Blackhawks' D-Defense Takes a Tumble as Inconsistency Hits Hard.
The Chicago Blackhawks suffered another blowout loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, one that highlighted the team's struggles with consistency and effort. The 6-2 defeat marked a new low in what has been an ongoing multi-week stretch of subpar performance from key players.
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk summed it up best, saying their collapse was like "falling off the rails" without much response in crucial moments. Despite being on the ice for three Penguins goals in a four-minute span, the team's overall performance lacked swagger and confidence.
Coach Jeff Blashill pointed to individual players who aren't feeling confident, which affects the entire team. The Hawks are learning through the "trial by fire," but at this point, it feels like a painful reality check. As one Twitter user put it, "the high man for some reason" was Levshunov during crucial shifts, where he looked more like a forward than a defender.
Levshunov's performance was particularly egregious, posting a minus-five rating alongside partner Wyatt Kaiser. Both players struggled with positioning, gap control, turnovers, and reading plays. The Penguins capitalized on these mistakes, finishing the game with a 15-6 advantage in scoring chances during Levshunov's ice time.
Blashill acknowledged that his defense has been having an inconsistent season but warned that "the low end of the roller coaster" is not acceptable. The team needs to learn from their struggles and earn back their swagger, starting Friday against the Blue Jackets. As one player noted, there was a "wake-up call for each guy on our team." Can they answer?
The Chicago Blackhawks suffered another blowout loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, one that highlighted the team's struggles with consistency and effort. The 6-2 defeat marked a new low in what has been an ongoing multi-week stretch of subpar performance from key players.
Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk summed it up best, saying their collapse was like "falling off the rails" without much response in crucial moments. Despite being on the ice for three Penguins goals in a four-minute span, the team's overall performance lacked swagger and confidence.
Coach Jeff Blashill pointed to individual players who aren't feeling confident, which affects the entire team. The Hawks are learning through the "trial by fire," but at this point, it feels like a painful reality check. As one Twitter user put it, "the high man for some reason" was Levshunov during crucial shifts, where he looked more like a forward than a defender.
Levshunov's performance was particularly egregious, posting a minus-five rating alongside partner Wyatt Kaiser. Both players struggled with positioning, gap control, turnovers, and reading plays. The Penguins capitalized on these mistakes, finishing the game with a 15-6 advantage in scoring chances during Levshunov's ice time.
Blashill acknowledged that his defense has been having an inconsistent season but warned that "the low end of the roller coaster" is not acceptable. The team needs to learn from their struggles and earn back their swagger, starting Friday against the Blue Jackets. As one player noted, there was a "wake-up call for each guy on our team." Can they answer?
what's going on with that defense?? matt grzelcyk saying they fell off the rails is pretty harsh but at least he's acknowledging it coach blashill needs to do something ASAP, this inconsistency is killing them 
i mean levshunov looked lost out there, like a total forward 
does anyone think they can turn it around before friday's game against the blue jackets? 
Blashill needs to step up his game too, get those Dmen feelin like a team again 
otherwise they're gonna be stuck in this lose-lose cycle forever 
, I'm not sure what's going on with Matt Grzelcyk, he's usually solid but now it's like he's having an identity crisis 
. And Levshunov... poor guy can't catch a break, seems like he's just as lost out there as the rest of them 
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i feel for blashill he's gotta deal with this mess but a "wake-up call" is just that - a wake-up call. what's gonna happen when someone gets hurt or gets traded?
gotta step up their game or risk looking like the also-rans they're starting to feel like 
I think it's time to accept that this season might not be about winning all the games, but about developing young players and learning from their mistakes. The Blackhawks have been in a rebuild phase for a while now, so some inconsistency is expected 
️. Matt Grzelcyk's comment about "falling off the rails" is spot on - sometimes you gotta hit rock bottom before you can start climbing back up 
i mean coaches need to get their act together and figure out why this dude can't even read plays let alone keep up with penguins forwards 
but at least it's not all bad i guess the hawks just gotta shake off that losing streak and try again against blue jackets on friday 
️ 
I mean, Matt Grzelcyk's phrase about falling off the rails is spot on - it's like they're all trying to figure things out as they go along. But at some point, you gotta step up and lead 
. Coach Blashill says individual players need to feel confident, but how do they get there when they're getting torched by other teams? 
The Penguins were all over them last night... I don't know if this "trial by fire" is helping the Hawks learn any new tricks 
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... i'm all for a "trial by fire" kind of approach, but this feels more like a case of guys getting left behind 
... can they turn things around before the season is basically out of the woods?