Chicago Blackhawks can’t stop giving up five goals a gameon January 18, 2021 at 1:00 pm

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SUNRISE, FL - JANUARY 17: Patric Hornqvist #70 of the Florida Panthers gets into position for a tip in attempt in front of Goaltender Collin Delia #60 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the BB&T Center on January 17, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
SUNRISE, FL – JANUARY 17: Patric Hornqvist #70 of the Florida Panthers gets into position for a tip in attempt in front of Goaltender Collin Delia #60 of the Chicago Blackhawks at the BB&T Center on January 17, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

The Chicago Blackhawks are really struggling to not be a terrible defensive team.

The Chicago Blackhawks are a bad hockey team. They were projected by many to be one of the worst teams going into the season but it appears to be worse than we thought. You can’t overreact to just three games but you can be concerned about what has happened in the early going. In three games played so far this season, they have given up five goals in each game for a total of 15 goals against. They have a combined five goals total in those three games that they gave up 15 combined.

The problem is that for this season, it isn’t going to get much better. The roster that has been constructed is not good at all. Stan Bowman has been very unclear about the direction of the organization but this roster isn’t going to win anything. Not everyone they play is going to be as good as the Tampa Bay Lightning but the Florida Panthers faired just as well. Florida is a good team but they aren’t world beaters by any means. You would think they were with the way they played against the Hawks.

If they want to stop the bleeding at any point, the team defense needs to be way better. They have some nice players but they are very thin with depth. Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Alex DeBrincat are all good players who are entertaining to watch. For some reason, however, the coach has an issue giving ice time to some of the team’s best players.

Dominik Kubalik, a reigning Calder Trophy nominee, only played 13:13 in their most recent games against the Panthers. In the same game, Dylan Strome played for only 14:04. Those are two of the better players, especially offensively, in a game that they are losing by more than one goal sitting on the bench for most of the game. It is very strange to see and the coach will have to answer for it sooner or later.

The Hawks did show a little bit of fight in this most recent game, however. They came back from being down 2-0 to tie but it didn’t last very long. Less than a minute after Connor Murphy tied it, the Panthers took the lead again which flushed away any momentum the Blackhawks had. They ended up putting home two more to get to that total of five. If the Hawks don’t stop giving up goals in bunches like that, they are going to continue to lose.

Of course, the goalies could be better too. Collin Delia got the start against Florida for his second straight start. Malcolm Subban started the first game of the season last week and was bad as well. Each of them needs to play better otherwise they are going to see more time in the AHL than the NHL after this year. Chicago would be wise to make a trade at some point. It won’t matter much, however, so they might as well try to be involved in the lottery.

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We don’t know what the future holds for players like Patrick Kane but he has to be so annoyed with what is going on. This team had a chance to be good for a few extra years but they threw that chance away. They have another one against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night and not giving up five should be the biggest key for them going into it. Hopefully, they are able to have a much better showing for the first time this season.

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