WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Blackhawks have struggled to safely close out games this season.
Another lead slipped away in agonizing fashion Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets, who equalized with 39 seconds left to spoil a stout 50-minute (but not 60-minute) effort by the Hawks.
“We’ve definitely been in a lot of tight games, which is a good thing in some ways,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Sometimes it’s [about] finding that next goal. If you find a way to score the third one, the game is probably over. And if they happen to get one [during] six-on-five [play], it’s not as big a deal.”
The Hawks have now allowed nine critical goals in the final four minutes of third periods this season, collectively costing them at least eight points in the standings — basically the difference between a playoff-bubble team and a basement team.
Four of those were late game-winning goals in regulation by opponents (Oct. 11 vs. Canadiens, Nov. 20 vs. Kraken, Dec. 16 at Maple Leafs and last Thursday at Predators).
Five were late game-tying goals by opponents that forced overtime (Oct. 19 vs. Ducks, Nov. 12 vs. Devils, Dec. 2 at Golden Knights, Jan. 27 at Wild and Tuesday at Jets). The Hawks ended up losing in four of those five overtimes.
Connor Bedard, who continued his post-Olympics surge with two assists Tuesday, said he has learned “little plays” can make enormous differences in three-on-three play.
“[Overtime is] man-on-man, so it’s hard to create too much on your own,” Bedard said. “[There are] turnovers here and there that lead to a chance, lead to a goal. Yeah, we’ve got to find a way to win more of them.”
And that is the silver lining from all this heartbreak. The ultra-young Hawks are, in theory, learning lessons from it that they can apply in future seasons.
Jeff Blashill: “We played really good for lots of the game. We just stopped getting out of our zone clean. Because of that, we were in our end for the last 10-12 minutes. It’s just a hard way to play. We didn’t get out clean, and when we had it, I thought we had opportunities to…
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 4, 2026
New responsibilities
If you assumed the Connor Murphy trade would create more NHL opportunities for young defenseman Kevin Korchinski down the stretch, you assumed incorrectly.
With Sam Rinzel recovered from his illness and Ethan Del Mastro called up, Korchinski actually moved from in the lineup Sunday to out of it Tuesday.
On the penalty kill, Louis Crevier and Artyom Levshunov will take on more responsibilities as right-handed defensemen in Murphy’s stead.
And in terms of leadership, Bedard inherited the alternate-captain role vacated by Murphy and will wear an “A” for the rest of the season, Blashill confirmed. He’s probably the favorite to take over the captaincy next season if Nick Foligno retires.
“Obviously the letter doesn’t change anything you do as a person, but it’s nice to be recognized like that,” Bedard said.
‘Not easy’ for Toews
The good news for Jets veteran Jonathan Toews is he has stayed healthy enough to play in every game this season — a remarkable accomplishment at his age (37) with his background.
The bad news is the Jets have greatly underperformed as a team, and Toews hasn’t been able to help them much.
Since his emotional Jan. 19 return to Chicago, the former Hawks captain has just one point (an assist) in 13 games. On the season, he has 19 points in 60 games.
“At this point of the season, I would love to have some more numbers to show for it and be able to feel like I contributed a little bit more offensively,” Toews said. “With that being said, it hasn’t been easy. [I’m] just working really hard on off-days to recover and get ready for the next one.”
