Well, it was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it?
The Blackhawks could say that about a few things on Tuesday night, especially Patrick Kane’s streak, which was snuffed out by the Colorado Avalanche. But it was bound to end at some point.
So before we end this evening, let’s look at Five Things to take from the Blackhawks’ 3-0 loss to the Avalanche.
1. Patrick Kane’s franchise-best point streak ends at 26 games. Kane was certainly happy to have the point streak that he did, a heck of a run in which he recorded 16 goals and 24 assists (40 points). There were a few times the streak could’ve been over earlier – please see the Blackhawks’ mid-November game in Anaheim. And while Kane is looking forward to talking about something else from here on out, his point streak will still be the topic of conversation for a little bit longer. “It was definitely fun while it lasted,” he said.
2. Solving Semyon Varlamov. Yes, Varlamov is a great goaltender, especially against the Blackhawks. The guy just seems to be locked in against Chicago, and Tuesday was no different. Could the Blackhawks have had better shots on him? Absolutely. You could have counted on one hand how many great scoring chances the Blackhawks had. And they lacked traffic again. But a victory is a victory, and Varlamov now has 11 of them in his career vs. the Blackhawks.
[RELATED: A look back at Patrick Kane's historic point streak]
3. Corey Crawford’s streak ended, too. Corey Crawford had won four in a row, including back-to-back shutouts, entering Tuesday. He also had a nice shutout streak going, but that ended with Matt Duchene’s goal 14:30 into the first period. Still, a shutout streak of 155 minutes, 16 seconds was pretty nice for Crawford, who was named the NHL’s first star for last week.
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4. Rob Scuderi’s Blackhawks debut. Scuderi, acquired late Monday night from the Penguins in exchange for Trevor Daley, was “fine” according to coach Joel Quenneville. Scuderi, brought in to give the Blackhawks more of a stay-at-home defenseman as well as another penalty killer when their other penalty killers took penalties, paired with Michal Rozsival on Tuesday. Scuderi played 12:26 with two shots on goal and a blocked shot. Said Quenneville, “I thought his thought process and positioning were safe and reliable and I thought he did a good job defending."
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5. Andrew Shaw’s hit getting supplemental discipline? Shaw had a high hit on Colorado defenseman Francois Beauchemin in the third period. Shaw received a roughing minor on the play. The NHL will review it; they always give another look to hits like this. Whether or not the league gives Shaw supplemental discipline, however, remains to be seen.