The miserable season for the Chicago Blackhawks continued on Wednesday evening, as they were defeated by the Florida Panthers by a 5-3 final score despite making things interesting in the third period after Frank Nazar scored twice.
With the setback, the Blackhawks remain winless on the road, and dropped to 4-11-1 through the first 16 games of the campaign, last place in the NHL’s Central Division standings.
And during the game, which was being broadcast nationally, former NHL forward and current analyst Paul Bissonnette pulled no punches on the struggles that Chicago has experienced this season and over the last several years, seemingly with no end in sight.
NHL Analyst Paul Bissonnette Brutalizes The Chicago Blackhawks During Their Loss To The Panthers
During the intermission of the broadcast, Bissonnette pulled no punches on what he saw from the Blackhawks, calling them soft.
“I don’t see a lot of identity,” Bissonnette said. “I see a soft team. They don’t check well. They don’t forecheck well. They don’t do really do anything well.”
Additionally, former NHL goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who is also an analyst on the panel, piled on as well.
“When you’re in a rebuild and you try to get out of it, to win consistently in this game, it’s not about being the best team every night. But you have to be smart and you have to have awareness,” Lundqvist said.
“You see sometimes the lack of awareness from young teams. When you watch Florida, they’re not always the best team, but they’re playing winning hockey. That will save you so many nights.”
Blackhawks Captain Connor Bedard Came Into The Season Expecting To Win
Right now, the Blackhawks are in last place in the NHL’s Central Division standings, not at all where they expected to be.
“We all said we think we’re going to win this year,” Bedard said via The Athletic. “We set the expectations on ourselves. We expect it. Yeah, maybe in a couple years, everyone will be better because they’re older, but we came into this year expecting to be a good team and to win, and that hasn’t changed at all.”
Like it or not, Bedard is now tied to the Blackhawks for the long-term, agreeing to a lengthy extension with a $15 million salary cap hit.
Paul Bissonnette Blasts Blackhawks During Loss to Panthers