New Jersey took charge after a quick start by Chicago, then held on. Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato scored, but it was time for a team meeting.
New Jersey took charge after a quick start by Chicago, then held on. Taylor Hall and Ryan Donato scored, but it was time for a team meeting.
The Chicago Blackhawks had a rough night, on and off the ice Sunday.
In a 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the Hawks became disjointed again after Taylor Hall scored just 1:51 in to give them a quick lead. The veteran forward connected for the second time in two games after returning from a shoulder injury.
Then Chicago stumbled for nearly 40 minutes. Bad passes. Odd-man rushes against. Misreads. Long shifts.
On the heels of a 5-2 win over Florida on Saturday, the Blackhawks fell flat and to 4-7-0. They dropped to 1-3-0 at the United Center.
More Legal Fallout from Former Video Coach Brad Aldrich
Earlier on Sunday, the Blackhawks learned second player from their 2009-10 Stanley Cup winning club had sued the team for mishandling alleged sexual assaults by disgraced former video coach Brad Aldrich. Phillip Thompson of the Chicago Tribune first reported it. https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/blackhawks/ct-chicago-blackhawks-sexual-assault-lawsuit-20231105-hufp6svjebhzxfapuv6bqbgb3a-story.html
The player's law firm, Chicago-based Romanucci & Blandin, LLC will discuss the lawsuit "against the Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team for the sexual abuse and harassment of a player and cover-up of the abuse" on Monday.
"Heart-to-Heart" Players Meeting
Veteran players called a team meeting after Sunday's loss. Coach Luke Richardson stayed out of it, but defenseman Seth Jones and 38-year-old forward Corey Perry apparently helped lead the discussion.
"We had a good heart-to-heart," Perry said. "You're not putting anybody down. That's not what we're here to do. That wasn't the message.
"It's more about being brothers and being able to talk about it and figure it out."
What was going wrong?
"Turnovers was probably the name of the game tonight," Jones said "We just shoot ourselves in the foot with some of the plays we were trying to make.
"We want hold each other accountable, you know at the end of the day it's not mother-effing guys and things like that," Jones added. "But if you make a mistake, your teammates should be able to tell you when you're wrong and vice-versa." See video below.
Devils Took Charge
New Jersey took charge with goals from Dawson Mercer, Max Willman and Curtis Lazar and built a 3-1 advantage.
The Blackhawks pushed back later in the third period. Ryan Donato slipped into the slot, took Andreas Athanasiou's pass from a scrum and cut it to 3-2 with 4:46 left.
But Philipp Kurashev's shot toward an empty net with about 2 minutes left was blocked — Connor Bedard might have fired himself instead of dishing to his linemate in the right circle. Michael McLeod sealed it with an empty-netter with one second left.
Bedard Numbers
Bedard was held off the scoresheet completely as his three-game goal scoring streak ended. He had four shots on goal to bring his total to 34, and missed on one other attempt.
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