TAKEAWAYS: Blackhawks Shut Down by Blues 

After coming out on top against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks entered the game against the St. Louis Blues for a chance to try and create their first string of wins this season. However, they would endure another loss after they were shut down by the Blues, 4-2.

With another loss added to the team’s record, head coach Luke Richardson described the frustration they felt tonight after they created a foundation to try and add more wins.

“I just think that they were the hungrier team tonight and we let them be,” Richardson said. “That's frustrating to see because I thought we wanted to try and take that excitement from the last game and put it into tonight and we just didn't do that.”

Chicago struggled to try and build a winning streak throughout the first half of the season as they competed against some of the top teams in the league. They also suffered six losses in their last seven matchups.

One issue that stuck out with Ryan Donato included the lack of good habits to try and create that winning culture. As a veteran who played for four other NHL teams, he stated that players have to come in prepared for puck drop and not to be comfortable after only one win.

“What I've learned from past teams is sometimes after a win you can kind of sit back and say, ‘Okay, we won, we're fine. We're here we go, we're going,’” Donato said. “No, it has to be every night. Every team is coming in trying to beat you, so you have to be prepared the same way every single night.”

Nick Foligno also emphasized the importance of building off good habits to add to a potential winning culture in a difficult league like the NHL. While the Blackhawks are one of the youngest teams in the league, Foligno added that is no excuse for their lack of wins.

Almost 20 games into the season, Foligno stated that the team should understand the challenges of earning a win and be a team that will compete every single night.

“We're trying to build becoming the Chicago Blackhawks again,” Foligno said “The team that, every time they step on the ice you know what you're going to get. “It's going to be a hard night and so that's what we're trying to get out of our game and some of those habits that have maybe crept in and, and we're working towards that.”

With one more home game before the team heads out for a three-game road trip, Richardson hopes that the team can learn how to become more consistent after they struggled with it all season.

“That really shows that we still have a lot a long way to go in that area,” Richardson said. “I think we showed that we can play with some of the best teams, but we also can take the foot off and really still be happy with how we played last game not in the moment of playing this game.”