First-year Chicago Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill sees progress in his young team after two games.
Of course, Blashill also spots two losses on the Blackhawks’ ledger entering Saturday’s home opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
Chicago will aim to reverse course as it begins a stretch with four of the next five games at home.
Fueled by a goal and assist each from Connor Bedard and Andre Burakovsky, the Blackhawks took the Boston Bruins to overtime on Thursday before falling 4-3.
Two nights earlier, they put up a challenge against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in a 3-2 defeat.
“We definitely took steps forward in a lot of (areas like) winning plays, winning habits, stopping on pucks,” Blashill said. “The disappointing part is we want to find ways to win these close games. We’ve lost both of them.”
Bedard, Chicago’s 20-year-old captain, is confident in the team’s resilience behind a blend of youth and veterans. Burakovsky, an offseason acquisition from Seattle who is slightly more seasoned at 30, earned the No. 3 star at Boston.
“He looked great,” Bedard said. “He’s such a smart player. He’s someone who can make plays and slow the game down, speed it up. Just someone who makes the game real easy for guys he’s playing with, just the way he thinks the game, how he competes. It’s been awesome for our team getting a guy like that. He’s going to be big for us.”
Montreal also is beaming about some fresh faces.
Forward Zack Bolduc has scored in each of his first two games for the Canadiens — a loss at Toronto on Wednesday and a 5-1 victory at Detroit on Thursday. Bolduc arrived in a July trade with the St. Louis Blues.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talent and we’re dangerous all over the lineup,” Montreal forward Jake Evans said. “We’re a tougher team to defend and new guys like Zack are part of that.”
Detroit could attest, as Montreal chased veteran Red Wings goaltender John Gibson from his club debut by scoring five goals on 13 shots.
Mike Matheson tallied a goal and assist for the Canadiens behind goaltender Jakub Dobes (30 saves). Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki added two assists apiece.
Saturday marks the finale of a season-opening, three-game road trip for Montreal. Coach Martin St. Louis has reiterated what he has said from the onset, that his players have a team-first mindset and “commitment to do the things the game asks you to do.”
St. Louis added: “Our collective game is being connected on both sides of the puck — offensively and defensively. We look really fast at times because our collective game gives us predictability.”
There has been no update in Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson, who sustained an undisclosed injury in Thursday’s game and did not return for the third period.
Chicago swept the season series from Montreal in 2024-25, winning 4-2 at home in January and prevailing 4-3 in a March shootout on the road.
–Field Level Media
