TAKEAWAYS: Blackhawks Earn One Point in Shootout Loss to Predators

While the Chicago Blackhawks earned one point in the standings, the team still suffered their fourth straight loss on Tuesday night. 

Chicago struck first early in the game to take the lead but struggled to keep it in the 4-3 final against the Nashville Predators. As Seth Jones described it, the team simply couldn't find their strengths to try and squeeze out a win. 

“There were ups and downs and we’re still struggling to find some consistency in our game and the style we need to play to be successful,” Jones said. 

Over the last few games, head coach Luke Richardson and Blackhawks players mentioned the mentality they want to find once again to try and create that winning foundation. Although the team entered the games with a strong start, they still lacked the momentum that they wanted to earn those victories once again.

Some of the mistakes that Nick Foligno noticed included some of the team’s reactions to errors throughout the contest. However, when the team showcased some positive moments whether with goals or puck movement, it proved to him that the team could dig in deep to bounce back and try to win. 

“We had some good spots and bad spots,” Foligno said. “You saw when we had success, we're playing fast, we’re playing north, we were quick with our decisions and moving the puck.” 

Another area that head coach Luke Richardson wanted to fix came from some of the turnovers created and the lack of puck support in certain areas. 

But one improvement he noticed in his team came from the way his players responded when Nashville scored. He saw the team come together and produced some sparks to avoid those tough moments and keep some momentum as they went into the shootout.

“I thought we did push back right away,” Richardson said. “When we scored, we almost scored again with the next shift, and I really liked that reaction. So, we have to do more of that and less of letting the other team have the puck.” 

While the team might feel defeated after the last few games, Foligno believes that the team still has some fight in them to get through the situation they are in, but they still need to focus on how to get back to their old mentality. 

“I like some of our game, but we have lapses in our mentality where we're just not as tenacious as we need to be and that's when teams pounce,” Foligno said. “That's when we're just a little careless with the puck. We're going to work at it here.”

THREE POINTS FOR FOLIGNO 

To start the game off, Foligno scored his third multi-point contest this season with two goals and one assist. Both of the veteran forward’s goals put the team back into the lead before the Predators struck back to tie the game up. 

He praised his line with Joey Anderson and Jason Dickinson for the help with his performance due to the skills they bring and how they complement each other. 

“I think we're really understanding of our strengths as a line,” Foligno said. “We understand where to put the puck for each other to have success. We understand how to support each other and then the plays come because of that.”