The Blackhawks fell to the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Thursday at Little Caesars Arena.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The Blackhawks won five of their first six meetings against Detroit, but they knew going into this game that the Red Wings were playing their best hockey of the season and couldn't take them lightly. And it's too bad they did because the Nashville Predators lost in regulation, which means the Blackhawks could've pulled within two points of the No. 4 spot with a game in hand, had they won. Instead, they remain four points out.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
2. The Blackhawks had a rough second period and it was the story of the game. They gave up 10 scoring chances at even strength and generated only two of their own, according to Natural Stat Trick, but, most notably, allowed the Red Wings to score three goals in a span of 6:26, two of which came from defenseman Troy Stecher.
3. The Blackhawks had a glaring miscommunication on Detroit's second goal and it was so avoidable. Jakub Vrana, who made his Red Wings debut after being acquired from Washington at the NHL trade deadline, jumped out of the box and scored on a breakaway because Duncan Keith was up in the rush and Connor Murphy wasn't aware the penalty was expiring even though Lankinen tapped his stick as a notice.
4. The Blackhawks did not have a strong enough push in the third period for a team trailing by two and fighting for their playoff lives. The Red Wings dictated the pace of play for the first 10 minutes of the frame before the Blackhawks finally reversed the tables a bit, but it was too little too late.
5. Keith scored for the second straight game after having only one goal in his first 41 contests. He also matched his goal total from last season in 17 fewer games and surpassed Brent Seabrook in goals among franchise defensemen with 104.
NHL
6. The Blackhawks experimented with five forwards on their first power-play unit: Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, Patrick Kane, Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Strome. They went with two defensemen on the second unit (Keith and Wyatt Kalynuk), along with Brett Connolly, Philipp Kurashev and Pius Suter. The power play recorded 11 shot attempts, four shots on goal, three scoring chances and two high-danger chances, but went 0-for-3.
7. Since March 26, the Red Wings rank No. 2 in penalty kill percentage (93.5). They killed off all three penalties in this game and have given up only two power-play goals in their last 31 opportunities.
8. The Red Wings average 31.3 shots against per game, which ranks No. 24. The Blackhawks recorded only three shots on goal in the first period and finished with 25 total. They had 24 of their shots blocked and 12 missed the net.
9. The Blackhawks had a difficult night at the dot. They lost 16 of 42 faceoffs for a win percentage of 31.9. Luke Glendening won 13 of 18 for Detroit.
10. Adam Boqvist (concussion protocol) and Calvin de Haan (hip pointer) did not play in this game because of injuries. The Blackhawks reinserted Nikita Zadorov into the lineup after making him a healthy scratch on Tuesday and put Ian Mitchell back in for his first game since March 25. Zadorov logged 21:24 of ice time while Mitchell was at 14:40.
Click here to subscribe to the Blackhawks Talk Podcast for free.