3 Takeaways From Blackhawks’ 4-3 Loss to Sabres

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks fell apart later on in the first period, and it ended 2-1, and you could see the Sabres’ goal coming from a mile away. The Hawks continued to show fight throughout the contest, taking the lead again with a goal from Oliver Moore before the second intermission to make it 3-2, but they then blew it in the third. 

Kevin Korchinski Has Flashes; Jeff Blashill Remains Unimpressed

One thing is clear: it’s going to take a lot for Kevin Korchinski to get a spot in the everyday lineup. Kevin Korchinski, alongside Ethan Del Mastro, weren’t even supposed to play in this game. With Byram leaving for a family matter and Sam Rinzel getting scratched, head coach Jeff Blashill had no other choice but to call their names. Blashill threw Korchinski and Del Mastro together on the bottom pair. 

Korchinski had a decent night. In the second period, he received the puck via a pass when he was at the point. Instead of panicking and rushing to get the puck off his stick like it’s a hot potato, he held onto it and carried it deeper below the net. He fought off defenders and maintained possession. While it eventually rolled off his stick when he tried to enter the slot, Korchinski wouldn’t have done that as a timid 19-year-old three years ago. It shows the amount of confidence he’s gained from his time as a professional. 

Del Mastro, on the other hand, didn’t look great. In fact, he brought down Korchinski a lot in the defensive zone with many breakdowns. But when Blashill was asked about how the pairing did, he said he liked Del Mastro’s game and didn’t mention anything about Korchinski or how he did. 

Whether something happened and we just don’t know about it, for some reason, Blashill is taking longer to get around to Korchinski. Korchinski’s flashes are much better than Del Mastro’s, or Rinzel’s for that matter, who managed to get an opening night spot after preseason. 

Korchinski has improved a lot, and he’s not going to improve if he doesn’t play. He’s played well enough to earn an every-night spot; Del Mastro should be the seventh defender, and Rinzel should be sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) to work more on his game.

Spencer Knight Stands Tall

It’s the tale of the goaltenders again for the Blackhawks. The same story from last season is the same story in the last three games; the goaltenders keep the Blackhawks in the game. 

Spencer Knight stood on his head once again. He stopped 24 of the 28 shots that came in his way. The Sabres had twice the number of shots the Blackhawks had, as Chicago was outshot 28 to 14. 

Knight made multiple sprawling saves. The defensive corps failed to help out on the backend — whether it’s Knight or Arvid Soderblom in between the pipes — it doesn’t seem to matter. There needs to be more support for the goalies; they can’t do it all. 

For not having Bedard and Byram, the Blackhawks put up as much of a fight as they possibly could. They now turn to Oct. 6 for their home opener against the St. Louis Blues.