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You could look at the Chicago Blackhawks\u2019 3-0 loss on Monday night to the Colorado Avalanche \u2013 their first time getting shut out this season \u2013 several ways:<\/p>\n
Or maybe it\u2019s a combination of the three.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can say that a loss is encouraging, I guess, yeah, it was,\u201d Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said. \u201cWe did a lot of good things. I thought both goalies were good \u2013 ours was good too \u2013 but came up a little short, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wedgewood stole some of the spotlight in Denver, but it also was a night in which Avs star Nathan MacKinnon reached 1,000 career points and Hawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov, the No. 2 pick in the last draft, made his much-anticipated NHL debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cStep-by-step I was getting more confident,\u201d Levshunov said. \u201cI tried to play simple, I tried to play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The game started with a bit of controversy.<\/p>\n
Martin Ne\u010das appeared to put the Avalanche up 1-0, but the Hawks challenged and the forward was ruled offside. The overturned goal took away what would\u2019ve been MacKinnon\u2019s 1,000th point.<\/p>\n
Later in the first, Connor Bedard looked to break the scoreless tie, but he just provided the first of several highlight saves for Wedgewood, who stuck his pad in the air while lying on his back.<\/p>\n
Wedgewood also made a beauty of a glove save on Nick Foligno in the second, and the Avs goalie wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n
In the third period, he thwarted Frank Nazar\u2019s breakaway backhander, then he dove head-first \u2013 without a stick \u2013 to stymie Tyler Bertuzzi short-range one-timer set up by Joe Veleno.<\/p>\n
MacKinnon finally secured his milestone point when Artturi Lehkonen scored 31 seconds into the third, and he had the secondary assist. Two minutes, 56 seconds later, MacKinnon notched another helper on another Ne\u010das connection \u2013 no overturning that blast from the slot.<\/p>\n
Spencer Knight had 18 saves on 20 shots in his third start for the Hawks, but his first loss. Dating back to Feb. 2 with the Florida Panthers, he had a five-game winning streak entering Monday\u2019s matchup.<\/p>\n
Hawks\u2019 Alec Martinez left the game with 10 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first. Sorensen said the defenseman is day to day.<\/p>\n
Here are five takeaways from the loss.<\/p>\n
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Well, other than scoring a goal or an assist \u2013 but that\u2019s gravy for the young defenseman.<\/p>\n
Levshunov was going against one of the fastest teams in the business in the Avalanche, so you didn\u2019t want him to get in over his skis by taking risks on offense. But the moment was never too big for the rookie.<\/p>\n
When he did take shots, his heavy shot was on display.<\/p>\n
If there was a quibble, Levshunov could have been quicker with his shoot-or-pass decisions on the power play, which included a five-on-three.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I would\u2019ve scored a couple of times,\u201d Levshunov said. \u201cIt was a good opportunity, good chances. But, yeah, next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sorensen said Levshunov had good gaps and the coach was otherwise glowing in his assessment of the defenseman.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst NHL game was good,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of the offensive stuff we talked about, defended well, I thought he was assertive and good first step.\u201d<\/p>\n
This season will be remembered for Seth Jones saying the Hawks \u201chaven\u2019t made any strides to be a better, more simple hockey team, and it shows,\u201d shortly before the Hawks granted his trade request and shipped him to Florida.<\/p>\n
It also will be remembered for Foligno\u2019s return volley.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a cohesiveness with the group,\u201d Foligno said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten rid of some distractions, so to speak, and now there\u2019s just a group that\u2019s trying to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when you make hard decisions they end up benefiting the group, and I think you\u2019re seeing that. Guys are playing together, they\u2019re playing one for another, they\u2019re playing to grow something here. They\u2019re not worried about what\u2019s gone on or what guys are feeling, it\u2019s everyone that\u2019s pulling on the same rope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foligno added, \u201cIt\u2019s encouraging, you see the young guys stepping in that have done the job, and even the older guys that have accepted some of the roles that they\u2019ve played.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a team coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underlying those comments is that the Hawks have gotten better as the young players have started to take over.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first- or second-year Hawks \u2013 Bedard, Nazar, Ethan Del Mastro, Colton Dach, Landon Slaggert and Wyatt Kaiser \u2013 who are jumping off the screen, along with some slightly older veterans such as Ryan Donato and Alex Vlasic.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to diminish the Folignos and Jason Dickinsons, but at some point the kids \u2013 the future core \u2013 can\u2019t just be learning, they need to be leading.<\/p>\n
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The Hawks goalie got a little chin music from Miles Wood\u2019s stick, as the Avs forward plowed into Knight for an interference penalty. You could see the momentary pain in Knight\u2019s face because the forceful collision knocked his mask back.<\/p>\n
His Florida Panthers mask. Yes, Knight\u2019s still trotting out there with his former team\u2019s mask (he was acquired March 1.)<\/p>\n
Knight said before he embarked on the road trip that a Hawks-themed helmet is done, it just had to be shipped. But when, he didn\u2019t know. In fact, he doesn\u2019t really even know much else about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just told the painter (Dave Gunnarsson), I was like, \u2018Just come up with a design,\u2019\u201d he told the Tribune. \u201cI don\u2019t really know what it looks like. Just get it here as fast as you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go into the small details next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NHL can be as generous with offside violations as the NBA is with traveling (OK, maybe not quite that generous).<\/p>\n
Skaters don\u2019t have to make contact with the blue line as the puck is crossing, they get the benefit of the doubt if their skate is even hovering over the line.<\/p>\n
After the Hawks challenged Ne\u010das\u2019 goal, the referees took a long time deliberating before determining that the Avs forward strayed a hair too far before the puck crossed the line.<\/p>\n
The way the Hawks\u2019 luck has gone with challenges this season, they probably expected bad news. But for the first time, the Hawks won an offside ruling this season in their third such challenge.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the second time Sorensen won a challenge out of six attempts. The other time was for an interference call on Dec. 23 against the Minnesota Wild. Overall, the Hawks have won three of eight challenges.<\/p>\n
Early in the first period, Donato was on his knees in the neutral zone after losing a skate, but he managed to backhand a pass to Bedard as he raced into the Avs zone.<\/p>\n
Wedgewood stopped Bedard\u2019s shot, but props to Donato for sticking with the play before scooting off the ice.<\/p>\n
But the bigger question is: why are Donato\u2019s skate blades popping off in recent games?<\/p>\n
Remember the Feb. 1 game against the Panthers in Florida, a referee helped him push him toward the bench?<\/p>\n
Sorensen laughed, \u201cThat\u2019s like, what, three times in the last two games? I don\u2019t know, that\u2019s not a me question.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite a 3-0 loss for the Chicago Blackhawks \u2014 their first shutout \u2014 the game seemed to confirm a turning point for the takeover of the team by its young core.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1007,1005,26,986,940],"class_list":["post-17087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-anders-sorenson","tag-artyom-levshunov","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-ryan-donato","tag-spencer-knight"],"yoast_head":"\n