The six-game road trip didn’t start the way the Blackhawks wanted. Jonathan Toews helped the Jets pick up two points in his reunion with his former team, as he recorded an assist and won 14 of 20 faceoffs in just over 20 minutes of ice time. Chicago fell 6-3 in Winnipeg on Thursday night, losing by more than two goals for the first time this season.
More in the links for what went wrong for the Blackhawks against Toews and the Jets.
Around the league, Martin Necas signed a big ticket with the Avalanche, Islanders coach Patrick Roy benched Mathew Barzal, and the Penguins continue to prove everyone wrong.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: The story of the night in Winnipeg was Jonathan Toews facing his old club, but it was the Jets’ top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabriel Vilardi who led the way to victory. The Blackhawks’ defense allowed that trio to score four goals, while Spencer Knight had his first shaky performance of the season. Not an ideal start to the six-game road trip.
More CHN: Connor Bedard picked up another two points in the 6-3 loss to the Jets on Thursday, and he now has six points over his past two games. ICYMI, Bedard recorded his first NHL hat trick against the Ottawa Senators and keeps looking like a much-improved player in his third NHL campaign.
Blackhawks 2025 No. 3 overall pick Anton Frondell has been buried in Djurgarden’s bottom-six over the past few games, but he was back on the second line for the first time in a little while on Thursday. Frondell didn’t tally a point in the team’s 6-1 loss, but it was noteworthy that he centered the second line, as he’s spent most of the year playing on the wing. He has 10 points (8G, 2A) through 16 SHL games.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
Colorado Hockey Now: Free agents just aren’t free agenting like they used to. With the NHL’s new salary cap landscape, more and more players can be resigned to massive contracts, and that’s what happened with Martin Necas on Thursday. The Colorado Avalanche signed Necas to an eight-year extension with an $11.5 million cap hit. Colorado Hockey Now breaks down the key details of Necas’ new deal.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Just as we all expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins head into Halloween with the best record in the NHL. The Pens defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Thursday, moving them to 8-2-2 through 12 games this season. Here’s Dan Kingerski’s postgame for PHN.
The Athletic: Trouble out in Long Island. Mathew Barzal was late to practice, so Islanders head coach Patrick Roy benched the team’s second-leading point getter on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Sportsnet: Speaking of the Hurricanes vs. Islanders game, forward Seth Jarvis was forced to exit early after blocking a shot late in the third period. Jarvis wasn’t able to skate off the ice under his own power, and head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters after the game that it “doesn’t look great”. Carolina will know more about their young star forward’s status on Friday.
Boston Hockey Now: The Boston Bruins have dealt with a few injury issues already this season, and they suffered another loss in their overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres. Forward Elias Lindholm went down in the second period after a collision with Jordan Greenway, and he didn’t return for the rest of the game.
San Jose Hockey Now: After a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, Sheng Peng from SJHN writes that the San Jose Sharks just wrapped up their best two-week stretch in years. The kids are alright.
NHLdotcom: Boy, does time fly. Tyler Seguin skated in his 1,00th NHL game on Thursday in the Dallas Stars’ 2-1 OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here is Seguin reflecting on the milestone and some key moments throughout his career ahead of the matchup.
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