BUFFALO, N.Y. — Blackhawks goalie prospect Arvid Soderblom already has shown his talent at almost every level and in almost every setting. In Sweden, in Rockford of the American Hockey League and in the NHL preseason, he has excelled consistently.

But he hasn’t yet shown his best stuff in a meaningful NHL regular-season game and earned a victory for his efforts.

For a long time, Saturday looked as though it finally would be that breakthrough night — and Soderblom deserved for it to be. But the Hawks let him down late in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres.

”He played great,” Hawks coach Luke Richardson said. ”He really deserved better tonight. He looked really calm in there, made some really big saves on the primary scoring chances. That’s something we want to clean up as a team, especially in front of a young goaltender, but he showed a lot of poise.”

Said Soderblom: ”Personally, I felt really good out there. [I made] a lot of good saves. I played my game and did my best. It always sucks to lose.”

Soderblom, 23, stopped 36 of the first 37 shots he faced but finished with a less remarkable stat line of 41 saves on 45 shots after the Sabres rallied late.

Tage Thompson scored twice in the last nine minutes of regulation before Victor Olofsson tallied the game-winner on a power play 36 seconds into overtime.

”We [need to] go back a step, take a look at this and realize it’s now two [bad] games, it’s not just one,” Richardson said, also referring to the Hawks’ 6-5 loss Thursday to the Oilers. ”We have to . . . play just a little bit smarter situationally, like laying pucks ahead to the next zone and doing a little bit of forechecking or getting changes in and not turning over pucks.”

The Hawks’ defensive miscues enabled Soderblom to demonstrate many of his strengths. He made 14 high-danger saves, tied for the most by any Hawks goalie since Corey Crawford on Feb. 21, 2020.

Soderblom plays a somewhat opposite style in goal to teammate Alex Stalock. While Stalock injects any game with chaos, Soderblom’s presence almost makes one forget there’s a goalie at all. He makes the job look that easy.

The Sabres generated several semi-breakaways that Soderblom stopped by challenging the shooter to cut down his angle — his 6-3 frame doesn’t leave much open space — then using his quick glove-hand reflexes to snare the shot.

”[He’s] understanding [that] with his size, he doesn’t need to cheat,” Richardson said. ”He has to trust he’ll get there. It makes him feel confident. A big guy with a good glove, that’s a good recipe for a good goaltender.”

The Hawks have high hopes for Soderblom not only because of how talented he looks but also because of his stellar results at every stage of his career to date.

He posted .924 and .921 save percentages in his last two seasons in Sweden’s pro leagues, a .919 save percentage in 38 AHL games last season and a .939 save percentage in a preseason start with the Hawks last month.

But he hasn’t fully translated that skill into big-league results yet. His career NHL save percentage remains an underwhelming .879, weighed down by two tough starts last winter.

And he might not get many more opportunities this season if Petr Mrazek returns soon. The Hawks would prefer Soderblom to keep building confidence in Rockford.

”[That was] . . . my best game so far,” he said. ”You want to get the win. [I’m] sad it didn’t come today, but hopefully it comes in the future.”

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Since the last week of training camp, Zach LaVine has barely practiced.

The Bulls guard has gone through several shootarounds, done some light shooting on his own, and played in just four of the first seven regular-season games, including in the 114-109 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.

So to expect that the starting unit is anywhere close to running like a well-oiled machine is a fairytale at best.

The solution?

There’s no good one on the horizon.

As long as LaVine is under the umbrella of his current left knee management schedule, the on-again-off-again doesn’t do anything for team chemistry or building out the offensive and defensive packages as the season goes on.

Coach Billy Donovan has admitted that, and so have the players.

Even DeMar DeRozan acknowledged that it’s less than ideal, but was banking on the long game in all of this. According to DeRozan, if they can weather having LaVine as a part-time teammate for the time being, there’s a pay-off down the road.

“It’s tough, but it’s going to make us better at the same time,” DeRozan said. “Other guys that get the opportunity to play, get experience, get reps, that that next-man-up mentality. The most important thing is having [LaVine] in the long run, and we all understand that. As long as he gets better and gets stronger, and we continue to tighten up things when we don’t have him, it’s just going to make us that much better down the line.”

Until then, however, there’s just going to have to be more growing pains as they try and figure all of this out. That means more inconsistent quarters of play.

That’s been evident at the start of games – with or without LaVine – as first quarters have been this team’s Achilles heel, especially in three-point defense.

