The Chicago Blackhawks opened their preseason on Tuesday night. And new head coach Jeff Blashill took the visitors’ bench in a very familiar building. Blashill and the Blackhawks faced the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
It’s quite fitting to see Blashill coach his first Blackhawks game — preseason or otherwise — against Detroit. He spent seven years on the other side of the glass, coaching the Red Wings. In fact, he’s the last Red Wings head coach to lead the team to the playoffs.
That came back in 2016, though. He is also the coach who saw the end of Detroit’s 25-year-long playoff streak. He did oversee the development of some of Detroit’s current stars, namely Dylan Larkin. However, he found no postseason success, and he was let go at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Chicago hopes Blashill’s second run as a head coach goes better. And they believe he can take Connor Bedard and this group toward postseason contention. In saying this, there are certainly growing pains to be expected.
The Blackhawks lost their first preseason game against Detroit by a score of 3-2. After the game, Blashill was asked about the game. And he made a rather honest admission, saying his team’s performance didn’t surprise him.
“Everything is new, systems are new, and we played like we were thinking. When you think a lot, you play slow. They beat us to pretty much every loose puck,” Blashill said, via Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope. “It didn’t surprise me. I knew we were going to be tired and our systems aren’t natural yet. I’m OK with that. That’s why we’re putting the work in.”
Jeff Blashill’s Blackhawks Outplayed By Red Wings
Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesJeff Blashill understands that the Chicago Blackhawks have work to do this upcoming season.
The Blackhawks did not look too inspiring in their initial showing under Blashill. The new coach is implementing new defensive systems to help keep pucks out of Chicago’s net. As the bench boss pointed out, though, the players are still getting used to these systems.
The Blackhawks were outshot 43-17 in this contest. Detroit pummeled goaltender Arvid Soderblom with shots throughout the game. In the end, 10 players who skated for the Winged Wheel on Tuesday finished with three or more shots on goal.
The importance of preseason is certainly up for debate. However, for a team with a new coach, one undeniable value of preseason is the window into the style a new coach is looking to play. In their first showing, the Blackhawks showed there’s much to learn moving forward.
Preseason Has Heightened Performance For Chicago
Another factor in this is the sort of team Chicago is right now. This is not a contending team. Nor is it a team gearing up to come out of a rebuild like the Red Wings. The Blackhawks are still in the building phase.
As a result, the preseason has more importance. There are multiple roster spots up for grabs entering the 2025-26 NHL season. Their performance matters and is tied to their likelihood of making the Blackhawks roster.
There is work to be done, and there is still a ton of hope for this team. Fans should keep an eye on how these prospects respond to Tuesday’s loss, though. It could provide more insight to the players coming through the pipeline and how they fit in with Blashill’s system.
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