Blackhawks off to another tough start to the month

With their second loss in a row, and their 16th in their last 19, the Blackhawks have transitioned smoothly from November into December.

Or maybe not so smoothly.

For a brief moment, their East Coast road trip looked like a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning. Months can be considered a pretty arbitrary idea in the general passage of time, but when you turn the page on a calendar, it feels like a new period.

Such was the case when the Blackhawks turned the calendar page and this season's script by beating the New York Rangers 5-2 on the road in their first December game.

However, after two lifeless, goalless, and winless games against the Islanders and the Devils, it appears that time is just blending together.

"It'll be great for the guys to be on the road," Richardson said before venturing out on the road trip, "we don't have to play flashy or think we do at home, and we just play simple."

Richardson said that the team needed an ugly win, and they got that, with a couple good bounces and a couple of fights on their way to a win against the Rangers.

But next were two top Metropolitan Division teams, one of them being the Devils, who lead the league in points.

So the two losses can be chalked up to some fierce competition. But zero goals in two games is a tough way to attack any sort of competition.

"We're not gonna sound the alarms or anything like that," defenseman Jack Johnson said after the game, "but you don't have to be a hockey expert to know that if you don't score, you can't win. So, we just gotta bear down on our chances."

And if Richardson was genuinely looking forward to getting away from Chicago, there's bad news ahead: Six of the Hawks next seven games are at the United Center; and their next opponent is the Winnipeg Jets.

The Blackhawks have the third fewest points at home, and the Jets have outscored the Blackhawks 11-2 in only two games this season.

Injury updates:

Forward Jonathan Toews missed the Devils game due to a non-COVID illness. The Blackhawks called up top prospect Lukas Reichel to fill in, but the center was sent back down to Rockford on Wednesday so it's expected that Toews will be back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Jets ... Goalie Petr Mrazek, who suffered his second groin injury of the season while facing the Rangers, was placed on injured reserve before the Devils game to make room for Reichel. Goalie Alex Stalock is still dealing with a concussion, so Arvid Soderblom has started the last two games, and Jaxson Stauber is currently the backup ... Center Sam Lafferty (back), defenseman Jarred Tinordi (hip) and center Tyler Johnson (ankle) all remain sidelined.