If the Blackhawks turn around their season in a positive way, it’s possible they look back upon their game Thursday against the Islanders as the turning point.
That sounds absurd to say after a 4-1 loss that dropped the Hawks to 1-4-0 this season, including 0-4-0 on the road.
But it was arguably the Hawks’ best performance to date. It wasn’t immaculate, but considering how low they set the bar on their awful opening road trip, Thursday marked noticeable improvement — even, in some ways, from their victorious home opener Tuesday.
They made quicker decisions, read plays more intelligently, completed a higher percentage of their passes, maintained work ethic and looked more cohesive as a team.
During five-on-five play, they generated 43-30 and 22-15 advantages in shot attempts and scoring chances, respectively, only to be denied by terrific Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin from translating that onto the scoreboard.
Wyatt Kaiser sets up Cole Smith for a chance, but the puck doesn’t get across the line: pic.twitter.com/XFgQ0nI4wH
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 9, 2026
The Hawks’ special teams weren’t nearly as impressive, though, and a couple critical breakdowns — combined with bad luck — led to two Islanders goals three minutes apart that dug a deep hole halfway through the second period.
“There was a lot of stuff that I really liked about the game,” coach Jeff Blashill told reporters in New York. “What I didn’t like was our immaturity showed in giving up goals that we didn’t have to give up.
“We need to learn how to play with that competitiveness, speed and pressure without beating ourselves.”
Frank Nazar was “really going,” Blashill added, even before he spoiled Sorokin’s shutout bid late. A minute later, however, Nazar delivered an illegal hit to Islanders veteran Bo Horvat’s head that could lead to some NHL-initiated discipline.
Definitely a center
The Hawks have a plethora of young forwards who they think might turn into centers in the NHL — or who at least have the ability to play center when needed — but they don’t have many established, clear-cut centers.
That’s why they called up depth center Dominic Toninato instead of winger Landon Slaggert, the last cut of training camp, to replace injured wingers Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Mangiapane.
“[Toninato has] played a lot of center in his time in pro hockey, so he’s a pretty stable guy — kind of similar to [Ryan Greene], to be honest,” Blashill said Wednesday.
Toninato’s presence allowed Blashill to move Oliver Moore back to wing, which is clearly where he wants Moore to be.
Gauging crowds
An over-capacity crowd of 20,270 unsurprisingly packed the United Center for Patrick Kane’s homecoming Tuesday, and attendance should be strong again Saturday for the defending champion Hurricanes’ visit.
After that, we’ll get a better sense of how the Hawks’ attendance this season will compare to last season, when they averaged a solid 18,949 fans per game.
Weeknight matchups against the Penguins and Jets next week will likely be two of the Hawks’ least-crowded games of the season, since October is typically the toughest month to sell tickets. A number of 300-level seats, in particular, appear unsold right now.
Last year, the Hawks drew fewer than 16,650 fans to four of their six October home games — bottoming out at 15,100 — and then never again dipped below that threshold for the rest of the season.
It’ll be interesting to see what exactly those Penguins and Jets attendance numbers end up being. The summer additions of Kane and Bowen Byram supposedly boosted season-ticket sales, but having eight October home games this year is a lot.