Chicago Blackhawks: First game with new coach was a success

The Chicago Blackhawks have had a horrendous start to the season. The franchise is in shambles for a lot of different reasons. They just fired Jeremy Colliton over the weekend and played their first game without him on Sunday night. It was actually a big-time success for the Hawks as they won the game 2-1 in overtime over the Nashville Predators.

The Blackhawks outshot the Predators 32-21 which was great to see. Whatever changes were made over a span of a day clearly worked in the first game for Derek King as the head coach. They might not make a huge run to the postseason or anything like that but at least they might play some respectable hockey.

They got out to a lead when Brandon Hagel scored a goal to put them up 1-0. However, less than three minutes later, the Predators tied it up. It would stay tied until they reached the 3 on 3 overtime period. Those sessions are always fun to watch but they are even better when your team wins them.

Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane found themselves in a 2 on 1 rush. DeBrincat slid the puck over to Kane who surprised everyone by passing it back for DeBrincat to put home the game-winner. It was a fantastic play to end a fantastic game.

The Chicago Blackhawks won their first game without Jeremy Colliton behind the bench.

Predators goalie Jusse Saros deserves credit. He is considered to be one of the best goalies in the world and he showed why on Sunday night. The Hawks probably would have won the game in regulation by more than one goal if Sarros wasn’t sensational. It was good to see them finally get one more past him in the overtime session.

Derek King may or may not be the permanent guy but the only thing we know for sure right now is that he is locked in to finish out this season. It was a great start for him as his team played very well to start his tenure. If they can match that intensity on most nights, they might start winning some games. There is talent on the roster that could be much better than their 2-9-2 record shows.

The Hawks are back in action on Tuesday night with a home match against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It is going to be another very tough matchup for them, especially if the Penguins get Sidney Crosby back in time for the game. It should be a lot of fun to see how they respond to this big win that they earned on Sunday night.