The Chicago Blackhawks find themselves in a unique situation to end the 2025-26 season.
They returned to the United Center on Thursday night for the first of four home games to close the year after playing seven of their last eight on the road.
For Hawks coach Jeff Blashill, the mindset going in was clear.
“We have four games at home, (so it’s) making sure that we say to our fans how good this team is when we play good, how good we can be and how good we will be,” he said after practice Wednesday.
Now they have three games to prove that to fans, because the Hawks did nothing to convince them Thursday in a blowout 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hawks (28-37-14) lost for the seventh time in eight games against a Hurricanes team that played without several regulars in their first game since clinching the Metropolitan Division title. The Hurricanes (51-22-6) stayed two points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Not good enough, especially at home when we want to have a good stretch for the fans at the end of the year,” defenseman Louis Crevier said. “We shot ourselves in the foot. It was a mix of that and they were hungrier than us on the puck and wanted to win it more.”
The Canes brought the storm just 19 seconds in when defenseman Sean Walker caught Connor Bedard and company skating the other way and floated a shot over Spencer Knight.
It was a night to forget for the Hawks top line. Bedard, Teuvo Teräväinen and Nick Lardis were on the ice for four Hurricanes goals, and Lardis had multiple prime scoring chances but didn’t convert.
“The one thing that we didn’t do well enough is compete on the puck, so that’s a disappointing thing,” Blashill said. “One of the reasons that they’re a really good team year after year is their work ethic and compete on the puck is excellent.”
The Hurricanes, whose game roster included four AHL call-ups from the Chicago Wolves, made Knight’s night unbearable.
The seven goals allowed were Knight’s most since Dec. 19, 2022, with the Florida Panthers. Blashill didn’t think about pulling his starter despite stopping only 15 of the Hurricanes’ 22 shots (.682).
“I don’t know if I’m reluctant, just hasn’t been the situation I felt it was the right move,” Blashill said. “Sometimes if you know early that a goalie doesn’t have it per se, that’s the time to pull potentially, but I didn’t think we played good enough to make that determination.
“I’m not a big believer in doing just to do it. There are times maybe it’s a bit of a spark, but tonight I didn’t think it was the case.”
Logan Stankoven and Mark Jankowski each scored a pair of goals, while K’Andre Miller and Taylor Hall also beat Knight.
Anton Frondell was the sole bright spot for the Hawks, scoring two goals in his ninth NHL game since arriving from Sweden late last month.
“I think he’s a really good player, he was a really good player when I saw him on video,” Blashill said. “He’s strong on his stick, smart, moves well, there’s a lot there and he wants to be really good.”
It was the 18-year-old Frondell’s first multigoal game, one in the first period in which he took advantage of bad positioning from goaltender Frederik Andersen and another in the third when he deflected in a nice pass from Crevier.
“The second pass (was) pretty sick, so for me, it’s just to tap it in,” Frondell said. “On the first goal, he makes a big play there keeping the puck alive.”
Frondell has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his brief time with the Hawks. While surprised with his production, he credited his teammates.
“Playing with good, special players makes it easy sometimes,” Frondell said. “Like today, it’s two easy goals for me. … It’s more about the pass.”
Frondell centered the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev. It took Frondell some time to get adjusted to playing center again after a few games on Bedard’s wing, but he’s getting comfortable.
“First couple days, first couple games, I lost every faceoff, but now it feels like (I’m) starting to learn a little bit more (of) how to win the faceoff,” Frondell said. “I like being center.”
When the final horn sounded, some boobirds shared their displeasure as players exited the ice for the locker room. The Hawks have three games remaining to change their tune.
“Our fans deserve better, I recognize all of that, but there are nights that happens and this was one of them,” Blashill said. “We’re going to have to dig in tomorrow and make sure that we correct it and move on to St. Louis.”
