The Predators beat the Blackhawks 3-0 on Tuesday.
AP Photo/George Walker IV
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Another injury and a punchless offensive effort made it difficult to get too enthused about a long-awaited solid performance from Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom on Tuesday.
Anthony Beauvillier left midway through the Hawks’ 3-0 shutout loss to the Predators, marking the third consecutive game in which the team has lost a forward. It appeared to be an arm or wrist injury, and coach Luke Richardson said Beauvillier will travel with the team to New York before getting reevaluated Wednesday.
Taylor Raddysh (groin) and Tyler Johnson (right foot) were felled in Dallas. Seth Jones (left shoulder), Andreas Athanasiou (groin) and Joey Anderson (left shoulder) have been out for a while. Taylor Hall (ACL surgery) and Corey Perry are long gone.
As of Dec. 28, the Hawks had suffered the ninth-most man-games lost to injury in the NHL, per NHLInjuryViz. That wasn’t including Perry, either, and that number is only getting worse.
“We’re probably running low on contracts at this point,” Richardson said, half-jokingly.
In light of those injury woes — forcing depth guys like Boris Katchouk and Brett Seney into the lineup — the Hawks’ inability to score on elite Predators goalie Juuse Saros felt somewhat understandable. The team’s 12-game road losing streak is less excusable, though.
“The coaching staff was proud of how we asked [the players] to battle [Monday] in practice and bring it to tonight’s game,” Richardson said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get any luck around their net.”
Soderblom, meanwhile, responded well from his last two brutal starts to save 33 of 35 shots, including all 25 he faced at even strength. He kept the Hawks within 1-0 until the final five minutes thanks to some A-grade stops.
“Now I have a good game here...to try to build off of that and take that with me in the future,” Soderblom said.
Richardson said Jones is expected to begin skating on his own by this weekend. Anderson’s timeline to return is longer than Jones’, and Athanasiou’s timeline to return from is longer than Anderson’s.
Connor Bedard was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for December, marking his second consecutive month receiving the honor.
He averaged exactly a point per game in both months: 12 points in 12 games in November and 15 points in 15 games in December. In characteristic fashion, though, he seemed rather unimpressed by the whole thing.
“It’s something you’re not playing for, but it’s good, I guess,” Bedard said Tuesday. “I have more goals as a team [than as an individual] going into the next month, for sure.”
Despite his pointless outing Tuesday, Bedard still leads all rookies by a significant margin with 33 points in 37 games. Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli ranks second with 23 points.
He is an overwhelming betting favorite for the Calder Trophy, too, with 1-to-5 odds (minus-500) on FanDuel. Wild defenseman Brock Faber has emerged as an analytics darling and currently touts the second-best Calder odds at 14-to-1.
This week also marked Bedard’s third time in Nashville within the last seven months, but his first visit (for the draft last June in which he was picked No. 1 overall) was definitely more memorable than his second (a 4-2 Hawks matinee loss on Nov. 18) and third.
“Especially being outside the rink, I remember walking through, walking in, and those feelings going into it,” Bedard said. “It’s crazy how not [actually] long, but for me, how long ago it was. It’s definitely cool looking back and having those memories.”
