3 Takeaways From the Blackhawks’ 4-2 Win Over the Blues

The Chicago Blackhawks finally headed home to kick off a vital home stand that will see them play eight of their next nine games in the friendly confines of the United Center. Following a tough loss to the Buffalo Sabres, it was important for them to kick the home stand off on the right foot.

In Patrick Kane’s return to the United Center, the Blackhawks found a way to get the job done. It was contentious at times, but the Blackhawks got it done and walked away with a 4-2 win over their longtime rivals from St. Louis.

Flashes from the Kids

One of the key points for the Blackhawks coming into the season was to seal real progression out of their youthful core. This was one of those games that makes you feel positive about the state of the team and its future in both the short- and long-term.

Frank Nazar had his best game of the season by a mile. He had an impressive drive to the net that resulted in a rebound goal from Sam Rinzel on the power play in the second period. He also had the final goal of the game, a late empty netter to seal it.

Artyom Levshunov looked like the kind of impressive puck-moving defenseman the team thought they were getting with the second overall pick in 2024. And Anton Frondell continues to impress, posting a goal and an assist while playing nearly 19 minutes. Just a strong night from the kids overall.

An Excellent Knight

Improving their defensive play was one of the critical talking points from the first three losses of the season. And while they were better overall, it is clear that the biggest reason for the home win had to do with the play of Spencer Knight.

Knight, who showed himself to be one of the game’s best young goalies last season, had his best performance of this season to date. He turned aside 26 of the 28 Blues shots, the key factor in a third period in which the Blackhawks were outshot 14-4.

With so many young players on this team, the Blackhawks are going to experience more than a few growing pains. If Knight can continue to play at a high level, it will make the learning curve much more manageable for everyone involved.

Big Defensive Lapses Remain

While there is a lot to like about this game, there are still serious concerns. For instance, the first goal by Mason McTavish came after a bad neutral zone turnover. Knight maybe should have had it but the turnovers can’t happen.

Nazar fell down on what would have given the Blues a 2-0 lead but an offside negated the goal. Falling behind 2-0 would have been a huge momentum killer and the Blackhawks are fortunate that the call went their way.

This is part of the learning curve for a young team. They are all still finding their place, both collectively and individually, and lapses like these are part of the package. They kept things manageable in front of Knight to a degree as the game wore on, but were still badly outshot in the second half of the game.

The Coming Slate is Tough

The Blackhawks head off to Long Island on Thursday before returning home for a brutal seven-game stretch. They host the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Florida Panthers, and Los Angeles Kings consecutively.

This was a good start but there are a lot of things to fix. It would be nice to see more jump out of the offense as well; two of the four goals were empty netters. Still, two points are two points, especially for such a young team.