3 Takeaways From the Blackhawks’ 4-3 Overtime Loss to the Devils

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But of course the Chicago Blackhawks had an 8:52 p.m. puck drop on Wednesday night (Nov. 12), as the late game on TNT Wednesday night hockey. For their opponent, the New Jersey Devils, it was actually 9:52 p.m. And of course, the game went to overtime. It was a long night at the United Center after a six-game road trip for the Blackhawks. But for those in attendance and those who stayed up to watch, they were treated to an exciting contest.

Related – Nemec Hat Trick Lifts Devils to 4-3 Overtime Win Over Blackhawks

Alas, the Blackhawks lost 4-3 in overtime, as Simon Nemec completed his first career hat trick with his game-winning overtime goal. But Chicago hung in until the end and earned a point against the Devils, who are currently first place in the Eastern Conference. Let’s get to some takeaways.

Special Teams Stays Strong

The Blackhawks didn’t have their best game on this night. Call it a trap game if you will. The big first game in front of the home crowd after a long road trip. Head coach Jeff Blashill said a lot of guys just “didn’t have great legs”. When that happens, a good way to stay in the game is on special teams, and the Blackhawks prevailed in that category.

In their last contest versus the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks went 3-for-3 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in a 5-1 win. In this contest versus the Devils, they missed out on their initial power play opportunity in the first period, but they did put four shots on net. Later in the period, the Blackhawks found themselves on a 5-on-3 because of a Luke Hughes tripping penalty and then a Brenden Dillon boarding penalty. None other than Connor Bedard found the back of the net on the two-man advantage.

This goal was Bedard’s 10th of the season and it extended his point streak to nine games. He continues to stay hot.

Moving on to the penalty kill, the Devils were only awarded one power play in the game. It was when they were pushing hard in the middle frame, a period where the Hawks have struggled this season. Defenseman Wyatt Kaiser was called for hooking. But the ensuing penalty kill by the Blackhawks was stellar, only allowing one shot by the Devils.

If the Blackhawks can continue to win the special teams battles, it’s going to lead to more wins than losses.

Blackhawks Depth Players Come Through

The Blackhawks were missing three key forwards in this game. Jason Dickinson is currently on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Frank Nazar suffered a mid-body injury on Nov. 7 versus the Calgary Flames and Andre Burakovsky couldn’t play due to illness. This can obviously cause a team to be “losing a little bit of mojo” as Coach Blashill termed it.

Other players had to step up in this one, which they did. Landon Slaggert, who was just recalled from the Rockford IceHogs, tipped in the go-ahead goal early in the third period.

Slaggert suffered from injuries which caused him to miss most of training camp. He therefore struggled headed into the season, and was sent down to the IceHogs on Nov. 3. after just five games with the big club. Nevertheless, it must have been a big boost to Slaggert’s confidence to be called back up just one week later, and then to score a goal in his first game back.

Sam Lafferty is a veteran who has only seen five games of action this season. The Blackhawks’ youth movement is in full swing, and Lafferty’s had the bad luck of being the odd man out because of it. But this beauty of a goal could make it hard to take the 30-year-old out of the lineup.

Nick Foligno and defenseman Louis Crevier provided the assists on both the Slaggert and Lafferty goals, giving them each a two-point night. After the game, Foligno talked about how the depth players can contribute.

We need to be a heavy line and make sure we’re responsible in our own end. And then if you pitch in some goals, it’s a bonus, right? But we have to be heavy and playing in there. And I think when we do that, there’s no reason why we can’t get our opportunities to score, either. We’re all guys that can put the puck in the net and can be around it. And so that’s part of depth scoring and being that team, where maybe your big boys are checked really well that night, or just don’t have their A-game. So it’s nice to kind of contribute that way.

Ah, if only Lafferty’s goal could have been the game-winning goal. But it did force overtime and allow the Blackhawks to get a point.

Knight Stands Tall, Again

The last time goaltender Spencer Knight was in net for the Blackhawks, he earned a shutout in a 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames, stopping 33 shots. But beyond that, it’s become a bit of a theme this season where the netminder has to bail out the team in front of him. Knight did this, again, against the Devils. Here’s a big stop on the Devils’ Jack Hughes on a breakaway.

In the second period of this game, Knight only let in one goal despite facing 14 shots by the Devils; six of them being high-danger chances. Here’s another stop on a breakaway, this time on Nico Hischier.

All in all, the 24-year-old stopped 33-of-37 shots, 14 of which were high-danger chances. On the season, Knight sports a .923 save percentage and a 2.46 goals against average. That save percentage currently ranks ninth in the league. This is quite the accomplishment considering the Blackhawks’ defense is a work in progress. Let’s face it, the Blackhawks would not be where they are right now without Knight’s stellar play in the crease.  

Other Blackhawks News & Notes

  • Veteran forward Ryan Donato skated in his 500th career game on this night. Great accomplishment for the 29-year-old, now in his ninth season in the league and third season with the Blackhawks.
  • 22-year-old Ryan Greene was another player that stepped up in this game due to other player absences. He centered the second line with Teuvo Teravainen and Ilya Mikheyev, registering one shot on goal, two shot attempts, one hit, one blocked shot and winning 8-of-18 faceoffs (44%). Greene registered a career-high 20:45 minutes of ice time, including 3:20 minutes on the power play and 1:23 minutes on the penalty kill. He’s turning into quite the all-around player.
Ryan Greene Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Greene, Chicago Blackhawks (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)
  • Defenseman Crevier was promoted to the top defensive pairing with Alex Vlasic, instead of Sam Rinzel. While Rinzel has hit a bit of a rough stretch in his rookie campaign, Crevier is thriving. Said Blashill of the situation,

Rinz has kind of gone through a cycle where he’s given up a lot of chances. Crevy has been a really, really good defender for us. So going into the game, we were looking at potentially having Vlas (Vlasic) and Crevier against (Jack) Hughes and/or (Nico) Hischier, and that happened a lot.

While the Blackhawks will look to get Rinzel back on track, the above is a great statement of trust for the seventh-round draft pick, Crevier.  

Related – Blackhawks’ Tyler Bertuzzi Making a Big Impact to Start the 2025-26 Season

The Blackhawks weren’t happy with this loss, but they did earn a point against a very good team, despite being down three key players. Seven of their next eight games will be at the United Center, so hopefully the team can capitalize on playing in their own barn. They’ll host the Toronto Maple Leafs this Saturday (Nov. 15), where the Blackhawks will look to get back in the win column.

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