Chicago Blackhawks: Lose in Kirby Dach’s NHL debut

The Chicago Blackhawks saw their top prospect make his NHL debut, but it came in a losing effort at home against the Washington Capitals.

The Chicago Blackhawks gave Kirby Dach the opportunity to make his NHL debut on Sunday night against the Washington Capitals. He was the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft for Chicago, and a lot of people were anticipated his debut. He was injured for most of his training camp and was sent to the Rockford Ice Hogs for a conditioning loan and once he was called up, he was put in.

The game did not go well for the team as a whole as they lost the game by a final score of 5-3. It was a game that the Blackhawks had ups and downs in. They ultimately lost because they weren’t responsible in their own zone when they needed to be. The team showed heart when they came back to tie it from down 3-1, but it wasn’t good enough as the Capitals would re-take the lead not long after and then add an empty netter to seal the win.

It was a good night for guys like Alexander Nylander and Drake Caggiula as they both collected points in the game but it wasn’t good enough. They looked okay as a whole but they weren’t able to overcome playing a team like the Washington Capitals. They need more from their top guys as they all had games that are forgettable.

The line matchups were weird in this one. They had Dylan Strome playing on the wing with Patrick Kane and Kirby Dach together. It didn’t really work as well as Strome has with his buddy DeBrincat, and keeping Kane with Jonathan Toews is probably the best option at this point. They are getting decent play from their third line so they really need to figure it out with their top six fast. They also need to be better on the power play as they went an abysmal 0-5 and gave up a short-handed goal. This would have been a completely different game if they were able to just be decent on the power play and not give up a shorty.

The good thing is that some of these issues are things that can be fixed with all the talent they have upfront. Brent Seabrook and Olli Maatta are pretty awful in their own zone and should be getting less ice time. They are both slow and have a hard time out there sometimes. Seabrook gets a little more ice when they have five power-play opportunities so that is understandable as he still has value there, but there is an issue with their defense.

All in all, it is sort of expected that a team like the Blackhawks would come up just short against the Capitals who are a legit threat to win it all, but this is a game that could have been had if they were just a little bit better in the areas mentioned above. They have a chance to redeem themselves on Tuesday night when another elite team in the Vegas Golden Knights comes to town. This is going to be another rough test for Chicago.