Blackhawks Have Exciting Night That Ends In Frustration In Latest Loss

If you just watched the first period of the Chicago Blackhawks game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday you probably went to bed happy.

You probably saw a reason to keep watching the rest of the Blackhawks season. A big goal from one of the team stars in Jonathan Toews, and another goal from a Kyle Davidson pickup in Sam Lafferty definitely gives hope for the future.

It looked like even though the Hawks were going to be rebuilding, things could be fun and competitive every night. Then the second period started, but that wasn’t when things fell apart.

The Blackhawks’ elite number one defensemen Seth Jones opened up the scoring in period two with a goal assisted by none other than Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. Fans again could turn off their TV happy with a 4-0 score and a lot of reasons to be excited for the remainder of the season and next year – even if winning it all is not at the forefront of anyone’s mind.

Then the game shifted.

Victor Olofsson got things going on the power play a few minutes after Seth Jones’s goal. He scored again a little over five minutes later. Follow that up with a goal from Kyle Okposo and the Hawks go into the second intermission up by just a goal with their back against the wall already seeing another loss in the record book.

The third period starts and oddly enough a Blackhawk gets the scoring going early just two minutes into the third, except it is former Blackhawk Vinnie Hinostroza scoring for the Sabres to tie the game – gosh darn it should have re-signed him!

Chicago does manage to get the lead back thanks to a goal from Alex DeBrincat assisted by Kane and Strome and most fans were probably thinking at that time, “maybe that line should have been playing together all season and this year would have gone differently.”

Then with a little over two minutes to go in the game, Alex Tuch scored to tie it up and Tage Thompson won it with 12 seconds to go. Early on, I felt like this was one of those nights that the Blackhawks needed. While they are towards the bottom of the standings being able to beat another struggling team like Buffalo was something that the crowd and the team definitely was feeling – and to see the game end in a loss the way it did definitely feels more dishearting than if it was a 2-0 game.

Every time a team loses it is disappointing, but losing the way the Blackhawks did on Monday with hope and energy alive only to be ripped away, gives disappointing an entirely new meaning.

Luckily the team gets a few days off before their next matchup on Thursday. Hopefully, they can play another struggling team like the Coyotes or Canadiens to get some momentum back, oh nope they will be heading to Florida to face the Panthers on Thursday and the Lightning on Friday. Yikes.