The Chicago Blackhawks lost their fourth consecutive game, their third without young superstar Connor Bedard, on Thursday night (Dec. 18) against Montreal Canadiens. It was the second and last matchup of the season between these two teams, the first of which was a 3-2 win by the Canadiens on Oct. 11. It was another tough loss for Chicago, but they were outshot and out-chanced by the Habs the entire game. They really had no business winning this one.
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Let’s get to the takeaways for the Blackhawks.
Nazar Snaps 21-Game Goal Drought
Things started out on a positive note with a Frank Nazar goal to get the scoring started. Before this, he’d gone 21 games since scoring; his last tally being on Oct. 28 versus the Ottawa Senators. The 21-year-old was definitely snake bitten, and he was feeling the heat. “Nobody wants to score more than I do right now,” said Nazar on Dec. 4 after a contest against the Los Angeles Kings. “So chances are there, just gotta keep going, keep trying to execute.”
That’s exactly what Nazar did. He kept working and grinding and finally he got that monkey off his back.
GOAL: Grzelcyk to Nazar who's FINALLY on the board! pic.twitter.com/R4QpzwQH42
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 19, 2025
Nazar’s goal drought certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Headed into this contest, he was tied for second-place on the team (along with Tyler Bertuzzi) with 64 shots on goal. He was also creating and generating plenty of scoring chances for himself and others. Head coach Jeff Blashill complimented Nazar’s play after the Blackhawks’ 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Dec. 10.
Honestly, I thought Nazar was as good as he’s played probably all, I thought he was excellent tonight, to be honest with you. I look at process. I look at things like being over the puck, and being strong in the puck, and having those opportunities to make plays, and using his speed. Yes, there’s been nights where, maybe St Louis; in St Louis he was flashier. But I thought, for the things that it’s going to take for Frank to be a really, really big-time difference maker, he was excellent tonight. So yes, is it frustrating you’re not scoring? Yes. Our job as a coaching staff is to keep him focused on process, because points come and go. I’ve seen it all the time, and he’ll get his points if he plays like that on a consistent basis.
Nazar ended the night with a goal, two shots on goal and a team-leading nine shot attempts. He also contributed two hits and one blocked shot, although his one giveaway and just 4-of-11 wins at the faceoff circle left a little more to be desired.
It’s good to see Nazar finally get paid off for his efforts. But he certainly wasn’t happy post-game with the result. “I mean, we lost and its sucks.”
Hopefully more goals will come for Nazar. For better or for worse, he is now primarily tasked with replacing Bedard while he’s out of the lineup (shoulder injury) until at least the first of the 2026 new year.
Knight Deserved More From His Teammates
Blackhawks’ netminder Spencer Knight had another excellent performance in this game, especially in the second frame. He stopped all 16 shots by the Canadiens in the second, to keep the game tied at 1-1 and the Blackhawks in the contest. For reference, the Hawks only registered six shots in this period. “Knighter kept us in it for as long as he could,” said defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who earned the primary assist on Nazar’s goal. “But we’ve got to be more desperate there in the third.”
For the record, the Blackhawks only registered five shots on goal in the third, while the Canadiens recorded 12 shots.
(Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
Overall, Knight stopped 31-of-34 shots for a .912 save percentage. The loss certainly can’t be put on Knight. He played a strong game, and deserved more for his efforts.
Blackhawks Need More of a Shooting Mentality
Despite Nazar breaking his goal drought & Knight having a solid game, the Hawks just couldn’t stop the Habs’ chances & couldn’t score enough goals of their own. It’s the fine line they’re walking right now of trying to be better defensively by also still produce offensively. On the night, the Blackhawks only registered 15 shots to the Canadiens’ 35 shots. Said Blashill after the game,
Well, we passed up shots in scoring areas. So that would be step one. You can’t pass up a shot in a scoring area. We literally passed it out of a scoring area into a non-scoring area. It’s nonsensical. So we’re gonna have to simplify that piece of it. We’re gonna have to make sure that we have much more of a shooting mentality and create the chaos off the shots.
Hmm. I’m not sure I want to be a fly on the wall in that video session. It’s safe to say the Blackhawks are facing their first major adversity of the season with the loss of Bedard. After all, Bedard was responsible for more than 48% of their scoring before he sustained his shoulder injury on Dec. 12. It has to be a community effort to make up for that, but it’s certainly not going to be easy.
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By the way, Coach Blashill did admit that the “kid line” of Nick Lardis, Ryan Greene and Oliver Moore struggled in this game, and that its a lot to ask three young guys to carry play when they’re all so new to the NHL. He indicated line changes would be coming on Saturday when the Blackhawks face the Ottawa Senators, in their third road game of this current stretch.
Just what will these line changes entail? Can the Blackhawks gain more of a shooting mentality moving forward? Can they break their four-game losing streak? We’ll know soon enough.
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