stage right now, and he may never be.  But as long as he continues to grow his game, thereâ€s every chance he can establish himself as a fixture in the Windy City for many years to come.

Frank Nazar (Talia Sprague-Imagn Images)

Nazarâ€s usage has skyrocketed in the three games heâ€s played this year. After averaging just 15:52 of ice time last season, Nazar has played more than 20 minutes in two of his three games, and heâ€s averaging 19:53 of ice time in total. Thatâ€s a huge step forward, and new Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill is going to be hitching his wagon to Chicagoâ€s young core of players. That core now clearly includes Nazar, as he has been prominent at 5-on-5, the power play and the penalty kill.

Chicago still needs to stock up on as many elite young players as possible, so when the Hawks do as expected and finish at the bottom of the league again this season, there will be a payoff consolation from the draft system. The Blackhawks are going to wobble and fall over often in the next few years as they put parts in place for a sustained playoff push, but given how rare it is to find legitimate difference-makers, it has to be a thrill for Hawks management and coaching to know they have an emerging gem in Nazar.

A lot can still happen to Nazar as teams scout him and figure out his weaknesses, but Nazar can continue to stay one step ahead of his opponents and thrive in hockeyâ€s top league. His start to this season is very encouraging for the Blackhawks and for Nazar himself, and itâ€s a good idea to keep your eyes on Nazar as he negotiates the ascent up the competitive mountain and carves out a great legacy in Chicago.

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Blackhawks Young Star Is Shining Early On

Frank Nazar (© David Banks-Imagn Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks have several young players who they will be hoping hit new levels during the 2025-26 season. Among the most notable is young center Frank Nazar.

Nazar just had a solid rookie season with the Blackhawks during the 2024-25 campaign, as he recorded 12 goals, 14 assists, and 26 points in 53 games. The 2022 first-round pick demonstrated plenty of promise during his rookie season with numbers like these, and it is exactly why the Blackhawks signed him to a big seven-year, $46.13 million contract extension this off-season, which kicks in during the 2026-27 season.

Now, after signing his big contract extension this summer, Nazar is having a great start with the Blackhawks in 2025-26. In three games so far, the 5-foot-10 forward has recorded one goal, four assists, five points, and a plus-2 rating. This includes him recording two assists and a plus-1 rating in the Blackhawks’ most recent contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 11.

Nazar is showing clear signs that he is ready to have a big breakout season offensively for the Blackhawks, and it is hard not to feel excited about his future with the Central Division club. It will be very interesting to see how he builds on his hot start to the year from here.

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Blackhawks Allow Game-Winning Goal With 15 Seconds Left, Lose 3-2 To Canadiens

The Chicago Blackhawks made it home for their home opener on Saturday night. They took on the Montreal Canadiens in what was the first game of their centennial celebration.

The Blackhawks fell to the Canadiens by giving up a goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. This goal broke a 2-2 tie and ended Chicagoâ€s chance at its first win of the season.

The goal was a Juraj Slafkovsky redirection of a point shot that beat Spencer Knight. The young Blackhawks got a little bit frantic in the final minute of the game, and it bit them.

Chicago’s two goals were positive in the fact that two young core pieces scored them. Their first was the first in the career of defenseman Sam Rinzel. Frank Nazar won a faceoff back to Teuvo Teravainen, who tapped it to Rinzel with an open lane to the net. He didn’t miss.

Blackhawks: Sam Rinzel Has His First Career NHL Goal
Blackhawks: Sam Rinzel Has His First Career NHL Goal
Not long after Cole Caufield had a Montreal Canadiens goal stand after being reviewed for a high stick, the Blackhawks tied the game thanks to a goal scored by Sam Rinzel.

Chicago’s second goal was a Frank Nazar shot on the power play that deflected in the net off of Connor Bedard. These two are forming decent chemistry with the man-advantage. Down the middle, based on the way the early stages of the season are going for these two players, the Blackhawks are forming a great two-headed monster.

One of the main storylines from the game was the penalty trouble that the Blackhawks found themselves in. The Blackhawks accumulated a total of 39 penalty minutes. Montreal had 10 power plays. They converted on two of them, which played a role in the outcome of the game.

After the match against the Bruins earlier in the week, the Blackhawks talked about standing up for each other, but they got a little ahead of themselves in this game.

Due to being on the penalty kill for almost one full period worth of time, they were never able to get in a true offensive rhythm. Some penalty killers didn’t get enough ice at 5-on-5, and some non-killers weren’t able to stay on the ice with offensive momentum for long enough to make an impact.

After the game was over, head coach Jeff Blashill talked about some of these issues and how they affected the team as a whole.

“That’s a really, really hard game to get any rhythm going. Blashill said. “Certain guys are playing so many minutes. Anybody who killed was playing so many minutes, and then you’re trying to get some of the guys that don’t kill you back in their rhythm in minutes.”

It makes sense when you think about it from a deployment standpoint. It’s hard to do anything with consistency when you’re marching to the penalty box like that. It has been over a decade since the Blackhawks last gave their opponent double-digit power plays. That must be cleaned up going forward.

