The Chicago Blackhawks are near the bottom of the NHL and are well outside the playoff race at this time. However, the team is looking to finish the season on a strong note. Unfortunately, Tyler Bertuzzi and his teammates had a rough outing against the New York Rangers.
Arvid Soderblom drew the start in net for the Blackhawks on Friday. On the other end, rookie Dylan Garand received the nod for the Rangers. Soderblom had the experience edge, but Garand claimed his first career victory, stopping 27 shots in New York's 6-1 win over the Blackhawks.
Chicago opened the scoring, but was unable to stop New York on Friday. They have now dropped their 12th contest over their last 17 games. And they are still searching for answers as to what exactly has gone wrong.
“We're trying to figure out [what's going wrong] ourselves. I don't know if it's just such a young team, immaturity and we can't put it together. But it's on everyone. It's on us older guys to show the lead and have them follow. As a group, everyone, the last few games, we have not been good at all,” Bertuzzi said, via Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope.
The Blackhawks did make a bit of progress this year. Connor Bedard looked the part of an MVP candidate early on, as well. Unfortunately, Bedard suffered an injury midway through the season. And Chicago eventually started dropping games.
There are things to be positive about when it comes to this team. For this season, though, it's about playing for pride and confidence. The Blackhawks return to action on Sunday when they face the New Jersey Devils.
