The Blackhawks lost something they couldn’t afford to lose — another impactful member of the lineup — when center Dylan Strome left during the second period Tuesday.
Then they lost the game 2-1 to the Flames.
“It was tight checking the whole way,” defenseman Duncan Keith said. “We did a lot of good things, but everybody knows we need the points, and we know what the standings are like. It’s tough to lose these two points.”
Strome tripped awkwardly over Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington, who had sprawled out to try to block a pass, and collided with the boards. He was later ruled out for the game with an injured right ankle.
Coach Jeremy Colliton said he’ll know more about the recovery timeline Wednesday.
The injury was part of a disastrous second period for the Hawks. The Flames got two goals from Elias Lindholm and had a 19-7 scoring-chance advantage to offset a strong first period by the hosts and take the lead for good.
The Hawks enjoyed a lot of offensive-zone time in the waning minutes but passed and over-passed until the Flames broke up their plays and cleared the zone. The teamwide reluctance to shoot remains a baffling weakness.
“It’s probably more some younger players who are reluctant to; they’re always looking for something better,” Colliton said. “We’ve got to be more aggressive. We’ve got to play on our front foot and want to be the guy to make the difference.”
Strome had been playing some of his best hockey of the season during the Hawks’ recent surge, with three goals in his previous four games and six points in his previous five. He joins an injured list that already features six other Hawks, including fellow forwards Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw.
The continued development of rookies Dominik Kubalik and Adam Boqvist — the former scored the Hawks’ lone goal, the latter assisted and played more than 23 minutes in one of his best all-around games of the season — has helped the Hawks mostly overcome the scourge of injuries. But the situation almost certainly will reach a breaking point eventually.
“We have a lot of injuries,” Keith said. “A lot of teams have injuries, though, and they find ways. We’re certainly in that situation where we need to find a way.”
