The Chicago Blackhawks 2026-2027 season has gotten off to a brutal start as the team finds themselves 0-2 right off the bat. Their season opener on Tuesday versus the Vegas Golden Knights featured a 5-2 loss. They followed that up by being shutout 6-0 at the hands of the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night. This is not the beginning of the season that the team would have wanted with expectations heading into the year of taking that next step forward. The squad's prospects have been made more challenging to begin the season as they wait for captain Connor Bedard to return from injury. Veteran defenseman Ian Cole was asked about how the team looks to move forward after last night's difficult game at Utah.
Cole had this to say on the team's performance to this point in his postgame interview: "It's not good enough. We think that we're a much better team than this, and good teams don't lose two games, three games, four games in a row. We understand the urgency, and we understand that we need to right this ship. Right away."
It is not a complete surprise that the beginning of the season has been a struggle so far for Chicago. This is one of the youngest teams in the league; a roster filled with talented, yet inexperienced players. An opening road trip consisting of games against the defending Stanley Cup finalist Golden Knights and upstart Mammoth was always going to be a tall order. That task is not going to get any easier with last season's Atlantic Division champion Buffalo Sabres up next on Saturday.
However, the lack of Bedard and difficult schedule is no excuse for the way the Blackhawks have opened up the campaign. Getting outscored 11-2 through the first two games is not a great sign for this team's chances. The good news is there is a long way to go and plenty of time to get things back on track.
With that said, the sense of urgency has to be higher for the club this season. This is an organization that has identified making the playoffs as a goal for the team this season. They are going to need better performances than that if that is going to happen. They cannot rely on the prospects looking up when Bedard returns. Even the strong play of Bedard has not been enough alone in recent seasons; more players need to rise to the plate if Chicago is going to progress out of this rebuild.
The vet players like Cole will be counted on to support this mainly youth team get through this rough period. The key for this young team is to not let this situation snowball out of control. This will be an important stretch for these players to come together as a team. Perhaps, this will be the wake up call they need in order to make that push Blackhawks fans have been waiting for over the course of the rebuild.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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