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Soderblom Hung Out To Dry in Blackhawks 6-1 Tank Loss To Rangers
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- Soderblom Hung Out To Dry in Blackhawks 6-1 Tank Loss To Rangers
Soderblom Hung Out To Dry in Blackhawks 6-1 Tank Loss To Rangers
For the second time in as many nights, the Chicago Blackhawks (27-33-13) were on the wrong end of a blowout result, losing 6-1 to the New York Rangers (29-35-9), the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
Over a 24-hour stretch, the Blackhawks were outscored by a wide 11-2 margin, providing nightmarish flashbacks of the brutal early December back-to-back, where they lost 6-0 to the Los Angeles Kings and 7-1 to the Anaheim Ducks in consecutive days. The combined total from this two-game set wasn't quite as lopsided, but it was another pair of crushing defeats where not much went right offensively or defensively.
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Considering the Rangers ' position in the league-wide standings, being one of two teams below the Blackhawks entering the game, Friday's performance was about as embarrassing as it gets. After grabbing a 1-0 lead via Nick Lardis ' eighth tally of the season at 17:35 of the first period, New York responded with six unanswered goals over the final 42 minutes. Once again, Arvid Soderblom was hung out to dry in between the pipes, facing 39 shots on goal, 42 scoring chances, and 21 high-danger opportunities.
During his last three starts, Soderblom has now seen 135 combined shots, stopping 123 of them for a .911 save percentage. Two of those outings have resulted in losses by more than three goals, even with his sharp outings. The lone win during that stretch was also the result of his own spectacular effort on Tuesday against the New York Islanders , where he turned away 21 of 23 shots in the third period to hold off a late push. Soderblom has held up his end of the bargain lately, but his teammates haven't even come close.
While the Blackhawks lineup is now filled with six of GM Kyle Davidson's first-round draft picks, it was the Rangers who found all the success from their rookies on Friday. Adam Sykora scored his first NHL goal in his second career game in the second period, while Dylan Garand made 27 saves for his first NHL victory in net. Plus, defenseman Drew Fortescue made his NHL debut and tallied his first career point with an assist.
The only silver lining from the loss is that the Blackhawks bettered their positioning for the 2026 NHL Draft lottery, as they have now fallen behind the Rangers for second-to-last in the NHL standings. Both teams have nine games to go in the regular season, but neither has a chance to finish with the best odds at landing the No. 1 overall pick. The Vancouver Canucks have all but secured that at this point, with 17 fewer points than both Chicago and New York.
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Here are the highlights, or should I say lowlights, from the Blackhawks' 6-1 loss to the Rangers.
FIRST PERIOD
After allowing a goal in the first minute in back-to-back games, it was great to see the Blackhawks get off to a much faster start on Friday. In fact, they nearly opened the scoring in under 60 seconds this time. Ryan Greene 's wrister from the slot rang off the post, and then Connor Bedard had a chance from nearly the same spot moments later that Garand steered aside.
After Garand came up with a few quality saves in the early going, the Blackhawks finally got the puck by him with under three minutes remaining in the period. Alex Vlasic showed off his hands with some nifty stickhandling to drive the puck to the net, and then Tyler Bertuzzi slid a pass to Lardis for an easy tap-in at 17:34. It's Lardis' eighth goal of the season and third in the last four games. 1-0, Chicago.
The shifts following a goal have been an issue for the Blackhawks recently, and that was the case again after Lardis kicked off the scoring. Just 58 seconds later, Connor Sheary tied the game 1-1, as his spinning shot carromed off Vlasic's left skate and in.
The two teams were tied one goal apiece through 20 minutes, while the Rangers held a 15-12 advantage in shots on goal. New York also led 19-11 in scoring chances during a free-flowing first period.
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SECOND PERIOD
The Rangers came racing out of the first intermission and grabbed a 2-1 lead at 5:24, with Matthew Robertson going bar-down on a shot from in tight after Sam Rinzel failed to clear the puck from a dangerous area. Careless plays in the defensive zone continue to bite the Blackhawks.
Adam Sykora added to the Rangers' lead with his first NHL goal at 8:20, burying a shot after Will Cuylle made a nifty feed on a 2-on-1 rush. Ethan Del Mastro got burned in the neutral zone, leading to the odd-man opportunity. 3-1, New York.
For good measure, Jonny Bradzinski scored a third unanswered goal in the period, extending the Rangers' lead to 4-1 at 16:07. The Blackhawks had multiple chances to clear the puck out of the defensive zone, but failed to do so, leading to Brodzinski 's tally.
The Rangers were all over the Blackhawks in the second stanza, leading 21-7 in shot attempts, 16-4 in shots on goal, 13-2 in scoring chances, 6-0 in high-danger chances, and 3-0 in goals for. In a season full of abysmal periods of play, that was one of Chicago's worst.
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THIRD PERIOD
Alexis Lafreniere scored on the power play after Alex Vlasic was whistled for roughing, deflecting Adam Fox 's shot from the blue line to extend the Rangers' lead to 5-1. JT Miller tallied the secondary assist for his third point of the game.
Brodzinski added his second goal of the game at 13:17 of the third period, with Fortescue recording his first NHL point in his debut with the primary assist. 6-1, Rangers.
With under four minutes remaining, Sacha Boisvert dropped the gloves with Will Borgen for his first NHL fight. Boisvert landed one right hand, then also ate one from Borgen, in the quick scrap before the two players hit the ice. Likely the first of many fights for Boisvert in his NHL career.
The final horn sounded at Madison Square Garden, sending the Blackhawks to another lousy loss during their East Coast road trip, which concludes on Sunday against the New Jersey Devils . The Hawks need a win to come away with a four-game split before returning to Chicago.
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