Players to Watch: Blackhawks vs Red Wings (9/28/22)
Kevin Korchinski of the Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Michael Reaves via Getty Images)
After losing 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks are back in action tonight in Detroit.
The first preseason game of the 2022-23 season went about as great as the Blackhawks could hope for - if you eliminate the penalty kill from that assessment. The Blues had three power play chances, and they scored on each of them. Unfortunately, those three goals were the difference in the game. But, focusing on that makes the game seem negative when it was actually very exciting.
Penalty kill aside, the Blackhawks skaters looked like they were playing with purpose. They came out skating hard, fore-checking hard, and back-checking hard. The impact of Luke Richardson's coaching as well as the tenacity and speed of some of Kyle Davidson's roster additions was felt immediately. It's been awhile since I've seen the Chicago Blackhawks skate that hard - and it was only preseason game number one.
St. Louis scored first on a really nice deflection from Ryan O'Reilly on the power play. He was right in front of Petr Mrázek - who really couldn't have done much more on that play. That was the only goal Mrázek allowed, and Cole Guttman's game-tying goal late in the second period sent this game into the third period as close as a game can be. With the Blackhawks facing a much more skilled opponent, that was extremely promising.
Unfortunately, St. Louis scored three more goals in the third period - two on the power play. So, the Blackhawks were handed the loss. But, that's something fans have to get used to this season. If they can play like they did last night - with speed, intensity, and purpose - and lose games that they aren't completely blown out in, that's going to be a huge boost to this rebuilding team going in to next summer and the next few seasons. The pace of play suggested that Davidson and Richardson may be the guys to lead this Chicago team through the tough years and then take them to success.
But, it was only one game. There are A LOT more to go.
So, here are your players to watch tonight!
Kevin Korchinski
Kevin Korchinski was my number one player to watch last night, and he keeps that spot for tonight's game. He is one of only two players (Samuel Savoie being the other) to get into the lineup tonight after playing last night in Chicago. Since last night's meeting with the Blues was the first preseason game, it was our first chance to see Korchinski in NHL action. And the kid looked GOOD. The most impressive part of his game was his speed. He was moving around the ice with ease and never got beat due to a lack of speed on his end. His skating ability also allowed him to cut over to the other side of the ice to help out his D partner (Connor Murphy) when they were facing pressure. Korchinski looked like he could more than hold his own out there, and even contributed offensively despite being held off the score sheet. He was getting shots off from the point, slinging the puck to his teammates, and even joining the rush and crashing the net to become a net-front passing option. It was a very impressive debut for the kid, so I'm looking to see how his game looks on the second half of a back-to-back with fewer full-time NHL-ers on the back end with him.
Isaak Phillips
This list would simply not be complete without me including Isaak Phillips! It's his first game action of the preseason, and I'm excited to see how he looks up against NHL competition after his second professional offseason. When he had a brief taste of NHL action last season, he didn't look out of place. By the end of the season in Rockford, he and Ian Mitchell had locked down the first defensive pair and were relied on in every situation. Phillips has only improved as his professional career has gone on. Isaak could very well be one of the first defensive call ups this season, so these preseason games will be great for him to get into.
Arvid Söderblom
Last night, we had a chance to see the Blackhawks NHL goaltending tandem of Petr Mrázek and Alex Stalock. They both played half the game and looked decent enough. Tonight, Arvid Söderblom is getting the entire game in net for Chicago. Söderblom was the guy in Rockford last season, and is expected to be the guy for the 2022-23 season as well. In a brief stint with the Blackhawks last year, Söderblom had a 5.01 GAA and .863 sv%. Those aren't super flattering numbers, but Chicago's defense never allowed him to get settled in. His NHL showing was not indicative of his abilities in net, so I'm looking for him to have a better night in some preseason action and show Blackhawks fans a glimpse of the very solid goaltending that the IceHogs were treated to in 2021-22.
Puck drops at 6:30pm CST