Chicago Blackhawks: Game one went exactly how you’d think

The Chicago Blackhawks were in Denver to take on the Colorado Avalanche in game one of the 2022-23 season. There are low expectations on this team going in and they showed everyone why in game number one. It went as you’d expect.

Most teams in the league are better than the Hawks but the Colorado Avalanche are significantly better. It might be the best team in the league against the worst team in the league.

The Colorado Avalanche are the defending Stanley Cup champions. Before the game, they had a ceremony to celebrate it that ended with them raising the banner that will forever represent the 2022 champs.

Jack Johnson of the Blackhawks was a member of the Avalanche last season and was allowed to participate in the celebration with his now-former teammates. That was really cool to see as it isn’t something you see all too often.

When the game started, everything you know about both teams started to show. The Avalanche were all over the Hawks. They looked faster, smarter, and more skilled because they are. That allowed them to win the game by a final score of 5-2.

The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t have a lot of success in their first game.

A lot of the usual suspects got it done for Colorado. Andrew Cogliano got things started for the Avalanche in terms of goal-scoring. Valeri Nichuskin and Artturi Lehkkonen each had two.

In the assist column, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each had two, Mikko Rantanen had four, and both Artturi Lehkkonen and Devon Toews had one. It was a solid game for that offensive group.

As for the Hawks, Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the season which is amazing for him. He wants to have a good year for a variety of reasons. The Hawks are tanking but they want to see certain players show their worth.

In his Blackhawks debut, Max Domi also scored. That is someone that the Hawks might look to trade at some point so it is good to see some of these guys make themselves noticeable.

Both Chicago goals were on the power play. In fact, only Andrew Cogliano’s opening goal was an even-strength goal while the other six goals scored were all with the man advantage. Special teams clearly played a role in the game.

Again, this game went exactly as you’d expected. It is going to be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes for both of these teams but they will not mirror each other. This is a process for Chicago and losing this game is a part of the process.