10 observations: Blackhawks shut out by Red Wings in preseason action

10 observations: Blackhawks shut out by Red Wings in preseason action originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Presented by Nationwide insurance agent Jeff Vukovich

The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated 2-0 by the Detroit Red Wings in their second preseason game on Friday at Little Caesars Arena.

Here are 10 observations of the loss:

1. The Blackhawks struggled to generate offense, but Detroit’s roster was much better than Chicago’s. Patrick Kane didn’t play and neither did Alex DeBrincat, but the Red Wings had a decent lineup.

2. The fourth line of Joey Anderson, Paul Ludwinski and Zach Sanford had a rough night. The Red Wings led 9-0 in shot attempts through two periods against that line, according to Natural Stat Trick.

3. Arvid Söderblom started in goal and played the entire match. He was quite busy and up to the task. Near the end of the first period, he made a big save to keep the game tied at 0-0. He didn’t get run support, but it was a solid first outing for him. He finished with 29 saves on 31 shots for a save percentage of .936.

4. The line of Colton Dach, Cole Guttman and Gavin Hayes was excellent. When all three were on the ice together at even strength, the Blackhawks led 17-7 in shot attempts and 8-5 in scoring opportunities.

5. I didn’t notice Lukas Reichel as much as I had hoped. He had zero shot attempts until he made a shot on goal with 50.8 seconds left in regulation. This is a big training camp for him and he will need to make a strong impression to show that he can be part of the Blackhawks’ long-term picture.

6. Frank Nazar and Nick Lardis were much better in this game than on Wednesday. Nazar led all skaters with six shots on goal, and Lardis had four shot attempts and two shots on goal.

7. The Blackhawks only had one power play option, and they couldn’t do much with it. They could have used the reps too, especially after fielding a young roster like they did.

8. Dach was all over the scoresheet. He had six shot attempts, two shots on goal, five hits, two takeaways and one giveaway. Not many Blackhawks stood out, but he did.

9. The Blackhawks weren’t having a great night at the moment. AJ Spellacy lost 11 of 14 faceoffs and Nazar lost seven of nine draws. That will be a learning curve as they get used to competing against NHL players.

10. Good news: Artyom Levshunov, the Blackhawks’ No. 2 overall pick, skated in a non-contact jersey for the fourth straight day Friday morning. His timeline hasn’t changed, but it’s encouraging to see him out there and taking the next step in his recovery process.