10 Observations: Blackhawks Suffer First Overtime Loss Under Derek King

10 observations: Hawks suffer first overtime loss under Derek King originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago The Blackhawks suffered their first overtime loss under interim head coach Derek King after falling to the Nashville Predators 3-2 at the United Center on Friday. Here are 10 observations from the loss: 1. The Blackhawks have given up multiple power-play goals in three of their last five games; they hadn’t done that in any of their first 24. The penalty kill has been a bit inconsistent as of late. It didn’t help that Nashville had five power plays, so staying out of the box is priority No. 1. 2. On the flip side, the Blackhawks had five power-play opportunities and generated six scoring chances in those 8:39 of action. But they managed just two shots on goal. Not enough. 3. The Blackhawks generated five even-strength high danger chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick. They had zero in the second and third periods combined. 4. Kirby Dach scored his second goal in the last five games after going 17 straight without one. He had two assists on Wednesday against Washington. The Blackhawks need him to build on this momentum. 5. MacKenzie Entwistle recorded a primary assist on Dach’s goal in the first period. He now has at least one point in four of his last five games dating back before his ankle injury. He has two goals and two assists over that stretch. 6. Juuse Saros went 5-0-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average and .948 save percentage in six starts against Chicago last season. He allowed two goals on 19 shots for a save percentage of .895 on Friday. He’s always been a thorn in the Blackhawks’ side. 7. The Blackhawks recorded only 19 shots on goal. It was tied for their second-fewest in a game this season. 8. Patrick Kane committed his first penalty of the season after being whistled for hooking in the second period. He was the only Blackhawk with at least eight games played that had zero penalty minutes this season. Kane also drew two penalties and is up to six on the season. Alex DeBrincat leads the team with 11 penalties drawn. 9.  Kurtis Gabriel, who was acquired from Toronto on Dec. 9, made his team debut and played on a line with Ryan Carpenter and Josiah Slavin. He had two hits, one shot attempt and one takeaway in 5:24 of action. 10. The Predators had eight players and their entire coaching staff in COVID-19 protocol. The AHL staff was behind the bench for the game. Click here to follow the Blackhawks Talk Podcast. DownloadDownload MyTeams Today!

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