The Blackhawks fell to the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Thursday at the United Center.
Here are 10 observations from the loss:
1. The Blackhawks played another decent 5-on-5 game and generated more than enough chances against a tight-checking Stars team, even they certainly would've liked to score more than one goal. But it was their special teams that let them down again, with the power play going 0-for-3 and the penalty kill finishing 1-for-3.
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2. The turning point of the game occurred 17 seconds into the middle frame when Dylan Strome was whistled for interference to negate the Blackhawks' power play. It, quite frankly, was not a penalty and the Stars scored during the 4-on-4 action to go ahead 2-1 and never looked back.
3. Nikita Zadorov had a tough sequence on Jason Robertson's goal to put the Stars in front 2-1. He turned the puck over then lost his man in front, which led to the goal. Kevin Lankinen stood no chance, and Zadorov would be the first to admit it was his error.
4. The Stars were 1-for-15 on the power play in their first five games against the Blackhawks. They scored on their first opportunity of the game on Thursday and finished 2-for-3. Both goals were scored on Ryan Carpenter's minor penalties.
5. The Blackhawks recorded 28 shot attempts, 16 shots on goal and generated 18 scoring chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick. But they had nothing to show for it and left the opening frame trailing 1-0. A missed opportunity.
NHL
6. The Blackhawks are struggling mightily on the power play and it continued in this game. They generated four scoring chances on the man advantage but registered only two shots on goal and went 0-for-3. They've now scored only one power-play goal in their last 20 opportunities.
7. Vinnie Hinostroza and Dominik Kubalik connected on a goal for the second straight game, but that line as a whole with Philipp Kurashev was dominant all game. When they were on the ice at 5-on-5, the Blackhawks led in shot attempts (14-5), shots on goal (11-5), scoring chances (9-2) and high-danger chances (3-1). It was one of the few bright spots for Chicago.
8. The Stars average 24.2 hits per 60 minutes this season, which ranks No. 8 in the league. They recorded 41 hits in the first two periods and finished with 46 total.
9. The Nashville Predators routed the Detroit Red Wings 7-1 on Thursday for their ninth win in 10 games. They are now four points ahead of the Blackhawks for the No. 4 spot in the Central Division while the Stars pulled back within three points of Chicago with three games in hand. Not an ideal night for the Blackhawks.
10. The Blackhawks made a six-piece trade in the morning, acquiring the rights to forward prospect Henrik Borgstrom, along with forward Brett Connolly and defenseman Riley Stillman. Borgstrom is currently playing in Finland and will not play for Chicago this season. The Blackhawks are hoping Connolly and Stillman can join the team in Columbus, where they begin a five-game road trip.
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