Blackhawks finally show life in season-opening loss to Utah: Observations

SALT LAKE CITY — Apparently, the Blackhawks needed a full preseason and one period of the regular season to get going.

In the first 20 minutes of Tuesday’s season opener against the Utah Hockey Club, the Blackhawks looked a lot like they did throughout the preseason. They lacked energy, structure and most noticeably offense. The Blackhawks found themselves down 2-0 and with just three shots on goal in the first period.

There was plenty of panic on social media that it was going to be a long, long season.

And then, the Blackhawks showed some life. It was a shift here, a shift there and then it was more consistent. The Blackhawks still ended up losing 5-2 in Utah’s inaugural game with Utah adding an empty-netter and another goal in the final minute. But the Blackhawks showed more fight, structure and offense as the game went along and arguably outplayed Utah in the final half of the game.

The Blackhawks don’t want to be in the moral victory business this season, but it is something to build on. Chicago’s power play has to get better.

Let’s dive further into the game.

Where does Alex Vlasic feel like he can take a step in his second season? He said Tuesday morning it was his offense.

“I think I got to keep my defensive game the way it was last year,” Vlasic said. “I was pretty happy with that, and there’s always room to grow there. But I think for me, my offensive game is something I want to try to continue to work on and get better at because I feel like the more well-rounded you can be as a player, the better.

“I think just keep using my skating, joining the rush, kind of creating those rush opportunities. I thought I had a couple of instances last year where I could have done that. Went over some video before the season started and tried to figure out where I can contribute a little more. The offensive zone as well, I think the blue line kind of having a shot-first mentality. A little bit like Brent Burns, just how good he is getting pucks to the net and getting them off quickly and how much that generates in front of the net.”

Just hours later, Vlasic contributed to Nick Foligno’s goal by using that shot at the blue line.

Let’s look at Utah’s first goal. Utah’s Michael Kesselring carries the puck through the neutral zone. Philipp Kurashev takes a swing at the puck, and misses, putting himself out of position and giving Utah an easy entry. From there, Utah has some room to work with. Taylor Hall probably needs to close out on Dylan Guenther, but the Blackhawks are trying to sort. Guenther receives the puck and beats Petr Mrázek, who may have been screened.

Utah’s second goal was started when the Blackhawks’ Craig Smith turned the puck over as he attempted to exit the offensive zone.

Finally, we’ll look at the third one. It’s a nice tip at the end, but the Blackhawks didn’t touch Utah from its breakout to its entry. It can’t be that easy.

The Blackhawks began to show some life in the second period, and the second line of Hall, Kurashev and Tyler Bertuzzi had a lot to do with it. The line came out fast and aggressive in the second period.

Kurashev especially had a few notable moments in the period, as seen below.

It wasn’t an impressive game for Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teräväinen, but they did combine for the Blackhawks’ first goal of the season. This came moments after Bedard was frustrated with himself for not finishing a Bertuzzi pass.

Bedard also attempted this.

A solid debut

Nolan Allan looked solid in his NHL debut. He had one tough shift in the second period where he lost the puck in the offensive zone and lost his footing as he attempted to defend in transition. Other than that, though, Allan didn’t look out of place.

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson talked about Allan’s development earlier in the day.

“He just looks really calm out there,” Davidson said. “One of the things with Nolan is he plays a calm, solid game and he’s continued to grow that. With his game, he plays within himself. He doesn’t try to do too much; he doesn’t beat himself. That’s a great trait for a defenseman. He’s gotten the trust of the coaching staff and that’s no easy feat for a young defenseman, so he’s earned a spot in the Opening Day lineup and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

The plan for forwards

As expected, Lukas Reichel and Andreas Athanasiou were the healthy scratches in the season opener. With Reichel, it’s obvious the Blackhawks aren’t going to give him much of a leash this season.

“For Lukas, if he’s in the lineup, it’s his job and he’s been around long enough to know he’s got to play well enough to keep that spot,” Davidson said. “If he’s not in the lineup, he’s got to work and get to the point where if an opportunity opens up, he’s going to jump in and take advantage of it. He’s been around enough to know whatever he needs to do in whatever situation he’s placed in, so we expect he’ll do that.

“He’s got to show and play a certain way and practice and have the habits that, if it’s in practice, he shows he deserves to be in the lineup, and if he’s in the lineup, he plays a certain way that we expect that he’ll hold a spot. It’s in his hands … when the opportunity opens up, he’ll make the most of it.”