To their credit, the penalty kill units did well based on the situation. They don’t love giving up two power-play goals, but when you kill off eight others, it is a win. The fact is that they gave the rest of the team a chance to win.

Chicago is still working on putting teams away late in hockey games. Giving up a heartbreaker with 15 seconds left adds to the list of games that this young core has lost in the final minutes.

“You have to have the mindset of not just being okay with being in the game,” Captain Nick Foligno said. “You’ve got to find a way to step on their throats for lack of a better word and find a way to get that done like [Montreal] did tonight, right? So that mentality has to now shift from ‘hey, we’re becoming a good team’ to ‘no, we are a good team’. We have to believe that and put it into our practice.”

As a guy who has been a captain for multiple NHL franchises and a general leader for others, Foligno knows the ups and downs of an NHL clubhouse. This Blackhawks team is getting better, and it shows when you watch. The results aren’t showing up in the standings just yet.

Chicago’s next chance will come on Monday night when they will host the Utah Mammoth at the United Center.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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3 Things We Learned From Blackhawks Season Opening Road Trip

The Chicago Blackhawks are now 0-1-1 through two games to open their season. It began with two road Eastern Conference matches. Chicago lost to the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night and dropped an overtime game 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Now, they will return home to the United Center, where the celebration of Chicagoâ€s centennial season will begin. They will host the Montreal Canadiens for an Original Six matchup.

Ahead of this upcoming two-game home-stand, we learned a few things about the Blackhawks that we couldnâ€t confirm before the games started to count.

Frank Nazar might already be a star.

So far, Frank Nazar has been Chicago’s best player. He drives his own line, makes his teammates better around him, and has numbers to show for it through two games. That includes one goal and two assists.

In overtime of game two against the Boston Bruins, he had a great chance in overtime, but was stoned by Joonas Korpisalo. That was one of many plays he was a part of that would be considered scoring chances for Chicago.

Nazar isn’t the type of star who only contributes offensively, either. He plays well in his own end, kills penalties, and uses his skating to impact the game in all three zones. Nobody on the team is faster at top speed or with their bursts.

Although he isn’t even 82 games into his NHL career, Nazar is already showing the signs of being a star. He was given a big contract extension over the summer, which drew criticism due to its length, monetary value, and his lack of experience, but now it appears to be a bargain.

There is a long way to go for Nazar to truly realize that dream of being a star player, but he’s on the right track. He had a strong finish to last season, was one of Team USA’s best forwards at the World Championships, controlled play throughout camp/preseason, and now is off to this great start through two games that count. Expect him to be a difference-maker from now on.

Connor Bedardâ€s summer speed/skating workouts are already paying off.

Connor Bedard skipped the World Championships with Team Canada to spend the early stages of his summer working on skating. He didn’t waver from that at any point leading up to training camp, either. It shows.

Through the first two games, Bedard has one goal and one assist, which is nice, but his style of play is what’s really eye-popping right now. Only Frank Nazar has had higher overall speeds and speed bursts through the first two games, which is good company to be in for Bedard.

He didn’t score in overtime against the Bruins on a breakaway, but he had the speed and tenacity to have a chance all alone, which is important to see.

Bedard has all of the tools to be a high-end offensive player. His shot, passing, and offensive IQ are as good as it gets for young players. Adding this element of speed and high-end skating could be what gets him to that next level of superstardom. Through two games, it looks like he’s headed down that road.

Artyom Levshunov has a long way to go.

As good as it’s been for Nazar and Bedard, it’s mostly been the opposite for Artyom Levshunov. He collected an assist thanks to a good play to help set up an Andre Burakovsky goal, but the rest of his play has been subpar through the first two games.

This does not mean that Levshunov is going to have a bad year, but it does mean that he has a long way to go before being a top-tier defenseman in the NHL.

Since the beginning of camp, Jeff Blashill has had him stapled next to Wyatt Kaiser, who has been great in his role as a top-four defender on the team. The same can’t be said for his partner.

Levshunov has had more valleys than peaks so far as the second man on the pair. Bad positioning, questionable decision-making, and too many penalties taken are what lead to these struggles. For a young defenseman in his teens, these are common problems.

Does Levshunov need time in the AHL? An argument can be made, but then who comes up? Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro, and Kevin Korchinski haven’t been much better, so they might as well let the guy with the highest ceiling continue to work out his issues.

By the end of this season, the hope for Levshunov is that he will have shown a lot of improvement. He had good moments last season after some seasoning, so there is already evidence that he can play well at this level. If he just works on his penalty trouble and positioning, he will be a serviceable defender at worst.

If the offensive IQ continues to take leaps, like on the Burakovsky goal against the Boston Bruins, then there will be chatter about him being a legit top-pair guy.

What will come of these storylines once the Blackhawks return home? Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard are going to continue on their upward trajectory. They will be this team’s two-headed monster down the middle for the entire year, and possibly long beyond that.

As for Levshunov, he will work to change the narrative as quickly as possible. With home ice for two games, Blashill will have the opportunity to get Levshunov more favorable matchups to get his confidence back.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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