The Chicago Blackhawks were routed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
The Chicago Blackhawks played the second game of their two-game road trip on Thursday night. In the first one, they blew a 3-0 lead and lost to the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in a shootout.
In this game against the Penguins, things started well for them as they took a 1-0 lead on a goal scored by Connor Murphy. A great defensive play by Frank Nazar led to a great rush where he and Ryan Greene made a play to find Murphy, who didn't miss with his snipe.
Murphy, who is likely to be traded by Chicago ahead of the deadline, has been playing exceptionally well in recent weeks. Contending teams are going to take a look.
After going up 1-0, however, the Penguins took over in a big way. They scored six unanswered goals to make it 5-1. Four of those goals came in the second period, which was a truly awful period for the Hawks. They will watch the tape and see that it was one of the worst periods of their entire season.
Connor Bedard had a wonderful snipe late in the game to make it 6-2 at 14:31 of the third period, but the game was well out of reach at that point. That stood as the final score.
Although nobody would ever say that Arvid Soderblom played well, but he was asked to face 44 shots. 23 of them came in that brutal middle period. He stayed in the game to eat the loss, with Spencer Knight projected to go on Friday. Soderblom gave up six, but most goalies in the league are not winning when they face 44 shots.
The Penguins put up six against the Blackhawks, and Sidney Crosby didn't have a single point. Usually, that's a sign that a team played horrible hockey, which was the case for Chicago on Thursday night.
This is the type of game you scrap if you're a young Blackhawks team. They have had a few of these stinkers in 2025-26, but they don't have much time to think about this one. Another game awaits one night later.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
#5 is right on target🎯 pic.twitter.com/VL7tsAoFBI
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 30, 2026
what a shot😮💨 pic.twitter.com/wFdpBijzwW
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 30, 2026
What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
The Blackhawks are back in action on Friday night. The Columbus Blue Jackets will be at the United Center for a tilt to kick off the weekend. Puck drop is shortly after 7:30 PM CT.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
Category: General Sports
