The Blackhawks lost 3-0 in Colorado on Monday night, but came away encouraged by the NHL debut of defenseman Artyom Levshunov.
The No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft got off 7 shots, 3 on goal, and got plenty of ice time because teammate Alec Martinez left with an injury after playing just over three minutes.
“I think it was a good game,” the Belarus native told reporters after the game. “I was getting more comfortable for sure. I tried to play simple, tried to play hard. I had chances to score my first game.”
Two of Levshunov’s shots on goal came during a 5-on-3 opportunity midway through the second period. The Hawks didn’t score, obviously, but the rookie got two good looks from the slot.
“We saw some of the offensive stuff we’ve talked about, thought he defended well, thought he was assertive,” coach Anders Sorensen said. “Good first step.”
Levshunov missed training camp and the start of the regular season due to a foot injury. He played in 50 games for the Rockford Icehogs, producing 5 goals and 17 assists, before getting called up.
“I thought he was awesome,” teammate Nick Foligno said. “I was really impressed with Arty’s game. I want to see more of that.
“It’s exciting when you see his abilities and what he can do, and that’s Game 1 against a pretty good team over there too. I’m encouraged by that. You lose Marty (Martinez) and he stabilizes things so much back there. Our D battled tonight, man, they were exceptional.”
Colorado led the shots 21-20 and took the lead with two goals early in the third period, then added an empty-netter late. The Blackhawks had won the two previous meetings between these teams.
The Hawks will stay out West for games at San Jose and Vancouver, then return home to face Seattle next Tuesday. They’ve gone 3-1-2 over the past six games to move ahead of the Sharks in the battle to avoid the NHL’s worst record.
“What stinks is you feel like you probably played one of your better games in a while,” Foligno said. “We were dialed in, we were dominating some aspects of the game. When you don’t get any run support, it’s tough to beat a team like that.
“Good lesson for us. We’ve got to be proud of the way we’re playing, especially the last six here.”
