The Chicago Blackhawks flew up to Ontario trying to avoid being handed their third loss in a row. They were unable to do so as the Toronto Maple Leafs earned a decisive home win.
There wasn’t a time during the game when it felt like the Hawks were going to emerge victorious. Auston Matthews gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 15:35 of the first period. From there, the Leafs had every bit of control.
Matthews just recently came back from injury and has been looking to get going in terms of goal-scoring. He has a lot of ground to make up after his 69-goal outburst in 2023-24.
At 11:59 of the second, John Tavares scored to make it 2-0. They took that lead into the final frame as they looked to wrap up another win. For the Hawks, who have had a rough time scoring this season, being down 2-0 was like being down by five goals.
Lukas Reichel gave them a little bit of life at 3:26 of the third period. That life only lasted for 21 seconds though as Fraser Minten scored on the next shift to make it 3-1 Leafs. Matthew Knies threw one into the empty net at the end of the game and the Leafs won 4-1.
A big problem against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at United Center was the fact that the Hawks gave up goals quickly after scoring one themselves. The Leafs then scored 21 seconds after the Hawks’ only goal in this game so it’s becoming a pattern. They need to have this fixed soon.
The Blackhawks don’t have a high-end roster so they aren’t going to win all the time, but this game wasn’t great for them. The Maple Leafs did a good job shutting down Connor Bedard, making him feel heavy resistance, and making sure that the Hawks didn’t feel like they had a chance once they got on the board.
Bedard finished the game with no points, a -1, and no shots on goal. It’s one for him to scrap and forget about as he started to heat up in the games leading up.
Now the Hawks have another Original Six matchup to prepare for. This one will be at home against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. It’s another great team on top of their game since firing their coach a couple of weeks ago.
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