Philadelphia (3-4) was just the latest team to take advantage of that, building a 36-22 lead in that opening stanza, and doing it courtesy of a 5-for-9 shooting clinic from three-point range.

“The first quarter … actually after the first quarter, the three-point line has been relatively even quarters two-through-four on shooting percentages,” Donovan said. “Outside of Indiana, you look at the first quarter, and teams have been shooting an astronomical percentage. We’ve got to do a better job starting the game. We’ve got to have better awareness and recognition on some of these situations.”

Practicing and playing together on a more consistent basis might help, but that’s just not this team’s reality right now.

Case in point? The plus-minus marks of all the starters in that opening quarter on Saturday was all on the minus side, with LaVine a minus-13.

What this Bulls (3-4) team has been good at in the early part of the season? Halftime adjustments and playing some stellar basketball in the third quarter.

They did that in the season opener against Miami, earlier this week against Boston, and then again with the 76ers, outscoring them 31-26 in that third to make it a game.

Just like that a first-half 19-point deficit was a nail-biter, and would stay that way throughout the fourth.

That was until Joel Embiid had something to say about it. The big man hit a three-pointer with 18.1 seconds left to break the tie after a LaVine miss. The Bulls missed on two opportunities to cut into that lead but it wasn’t to be. Nor was slaying the “Embiid Curse,” as the star center improved to 12-0 lifetime against the Bulls.

“To me the disappointing part of the game was you’re trying to climb out of 19 points,” Donovan said. “We’ve shown it, but we’ve got to do it more consistently.”

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The Blackhawks are defying expectations early on in the season

The bar was set extremely low for the Blackhawks this year. Even Patrick Kane said he’s not sure if the team has many expectations for this year. You know things must be bad if the best player on your team and one of your leaders essentially says the team isn’t good. While this year’s Hawks team might just be very bad the elephant in the room is the matter of just how bad they are and if they will tank. Don’t buy your Conor Bedard jersey’s just yet Blackhawks fans, 7 games in and this team actually looks like they might just scratch a playoff spot.

Let’s face it the Blackhawks are too good to tank

Yes, 7 games is a small sample size but honestly, if you look at the worst teams in the league for the past few years, this Blackhawks team is simply not that. Then take a look at the teams who have gotten off to terrible starts this year. The Arizona Coyotes have 2 wins and have been outscored 29-19. The Anaheim Ducks have looked absolutely terrible, they have one win and have been outscored 32-16. The Blackhawks simply don’t fit into the category that the Ducks and Coyotes are in.

Why was the team expected to tank?

After all the moves Kyle Davidson made in the offseason which included trading away Alex Debrincat, Kirby Dach, and Brandon Hagel and letting Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik walk, experts around the league were talking about the Blackhawks possibly having a 50-point season. The team hired a brand new coach in Luke Ricahrdson and handed him a roster that was absolutely designed to land the NO. 1 overall pick or at best a lottery pick.

One who is not familiar with the tanking strategy may ask “why would a team lose games on purpose and essentially throw away the season?” 17 year old Connor Bedard is why. Connor Bedard is the first player ever to be granted exceptional status in the WHL which allowed him. After a shortened season due to the pandemic, Bedard exploded in the 2021-22 season. He became the league’s youngest 50 goal scorer and also notched 100 points becoming the 4th 16 year old in WHL history to net 100 points and the first to do so since 1986. We are talking Connor McDavid level talent here folks he is as real of a deal as it can possibly get.

Connor Bedard was just 15 years old when he was selected to Canada’s national under 18 team which competed in the 2021 IIHF world under 18 tournament. He became just the 3rd 15 year old to represent Canada in that tournament joining Connor Mcdavid and John Tavares as the only ones to do so. Bedard went on to match McDavid’s point total in the same tournament leading them to a gold medal.

What has gone right for the Blackhawks so far

The Blackhawks are recently coming off a 4 game win streak which probably should have went to 5 games if it wasn’t for aforementioned Connor McDavid. The Blackhawks early success can be directly tied to their special teams. As of Wednesday the Hawks penalty kill has been phenomenal. They killed off 20 of their last 21 penalties successfully which includes a 6-6 performance against an absolutely loaded power play for the Florida Panthers. They have already netted 4 short handed goals this year which is already double the total of SHG’s they had last season. Lottery teams usually have terrible special teams, just one more reason why the Blackhawks look like they don’t have the makings of a lottery team.

