Blackhawks' fast start fizzles in 3-1 loss to Preds

The Blackhawks are doing their best to move on with Patrick Kane, but it's not easy.

It's obviously strange not seeing him at practice or in games, but it's also doubly odd watching the franchise icon on television playing for a different team.

"It's just weird to see Kaner in a Rangers jersey," forward Lukas Reichel said after the Hawks dropped a 3-1 decision to Nashville at the United Center on Saturday. "Since I grew up he was always my favorite player and he always played for the Blackhawks.

"It's a little bit weird, but we've got to move forward."

The Hawks are doing so with a slew of new faces that include Joey Anderson, Andreas Englund, Nikita Zaitsev, Anders Bjork and Cole Guttman. A slew of losses could be coming as everyone attempts to learn a new system, new teammates and new coaches.

The Hawks did get off to a fast start against the Predators, with Seth Jones tipping in a pass from Andreas Athanasiou just 37 seconds after puck drop.

The offense dried up after that, however, and the Hawks (21-35-5) dropped their fourth straight.

Reichel had a strong game at times, but coach Luke Richardson would like to see the 21-year-old make more plays off the rush with linemates Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev.

"Sometimes they slow down to make plays ... (and) they stop moving their feet and they try to sauce (a pass) through," Richardson said. "It worked on the first one (Jones' goal) because we had more pace on the rush.

"We had one in the third period where AA's got to use his speed more. He was down on the left wing and he's got to keep driving it deeper. Players feel more uncomfortable around there and there's going to be people missing checks. (Even) if we don't have a shot, at least we can turn it up and hit the second wave. We have to do that more and we'll work on that."

Jones has 7 goals and 12 assists in his last 26 games. Englund finished with a game-high 9 hits, while Mackenzie Entwistle - who returned after missing time with a wrist injury - added 5 more hits.

The Hawks close out their homestand against Alex DeBrincat and the Ottawa Senators on Monday.