- The Blackhawks held a players-only meeting after a 9-2 loss to the Hurricanes
- Connor Bedard called the blowout embarrassing as Chicago fell to 4-13-1
- Read below for what Bedard and Jeff Blashill said and how the game got away
The Blackhawks held a players-only meeting after Saturday’s 9-2 loss to the Hurricanes, their sixth straight defeat. Chicago fell to 4-13-1, and captain Connor Bedard did not hide how he felt about it.
Our graphic after the final horn lays out where things stand. The Blackhawks have been outscored 76-39 this season, and year four of the Bedard era looks as rough as ever:
Bedard was asked about the meeting and said it gave the group a chance to “get some frustration out,” per NHL.com. He called the room tight-knit and said every guy knows there is more to give.
He was a lot blunter about the game itself. Bedard called the loss “embarrassing,” according to theScore, and said the skaters left their goalies out to dry.
Head coach Jeff Blashill was just as direct. He said his team “got our butts kicked” and wants this to be the bottom point of the season.
The game was never close. Seth Jarvis scored at 1:34 of the first, Jackson Blake made it 2-0 at 3:21, and Jordan Martinook had it 3-0 before the 11-minute mark. Carolina led 7-0 through two periods.
Defenseman Alexander Nikishin got in on it in his first game back, and we caught the moment that made it 7-0 in the second:
Spencer Knight allowed six goals on 17 shots before Arvid Soderblom took over and stopped 13. Roman Kantserov and Bedard scored in the third, but Andrei Svechnikov answered with his second of the night in the final seconds to make it nine:
Martinook and Svechnikov each finished with two goals. Sebastian Aho added a goal and two assists, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 18 saves for Carolina (14-3-2), which now heads to Finland for the Global Series against the Kraken.
Chicago gets four days off before a four-game homestand opens against the Sabres on Thursday. Bedard said the plan is to wipe this one and start 0-0. We covered Elliotte Friedman’s report that the Blackhawks are looking for trade help earlier Saturday, and that search just got more urgent.