Another thing that has gone right for the Blackhawks so far this year is that they are taking care of business against the bad teams. The teams first 3 wins came against San Jose, Detroit, and Seattle all teams whom are not expected to be in the playoffs this year. Good teams have to take care of the trash and that is exactly what the Hawks have done so far. They even notched an impressive win over the loaded Florida Panthers.

The jury is still out on the Blackhawks

In no way am I saying that this years Blackhawks team is good and will be in the playoff race come April. Yes they have gotten off to a better than expected start but on paper this team is bad, I mean real bad. Only time will tell if the Chicago Blackhawks will continue to defy expectations but so far they have all the makings of an above average team, a team that will essentially have no chance at winning this years lottery. Kyle Davidson will have to make some serious moves if he wants any chance of landing the generational talent Connor Bedard.

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Tysean Griffin is just a junior, but Morgan Park relies on him to make its offense go. Griffin’s speed breaks games open and keeps defenders on their toes.

So it was a tremendous sign of growth that the young Mustangs defeated Fenwick 14-6 on Saturday at Gately Stadium with Griffin managing only five carries and no receptions while nursing an injured ankle.

The victory sent Morgan Park (9-1) into the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Senior Orlando James stepped up in place of Griffin with 14 carries for 62 yards. He was a steady and dependable ball carrier in a close game.

”[Orlando James] is a point guard,” Mustangs coach Chris James said. ”So we lose him to basketball over the summer. But now he has his legs back, and he’s another weapon for us.”

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Thaxton and junior receiver Chris Durr Jr. connected on both of Morgan Park’s touchdowns. The first was a 26-yard pass late in the first quarter and the second was a 21-yard pass late in the third.

Durr had eight receptions for 161 yards.

”I’ve known [Thaxton] since we were 6 years old,” Durr said. ”And we’ve just had that special connection since we met.”

Thaxton is the most talented passing quarterback to play in the Public League in recent years. He was 18-for-33 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

”I have high expectations for Marcus,” Chris James said. ”I’m not going to hide that. Marcus is going to be one of the best quarterbacks to come out of the Chicago Public League. We just have to protect him.”

Junior Corey Harris had four catches for 35 yards as Thaxton connected with six receivers.

”It’s great to get my first playoff win as a sophomore,” Thaxton said. ”This team sticks together. There isn’t another team I’d want to be a part of. I love my teammates to death.”

The Mustangs’ defense, led by sophomore linebacker Jovan Clark, shut down the Friars’ passing game. Fenwick (5-5) completed only five passes for 47 yards. Clark had an interception in the first quarter and helped force a fumble in the second.

The Friars had success on the ground. Junior Luke D’Alise had 25 carries for 191 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. But Fenwick was unable to finish several drives with scores, coming up short in the red zone.

”We were too one-dimensional on offense,” Friars coach Matt Battaglia said. ”But the defense played their hearts out.

”Holding them to two touchdowns was unbelievable. That’s a lot of explosive power, and the defense gave us a shot. But [Morgan Park] made the plays when it counted.”

”We expect to be this good, regardless of who the opponent was, but we wanted to beat them after they beat us last year,” Chris James said. ”And they were the defending state champions. To be the champ, you have to beat the champ.”

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Kenwood’s offense is either one-dimensional or three-dimensional, depending on your point of view.

The Broncos have an FBS receiver in Western Michigan recruit Logan Lester, but they rarely throw the ball. In a 58-0 victory Saturday against host Perspectives in a Class 6A playoff game, Kenwood attempted five passes and completed one — for a four-yard touchdown to Lester.

The Broncos also spread 29 carries among six running backs, finishing with 262 rushing yards behind a big, strong offensive line. There isn’t necessarily a featured back in the group, but the three leaders are seniors Taylen Goodwin and Davonte Johnson and junior Mako Grant.

Goodwin had 129 yards and two touchdowns on six carries, Johnson had three rushes for 84 yards and a touchdown and Grant ran seven times for 92 yards and a touchdown. They’re all fine with the mix-and-match approach.

”It keeps everybody refreshed,” Goodwin said. ”A well-oiled machine. I can’t thank my [fellow] backs enough. Mako and ‘Juice’ [Johnson], they’re great backs. It’s a great tandem.”

Johnson said there are no egos about the distribution of carries.

”We don’t really look at it as competition,” he said. ”We look at it as, if one gets tired, we put another one in. We get the win, that’s all we care about.”

