NEWSLETTER
The Washington Capitals blew a 3-0 lead to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this week. But John Carlson was making his first appearance since Dec. 23 and Trevor van Riemsdyk was coming back after missing his first game of the year and certainly, certainly, they wouldn’t make the same mistake again against Chicago… right? The Blackhawks obliged them with one of the softest performances of their season.
Star 1: Anton Khudobin
It’s been 21 days — three weeks — since the Blackhawks acquired Khudobin from Dallas in the Max Domi trade. And there he was, rolling out to start his first game with Chicago with an Ecto Cooler colored mask. His performance? Yeah… a reminder that he should be third on the depth chart — in Rockford. At least we can laugh at moments like this because there’s nothing on the line, right?
Star 2: Jarred Tinordi
The dude’s a warrior and absolutely keeps things in check when people start taking shots at the Blackhawks physically. He stepped up to Tom Wilson tonight and Wilson, though he did have a brief conversation about it, did not appear to want the smoke. I don’t know if/how the Blackhawks can make him work on the roster next year with so many young defensemen ready to matriculate their way up to the NHL, but you can tell everybody in the room loves the guy — including head coach Luke Richardson.
