Third-string goalie Söderblom thrust into action, Blackhawks lose 3-1 to Islanders
It was Native American Heritage Night at the Blackhawks game and, as part of the celebration, the United Center welcomed members of different nations and tribes for performances and exhibitions, paying respect to their own namesake, the Black Hawk ancestral tribe.
Before the anthem and during the first intermission, members of a drum circle from The Little Priest Singers performed a "Victory Song." With it was a spoken message describing the drum as "the heartbeat of Mother Earth."
It was a beautiful performance with the members rhythmically playing one drum all together.
The hockey game was the contrary.
Be it because Seth Jones (right thumb) isn't around to anchor the defense, or Tyler Johnson (left ankle) is also on injured reserve, leaving the team without his positive energy. On top of that, third-string goalie Arvid Söderblom replaced Alex Stalock, who was run through on an interference call in the first three minutes of Tuesday night's game.
Whatever it was, key injuries have piled up, and the Blackhawks looked out of sync against the Islanders, losing 3-1.
I think we're playing hard," Connor Murphy said. "Obviously we're going to keep trying to get better every day ... but we have to find a way to start winning these games."
The Blackhawks led in ways a hockey team should not aim for. They finished with 15 giveaways to New York's three, more futile power plays (1-for-5), 11 more shots allowed, and 1 more goal allowed.
Söderblom - who was replacing Stalock, who was replacing Petr Mrázek - let in the first one with 2:25 left in the first period. Jason Dickinson was in the box, and after 10 seconds of power play time for the Islanders, Anders Lee finished a puck that sneaked right behind Söderblom.
Head coach Luke Richardson said after the loss that Stalock has been placed in concussion protocol.
After a fruitless first period, there were a mere three instances in the rest of the game where the Blackhawks looked as if they were primed to score a goal.
The first came with about six minutes to go in the second period. Behind a couple of faceoff wins, they held it in the Islanders' zone for a couple of minutes and mustered off a couple of shots. That momentum was stunted by an Andreas Athanasiou holding penalty a couple minutes later.
The second came in the early stages of the third. Again, holding the puck in the Islanders' defensive zone, two Islanders players had broken their sticks and were playing defense with their bodies. The Islanders got the puck out, and, racing down the right side of the ice, Islanders center Brock Nelson put one past Söderblom.
On the third rally - one on the power play - Jonathan Toews got the tip in from Seth Jones' replacement on the point, Caleb Jones. It was a good goal, a stunning display of hand-eye coordination, but one good goal wasn't good enough. The Blackhawks just couldn't get on a roll.
Slap shots:
With Seth Jones being placed on injured reserve, the Blackhawks called up Alec Regula from Rockford. Regula was a scratch for Tuesday's game. ... Toews extended his point streak to six games with his third-period goal.