The Chicago Blackhawks were coming off a big win on Sunday over the Detroit Red Wings. However, they had a few days off. And it appears they enjoyed the win a bit too much. Chicago played a tough game on Wednesday night. But it was the New Jersey Devils who skated victoriously after the final horn.
Simon Nemec scored a hat trick for the Devils on Wednesday. This includes both the tying and game-winning goals. Connor Bedard and Sam Lafferty scored for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, they were unable to take down the red-hot Devils.
After the game, Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno faced the media. He was asked about what went wrong in this game. He was rather blunt when discussing the issues with his team's performance.
“Let’s just call it. It wasn’t our best game tonight. It was weird because we did compete, but…the sharpness that we want to play with seemed missing a little bit,” the Blackhawks captain said, via Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope.
Chicago is still in decent shape early on this year. The Blackhawks are one of five teams in the Central Division to record 20 or more points so far this year. They are currently tied with the Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets for third place, though Winnipeg holds the tiebreaker.
As long as Bedard continues rolling, Chicago has a chance to surprise this year. But they cannot afford to let losses pile up either way. They take the ice once again on Saturday night as they welcome Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs to town.
