Hawks show fight, but there's plenty left to work on in 6-3 loss to Blues
The lack of size and physicality was apparent to anyone who watched the Blackhawks last season.
While a hardworking group, the Hawks were easily pushed around by stronger teams like Tampa Bay and Florida.
"We (knew) they had a lot of skill, but maybe (weren't) necessarily the most gritty of teams," said center Tyler Johnson, who was acquired from the Lightning last off-season. "This year you see some of the guys, that's what the main focus has been.
"We have to be a little more sandpaper. Gotta use the body more."
And the fists, apparently, as the Hawks got into a pair of first-period fights during their 6-3 preseason loss to St. Louis at the United Center on Friday.
The first scrap featured the Hawks' Reese Johnson going toe-to-toe with the 6-3, 216-pound Griffin Luce. Then as the period was winding down, forward Dmitri Osipov took exception to Tanner Kaspick running over Jakub Pour. The 6-4, 230-pound Osipov spent 10-15 seconds drilling the smaller Kaspick before officials finally arrived to stop the carnage.
"St. Louis is a physical team," said Ryan Carpenter, who scored the Hawks' final goal. "They were throwing hits, so you've got to stick up for guys. ... It got the boys going and got us some energy, but didn't give us enough I guess."
Osipov, Reese Johnson and linemate Jakub Pour combined for 10 of the Hawks' 32 hits.
"That whole line ... had an impact on the game," said Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton. "They're big and they skate well. Strong on the puck. Sometimes a simple game is what you need, especially against a team that's big as well."
As for the game, the Hawks looked a step slow most of the night as they:
• Had to kill off a 5-on-3 Blues power play for 46 seconds in the first period.
• Allowed a short-handed goal midway through the second period after Seth Jones lost his stick against the end boards.
• Allowed St. Louis' third goal when Seth Jones and Jake McCabe - two of Stan Bowman's off-season additions - could not get back in time to stop a bullet from Robert Thomas.
• Were being outshot 38-22 when Vladimir Tarasenko made it 5-2 with 5:25 remaining.
"Ultimately we've got to get over that hump of getting into playing a regular-season style," Colliton said. "I don't think we did it consistently enough tonight."
Marc-Andre Fleury started in net and stopped 15 of 17 shots in 33 minutes. Collin Delia turned away 20 of the 23 shots he saw. Kane, DeBrincat (goal, assist) and Tyler Johnson made their preseason debuts.
This was an important night for the Hawks' third line of Alex Nylander, Dylan Strome and Carpenter as all three fight for a roster spot. Nylander had a rough night, getting the puck stolen just outside the defensive blue line and later whiffing on a one-time attempt off a cross-ice feed from Carpenter. Strome was hardly noticeable in his 15:05 of ice time, although he did register a late assist and also won 7 of 9 faceoffs.
The Hawks continue their six-game preseason slate with a rematch against the Blues in St. Louis on Saturday. They are then at Detroit on Monday.
Slap shot:
The Hawks signed forward Colton Dach to a three-year entry-level contract that runs through the 2023-24 season ($870,000 salary cap hit). The Hawks drafted Dach, the younger brother of Kirby Dach, 62nd overall in July. He will spend this season in juniors with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.