Grant called it ”a nice, friendly competition. We all better each other. . . . Even though we’re three different backs, we ball as one.”

Kenwood coach Sinque Turner understands some observers might question the Broncos’ heavy reliance on the run game. But as the calendar flips to November and nastier weather looms, he’s OK relying on his ball carriers to shoulder the offensive load.

”It gives me a sense of security,” he said. ”I feel like we can protect the ball better, control the clock a little bit and still have some offensive production. It may seem one-dimensional, but when you’ve got those three guys who can do so many different things and whatnot, I don’t call that one-dimensional.”

That’s part of the trio’s value: They all bring a little different look. Defenders can lose track of Goodwin, who’s 5-7, behind Kenwood’s linemen. Johnson and Grant are a little bigger at 5-9 and 5-11, respectively.

”They’ve all got a little speed behind them, and Mako Grant runs behind the shoulder pads really good,” Turner said. ”Taylen did a really good job of running behind the shoulder pads today, and ‘Juice’ is more of a slasher. But they’re all pretty good running backs.

”We haven’t been able to run the ball as effectively as I wanted to throughout the whole season, but this is a good time to peak.”

Up next for Kenwood (7-3) is Bremen (9-1), which also features a run-heavy offense with a trio of backs: Breyahn Townsend, Keshawn Lewis-Hunt and Dion Debrue. The Braves average 347 rushing yards per game.

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Billy Donovan knew several of his players didn’t look right late in the game against San Antonio on Friday.

The Bulls coach found out a day later the exact toll that loss took.

Both Ayo Dosunmu (neck and back) and Andre Drummond (shoulder strain) missed the game with the 76ers, with the only good news to come out of it was that neither injury was deemed serious or considered more than a few days.

That didn’t mean the timing was great, however.

Since taking over the starting point guard duties from Lonzo Ball (knee surgery), Dosunmu was growing each game, especially from three point range. Entering the night, the former Morgan Park standout was shooting 45.8% from long range, and taking that shot with confidence.

“Just my hard work,” Dosunmu said of his improvements from three. “That was a part of my game I knew I had to improve.”

Not that he was awful from three last season as a rookie, hitting 37.6% from out there, but Dosunmu knew he would be leaned on early while Ball was recovering. When the Bulls offense was at its best last season, Ball was finding himself open the corner and knocking that shot down consistently.

Dosunmu is trying to do the same.

“The reason why I think he has such great growth ahead of him is because of his ability to really learn and pick-up things,” Donovan said of Dosunmu and his outside shooting. “He can pick it up through film, he can pick it up through his own personal experience when you talk to him. He’s certainly made a lot of growth in that area [shooting three pointers].

“The next step for him is reading the floor on when we want him to drive. There’s times the ball is getting to him and it probably needs to be swung instead of driven. Sometimes he’s got to see what’s going on around him, and he’ll get that through experience.”

As for Drummond and the shoulder, the big man took a nasty fall against the Spurs, but opted to play through it. His range of motion was an issue on Saturday morning, so he was sidelined.

Like Dosunmu, not an easy loss because of how effective Drummond has been as a rebounder. Not only did the back-up center score 17 points against the Spurs, but ripped down 14 boards.

The Bulls will take Sunday off, Monday will be a practice day, and Donovan was hoping to have both players available for the game in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

Maxing out

When Patrick Williams was talking last week about finding a comfort zone playing alongside All-Stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, one of the names that was brought up was 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.

Not only was Maxey from Williams’ 2020 draft class, but has had to figure out playing with All-Stars Joel Embiid and James Harden.

He’s done more than figure it out, however, evident by the 44-point game he put up on Friday.

According to Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers, it’s a two-way street that young players have to navigate. Yes, they have to find their way, but they also have to show enough for veterans to trust them. That could be the biggest difference between Williams and Maxey right now.

“Especially in Tyrese’s case, that you can trust him,” Rivers said. “You can trust giving him the ball down the stretch. Trust is a tough one for veterans. Selective passing at the end of games to me kills teams. You’ve got to give the ball to the open guy, and the more we do that the better for our team.”

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A man was shot and killed Saturday near the front of a residence in Roseland on the Far South Side.

The man, 27, was shot in the neck about 6:15 p.m. outside a home in the 400 block of West 104th Street, Chicago police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

No further information about the shooting was immediately available.

No one was in custody.

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