Five takeaways from Blackhawks-Stars: Power play fails again

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Well, that could’ve ended better. Here are five takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars.

1. Mediocre first 40 minutes. The Blackhawks have gotten off to great starts more often lately but they didn’t on Thursday night. The so-so play continued through the second period. Despite getting two goals the Blackhawks generated very little, recording just 10 shots on goal through the first two periods. But… 

2. (Sort of) better in the third. The Blackhawks finally woke up in the last period, putting Ben Bishop to work and recording more shots in that period (12) than they did the first two (10). If that effort is there through the first two periods perhaps it’s a different outcome.

3. The power play fails again. This was another area in which the Blackhawks were trending for most of the month but the power play was not good against the Stars. They had just one goal on seven opportunities, falling back into the bad habits of overpassing, not shooting enough and being careless with the puck. Oh, and they gave up a penalty shot on one of them. Said coach Joel Quenneville, “we lost momentum on our power play tonight.”

4. Great month for Anisimov and DeBrincat. In November, Artem Anisimov got back to what works for him and Alex DeBrincat starting showing his scoring prowess at the top level. These two were scoring again on Thursday night, and Anisimov and DeBrincat finished the month with 10 and 9 goals, respectively. It’s especially helpful for DeBrincat as he develops his pro game. Anisimov joked, “bright future for him, if he shaves his mustache, you know?”

5. Crawford cleans up. Corey Crawford saw some decent chances through this one but got tested with about five minutes remaining in regulation. The Stars took advantage of a turnover and got several choice scoring opportunities, with Crawford stopping them all. His great work continued on a late Stars power play, helping the Blackhawks force overtime.

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