The National Hockey League has a way of exposing weaknesses with ruthless efficiency. If you take a shift off, you get scored on. If you take a weekend off, you get embarrassed.
For the Chicago Blackhawks, the conclusion of their West Coast road trip wasn’t just a stumble; it was a face-plant. In a span of roughly 24 hours, the Hawks were outscored by a combined total of 13-1 in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.
There are losses you can shake off—the “schedule losses” where the legs just aren’t there—and then there are performances that force an organization to look in the mirror. This weekend was decidedly the latter.
A Total System Failure
It is difficult to overstate how “out of sync” Chicago looked in California. The numbers paint a grim picture, but the eye test was even worse. Over two games, the Blackhawks were outshot 85-43. That isn’t a disparity; it’s a siege.
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The low point arrived Sunday in Anaheim. During the second period alone, the Ducks fired 27 shots on goal. For context, that is the most shots Anaheim has ever recorded in a single period in their franchise history.
Arvid Soderblom, tasked with stopping the bleeding, made 46 saves but was essentially hung out to dry. We often talk about goaltenders stealing games, but no netminder can steal a game when his teammates are losing nearly every puck battle and committing turnovers in the defensive zone with alarming frequency. Soderblom was under constant assault, and the defensive structure in front of him simply dissolved.
One Goal in 120 Minutes
Offensively, the team went dark. While Connor Bedard continues to do Connor Bedard things—remaining a consistent threat and a bright spot on a dim roster—he cannot drag this team up the mountain alone.
The rest of the lineup offered virtually no support. The team managed a single goal across both games—a power-play marker from Tyler Bertuzzi. At 5-on-5, the Blackhawks were non-existent.
In layman’s terms, the analytical data from the Anaheim game suggests the Hawks generated almost no legitimate scoring chances. Their expected goals percentage—a metric that weighs shot quality—dropped to its second-lowest point of the season. They weren’t just missing shots; they weren’t creating anything dangerous enough to make the opposing goalie sweat.
The Coach’s Assessment: No Excuses
Head coach Jeff Blashill didn’t mince words in the post-game scrum. He labeled the Anaheim loss a “total whooping” and categorized the weekend as the team’s “two worst games of the year.”
Often, you will hear coaches protect their players after a brutal road trip, citing travel fatigue or the grind of the schedule. Blashill offered no such life raft. He called the effort “inexcusable.”
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“Confidence slips when you get your butt kicked on the scoreboard,” Blashill acknowledged, but he immediately pivoted to the necessity of mental toughness. His message was clear: this is a “big-boy league.” You cannot simply fold when things go south. The lack of pushback was more concerning than the final score.
The Consequences: A Ticket to Rockford
In professional sports, accountability usually follows embarrassment. The Blackhawks didn’t wait long to make changes, executing a significant roster shakeup immediately following the trip.
The most notable move is sending defenseman Sam Rinzel to the American Hockey League (AHL) Rockford IceHogs. Rinzel began the season with high expectations—even generating Calder Trophy buzz—but his recent play has regressed. The coaching staff noted a pattern of “game-costing mistakes” and a lack of defensive consistency.
Rinzel’s ice time had already been trending downward, dipping below 15 minutes in 11 of his last 13 games. Furthermore, he had ceded his power-play quarterback duties to fellow rookie Artyom Levshunov. The organization views this demotion not as a punishment, but as a necessary reset. Rinzel needs to regain his confidence and touch the puck more, something he wasn’t doing in Chicago.
Joining him in Rockford is forward Landon Slaggert. This move is purely logistical. Slaggert has been a healthy scratch for seven of the last eight games. With veteran forwards returning to health, there was no lane for him to get regular shifts in the NHL. For a young player, sitting in the press box is detrimental to development. He needs to play, and right now, that means playing in the AHL.
The “Miracle” Comparison
There is a scene in the movie Miracle that hockey fans know well. After a lackluster performance where the team fails to defend or compete, head coach Herb Brooks keeps them on the ice long after the whistle, running them until the message sinks in.
While we aren’t likely to see a bag skate of that magnitude in the modern NHL, the sentiment in the Blackhawks’ locker room feels eerily similar. They failed to defend the slot. They failed to win battles. They failed to show up.
The message from management and the coaching staff is clear: the rebuild allows for losses, but it does not allow for a lack of effort. The fundamental competitiveness of this team is currently in question, and there is going to be some intense work required before they face their next opponent.
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