Despite the deflating 3-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, which snapped a five-game point streak, the Chicago Blackhawks are pleased with their latest outings, as they’ve shown improvements in their performances. After the defeat in Denver, captain Nick Foligno didn’t mince words towards Seth Jones, in a clear reminder to Connor Bedard and the rest of the locker room.
Though it may seem hard to believe, the Blackhawks were shutout for the first time in the 2024-25 NHL season during their visit to The Mile High City. While being blanked is always disheartening, Bedard, Foligno, and the Hawks are not letting the mishap affect their wave of momentum.
Chicago is far from being a consistently competitive team in the league and even further from becoming a contender, but they’ve been laying down some solid building blocks lately.
Foligno believes there are some key reasons for the late, somewhat successful stretch in Chi-town, and he aimed at former leader, Seth Jones’ departure as one of the factors.
“There’s a cohesiveness with the group. We’ve gotten rid of some distractions, so to speak, and now there’s a group that’s trying to get better,” Foligno admitted postgame, via Chicago Sun-Times. “Sometimes when you make hard decisions, they end up benefiting the group, and you’re seeing that.”
Until the wheels come off
The NHL trade deadline is in the past, so Bedard and company won’t see any more players leave the organization. These are the players the team will be riding with for the rest of the season, and Foligno is excited about it.
“Guys are playing together, they’re playing for one another, they’re playing to grow something here and not worried about what’s gone on or what guys are feeling,” Foligno added. “Everyone here is pulling on the same rope.
“We know we’ve got to pull ourselves out of this, and it’s a credit to all the guys that — after a lot of distractions and the deadline — we’re seeing a group that has come together here. It’s encouraging.”
Positive takeaway
Every cloud has a silver lining, and interim coach Anders Sorensen managed to remark one even after the shutout loss to the Avalanche.
“If you can say that a loss is encouraging, I guess yeah, it was,” Anders Sorensen said. “I thought we did a lot of good things, and I thought both goalies were good. Ours was good too but came up a little short, unfortunately.”
Bedard vs. Celebrini
The Blackhawks will continue their road trip further west, as they take on the San Jose Sharks on March 13 at SAP Center. The Sharks are lying in last place with 43 points, six behind the Blackhawks. Therefore, their upcoming matchup could have strong lottery draft implications.
Moreover, two young superstars will go head-to-head amid a heated debate over who the better first overall pick is. Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard will each look to deliver a strong performance against their fellow Canadian counterpart.