Rozner: Chicago Blackhawks' new version looks much like the old

As the Chicago Blackhawks walked the red carpet and prepared to drop the puck on their North American opener Thursday night, there had to be some trepidation wafting through the corridors.

While only one game had been played in this marathon that is the NHL season, the game in Prague against the Flyers looked eerily like most of those they played last season.

The Hawks were looking for better defense through all three zones and secondary scoring, but what they got was far too many turnovers, the inability to defend in any zone and the scoring came from the usual suspects.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of a season that ended without a postseason appearance.

So after a remake of the roster with a focus on the back end, and Jeremy Colliton's insistence that his club would think defense first, the Hawks took the ice at the United Center Thursday night against a struggling San Jose team that reached the Western Conference finals five months ago.

Facing an 0-4 team that had been outscored 17-5, the Hawks gave away the lead four different times and ultimately lost 5-4 to the Sharks.

The Hawks were considerably better than in Game 1 in many ways, but there was still a lack of attention to details defensively and the struggling penalty kill raised more red flags.

There was plenty of good, like the chemistry between Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik, who had 9 shots between them in the first period, and Kubalik opened the scoring off a brilliant goal mouth pass from Saad.

Kubalik then replaced a nervous Alex Nylander on the top line in the second period, which was a surprise given what Saad and Kubalik had accomplished in the first.

The bad included a pair of first-period power-play goals by the Sharks after a pair of offensive-zone penalties, but there was also the return of Andrew Shaw, who - as advertised - threw his body around with 4 hits in the opening 20 minutes, drew a penalty and collected his first goal since returning.

In classic Shaw fashion, he got to the front of the net, nearly tipped in an Olli Maatta shot, got the rebound and then tucked in his third shot of the sequence on the rebound.

It was still 2-2 in the second when Alex DeBrincat stole a puck on the forecheck and hit Shaw with a nifty pass. Shaw walked in and beat Sharks goalie Aaron Dell for his second goal of the night.

After a bad break gave the Sharks their third goal, Dylan Strome got his first of the season on a nice back-and-forth with Patrick Kane, but again the Sharks tied it after the Hawks turned the puck over in their own end and it was 4-4 going to the third.

San Jose took a 5-4 lead early in the final period as the Hawks got caught running around yet again and there was no one to be found in front of the net except Barclay Goodrow as he fired a shot past Corey Crawford.

As they try to redefine who they are and what teams will face in Chicago, the team defense is not where Colliton needs it to be if the Hawks are going to think about getting back to the playoffs.

There are still too many bad plays around the blue lines and too many giveaways at the end of shifts, a pair of mistakes that will leave you chasing the game and picking pucks out of the back of your net.

The forecheck was better Thursday, the Hawks starting to get pucks deep on time and in rhythm, and the back pressure has improved significantly from last season.

It's only two games and some adjustment was to be expected with so many new faces in the lineup and some significant preseason injuries, and it will obviously take some time for the Hawks to figure it out.

Of greater concern than the results might be the way Duncan Keith has played, as the veteran continues to fight the puck, and Slater Koekkoek and Nylander in particular look completely out of place.

Getting Calvin de Haan and Kirby Dach in the lineup should help soon enough, but this is definitely a work in progress.

And there's a lot of work to be done.