Coach Jeremy Colliton sounded as frustrated as he has been in a while after the Blackhawks’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Predators on Tuesday.
“We’re trying to find consistency, we’re trying to find a standard that’s going to allow us to find success long-term,” he said. “This wasn’t it. Obviously, we can’t accept it.”
Host Nashville dominated puck possession for much of the game, finishing with huge advantages in shots (72-37), shots on goal (39-20) and scoring chances (40-16).
The Hawks nonetheless held a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes left in regulation and were trying to make Mattias Janmark’s breakaway goal hold up, and goalie Malcolm Subban was a big reason why. The journeyman made 36 saves in his first quality start since December 2019.
But the Predators’ comeback — they tied the score on Mikael Granlund’s one-timer and won the game on Roman Josi’s OT goal — seemed inevitable.
Patrick Kane, who didn’t attempt a shot for only the seventh time in 980 career appearances, and Dylan Strome bungled defensive coverage on Josi’s goal. Nikita Zadorov also stood out, in a negative way, for his slew of turnovers.
Overall, the Hawks weren’t aggressive enough in puck battles, couldn’t pass the blue line cleanly, didn’t establish a forecheck and skated aimlessly around their zone for minutes at a time.
“We didn’t have enough guys going, both up front and on the back end,” Colliton said. “We were defending too much, and we just couldn’t sustain any zone time, weren’t hard enough on the puck. As the game went on, we made fewer and fewer plays because we were getting tired. Just not enough pushback, not enough sustained possession.”
