3 Takeaways From Blackhawks’ Overtime Loss to Bruins

Just about ten seconds into their first power play in the first period, Anton Frondell ended his scoring drought. It felt as if putting a strong shooting forward to the top power-play unit was meant to do something, and it did.

On that goal, Patrick Kane got his 900th career assist in the NHL, and it’s no surprise that it came against a rival Original Six team like the Bruins. He’s the 21st player in NHL history to achieve this feat.

Frondell had a good game with two goals on nine shots, 13 shot attempts and numerous defensive plays while playing alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Andrew Mangiapane. He had just 14 shifts against Detroit and had 27 today.

“He seems like he’s been around a long time, but obviously he hasn’t been,” Ryan Donato said. “Lessons that you learn over time are really hard lessons, and it seems like he’s already learned a lot of them. It’s awesome to see” (from ‘As Blackhawks search for solutions, Anton Frondell’s usage could be one place to start’, Chicago Sun Times, Oct. 30, 2026).

Played Hard Until the Very End

Believe it or not, Chicago had 41 registered shots on goal in Saturday’s loss. Their previous high was 28 on Oct. 15 in their overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Connor Bedard scored a breakaway goal with around seven minutes left in the third to give Chicago a two-goal cushion, but almost immediately after, Boston got within one. The tying goal was with less than 15 seconds left, and goaltender Arvid Soderblom gave up a filthy overtime winner to Elias Lindholm.

Frondell had a couple of chances in overtime to score the first hat trick of his career.

“Best game of the year just the way we were battling,” Bedard said postgame. “Not shying away from anything, taking hits. Getting in the fight more than against Detroit. It sucks, the result and how it ends. We’ve got to find a way to win.”

Something Still Needs to Change

Bowen Byram remains out due to injury, and Jeff Blashill remains adamant that the former Buffalo Sabre has been the Hawks’ best defenseman.

“When he left, he was our best defenseman,” he said after Thursday’s loss to Detroit. “Bo is a real good player for us. He’s an important piece for us. But we had 20 guys dressed tonight that were good enough to win the hockey game, and we didn’t win the hockey game” (from ‘Blackhawks aren’t headed in right direction. What needs to change?’, New York Times, Oct. 30, 2026).

To say that Byram hasn’t been Chicago’s best defenseman would be a major understatement. In my eyes, Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski (who was a healthy scratch against Boston) have over performed a defenseman making $12.5 million average annual value after the blockbuster trade after this year’s NHL Draft. That trade is now blowing up in Chicago’s face given the fact that Byram has been injured, and when he is playing, he doesn’t look like the $12.5 million defenseman the team had hoped for.

The Blackhawks have the talent to be a great young team, but somehow find themselves with a 4-9-1 record with eight points, the second-worst behind the Vancouver Canucks. A fairly down October comes to a close for Chicago, and Blashill’s seat is getting warmer by the day.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were management changes before American Thanksgiving, but the truth of the matter is that this young team isn’t going anywhere with Blashill behind the bench.

The Hawks have one home game against the Colorado Avalanche next before going on the road again to face more tough teams: the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. If Chicago wants to win, something has to change, and there’s no sugarcoating it.

Chicago remains winless on the road this season.