Drew Commesso started his first NHL game and he did very well all things considered. He ended up taking the loss 4-1, but after holding a shutout into the third period, the result was not on him.
Once again we saw the Chicago Blackhawks fail to score an adequate amount of goals as the team got one in support of their first year goalie. It was the 13th time in the last 17 games that the Blackhawks scored two goals or fewer in a game. Even with great goaltending like what the team has had all season, that is a huge reason why Chicago is last place in the NHL.
The Blackhawks score 2.4 goals-per-game and are ranked 31st in the league. The team has just nine wins in 30 games.
Commesso was making many great saves to not only keep the Blackhawks in the game in his debut as a starter, he was fighting for a shutout in front of family and friends. The team let him down in both breaking down defensively and not being able to score more than one goal (none in the third period again).
The final three goals of the game (all by the New Jersey Devils) were scored in a span of 2:06. There was no pushback and once again, the Blackhawks looked like a team that should be at the bottom of the standings.
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Chicago doesn’t necessarily have a group of players that should be in the top half of the league in goals, but the team has also scored four goals or more in just seven of the 30 games. Having allowed four goals or more in a game 12 times (exactly four goals allowed in eight games), the whole complexion of the season would be different.
I wonder if there were just a little bit more goals scored this season by Chicago, the team doesn’t fire Luke Richardson. It wasn’t necessarily the place in the standings, but rather the inability to produce offense when there was supposed to be an improvement from last season with all of the veteran additions.
That is likely not the last we’ve seen of Commesso in the short-term with the Blackhawks. His play, despite finishing the game with a 4.00 GAA and .833 SV%, deserves another start. His numbers didn’t tell the whole story the eye test did.
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