The Chicago Blackhawks snapped their five-game losing streak and handed Anders Sorensen his first career win as interim head coach.
It was a scrappy 2-1 victory at Madison Square Garden as goalie Arvid Soderblom made 29 saves in his first start as interim No. 1 goalie with Petr Mrazek on injured reserve.
The victory over the New York Rangers has the Blackhawks no longer No. 1 in the Tankathon standings. They are No. 2, which means they are the second-worst NHL team, but hey, this was the season where the front office was expecting the team to no longer be at the top of those standings. Being at the top of the NHL Draft Lottery odds is one of the reasons Luke Richardson was fired as head coach.
Maybe Richardson would still be the head coach had the Hawks found ways to win more games as Chicago has been in all but one game heading into the third period.
27 of 28 games this year the #Blackhawks have either led, been tied, or within one goal heading into the 3rd period
last place in the NHL
(H/T @MarkLazerus and @ByScottPowers)
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) December 10, 2024
Being in all of these games and coming out with 17 regulation defeats and two overtime losses is worth wondering if the Blackhawks are really that bad.
An inconsistent effort is one of the leading causes of the Blackhawks only having 20 points in the standings. Having an impotent offense is another, so that is why the Hawks are still a tough watch on most nights despite being in most games.
They just can never seem to score enough goals to bury a team or get over the hump. It was good to see Tyler Bertuzzi score a goal off of a Taylor Hall assist. Hall also scored the go-ahead goal in the second period against New York off a nice pass from Connor Bedard.
currently trying defying gravity pic.twitter.com/U4r0z1iDuo
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 10, 2024
If Hall and Bertuzzi can score more consistently, along with Bedard lighting the lamp, maybe that can add to some more victories as this season goes on.
This season is still lost, but you did see how the Hawks can win. However, it is a fine line the club has to walk, as counting on Soderblom or Mrazek (when he returns) to limit a team to a goal or a shutout is a tough ask.
That is why this is still a bad team that is competitive because of its goaltending. Things will not trend toward getting better until the offense can score more to ease the burden on the netminders.
