One night after abusing the New York Rangers in a 5-2 win, the Chicago Blackhawks were easy fodder for a disappointing loss in Elmont on Sunday night.
The Islanders shutout the Blackhawks, 3-0, with a three-goal second period.
Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves in the Isles win.
“It was an important win for us,” Varlamov said. “I thought we played great hockey. I was able to make some saves, like in the first period, so I thought that gave me confidence and gave the team confidence. We came out really strong in the second period, played well and created a lot of scoring chances.
“We were able to score some goals. It was nice to play with a lead.”
Following a scoreless first period, the Islanders made quick work of the game in the middle frame.
“Didn’t get pucks deep, didn’t get pucks on net. A lot of didn’ts tonight in my eyes,” Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy said. “It’s frustrating. Just not supporting each other across the ice. You can say what you want about that middle of the game, kind of weird goal that was called and kind of turned the page, but we didn’t really respond. Just disappointing.”
Matt Martin, Zach Parise and Brock Nelson were the second period strikers, and really, from there it was all downhill.
“Certainly, I thought the guys did a great job of getting to the net, having traffic in front. We were rewarded for it,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. “We felt like we could be a little bit better heading into the second. I give my players full credit. They came out and, I would say, turned it up a little bit.”
Chicago dropped to 7-13-4.
“It’s not one thing, it’s a bunch of mistakes, like any loss,” Blackhawks forward Colin Blackwell said. “The cluster of goals is obviously the biggest part. Those three goals, to give up the one is OK, (but) we can’t let that turn into a bunch of shifts being poor that lead to more goals.”
Use Code PHN20
Arvid Soderblom made 37 saves in the loss.
“He made some great reads and some big saves and stood tall right to the end,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said of Soderblom. “He’s been great in every appearance that he’s been in. We’ve just got to give him a little more goal support and a little better structure in front of him.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.