Blackhawks lose heartbreaker to Jets after failing to produce insurance goal
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Just a little more offense, particularly from the first line, could've lifted the Blackhawks to a win Friday.
The Jets kept Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen quiet, however, and stunned the Hawks 2-1 in overtime after two goals by Mark Scheifele — one that tied the game with 1:04 left in regulation and another that ended it 37 seconds into the extra session.
Ryan Donato tallied the Hawks' lone marker late in the second period, and it nearly turned out to be enough — because the Hawks played such a structured defensive game — but not quite.
"We’re tired of taking moral victories at this point," Seth Jones said. "We need to win hockey games. I thought we played an excellent game. We were turnover-free in the neutral zone, for the most part. Everyone was chipping in the way we needed to play. ... We hung in there for 59 minutes, and then lost coverage in OT."
Nick Foligno operated as the first-line left winger, getting the latest opportunity to rotate into a spot that Tyler Bertuzzi, Ilya Mikheyev and Taylor Hall have also seen time in.
Bedard and Teravainen, meanwhile, have been stapled together as the other two forwards on that line since the start of training camp. They teamed up for the Hawks' first goal Tuesday against Utah and weren't bad Friday — they produced seven scoring chances while allowing five during five-on-five play— but they weren't able to substantially test world-class Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
They were each credited with just one shot on goal each, and Teravainen's shot — a weak wrister that gave the Jets the overtime possession on which they eventually scored — was one he will "want back," coach Luke Richardson said.
"We put pucks behind them and tried to make them make the mistakes and unfortunately just didn't get that second goal," Richardson added. "They pressed and pushed and...got that second tying goal, which is a little deflating. We've got to finish the game off."
The Hawks hope Teravainen can complement Bedard this season not only because of his playmaking ability but also because of his defensive acumen. After all, while Bedard ranked 367th out of 375 forwards league-wide last season in terms of scoring chances allowed, Teravainen ranked 26th.
Teravainen is a relatively slow skater by NHL standards, but he reads the game well and knows how to be in the right spots at the right times — a skill that contributes to his success in all areas.
In the defensive zone, it allows him to jump in front of opponent passes, intercept them smoothly and quickly exit the zone with possession. He demonstrated that in the first period Friday, for example, when he anticipated a Nikolaj Ehlers drop-pass and made it look like Ehlers intended to pass to him.
In the offensive zone, conversely, it allows him to make effective passes himself. He executes seam passes when those lanes are open, but he also grades out as one of the league leaders in terms of low-to-high passes that lead to shots from the point, per All Three Zones.
One concern, however, is that Teravainen's performance slipped somewhat last season. He was still solid, as his 53 points in 76 games show, but his analytics weren't as impressive as in 2022-23. That's why the salary cap space-strapped Hurricanes decided not to match his asking price on a new contract (before the Hawks gave him $5.4 million per year for three years as a free agent).
Hawks backup goalie Arvid Soderblom represented a bright spot Friday in spite of the late meltdown, which denied him a golden chance to earn his first career shutout.
He still finished with 33 saves on 35 shots and demonstrated much-improved rebound control, positioning and lateral movement compared to last year.