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4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 8-1 loss to the Dallas Stars: ‘We have to get stronger mentally’

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4 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 8-1 loss to the Dallas Stars: ‘We have to get stronger mentally’


DALLAS — The Chicago Blackhawks ushered in the new year by getting ushered out of Dallas via a two-game weekend sweep.

Whereas Friday’s loss to the Stars was a roller-coaster ride that was settled with 8 seconds left in overtime, Sunday’s 8-1 loss at American Airlines Center was all but a foregone conclusion after a three-goal first period and two-goal second.

The Hawks entered the rematch knowing what to look for: odd-man rushes.

The problem was, the Stars hardly left the offensive zone, so they did most of their damage from below the blue line.

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Craig Smith deflected in Sam Steel’s snipe for the game’s opening goal.

Ryan Suter and Tyler Seguin scored two minutes apart.

The Hawks had a few of their best chances during a second-period push.

Ryan Donato backhanded a backdoor pass to Jason Dickinson but Dickinson couldn’t capitalize. Isaak Phillips had a short-range wrister.

A blast from Lukas Reichel couldn’t find its mark, and Nick Foligno tried a wraparound.

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Nada.

Then the Stars collected themselves and continued the onslaught.

Sam Steel blew through the Hawks defense to score on a roofer, and Mason Marchment scored on the power play to pad the lead to 5-0.

The Hawks must’ve had a heart-to-heart or drew up a play in chalk or something during the second intermission.

Philipp Kurashev scored a power-play goal on a tick-tack-toe from Connor Bedard and Cole Guttman 39 seconds into the final frame.

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But that glimmer of hope faded quickly when Roope Hintz batted in a rebound goal out of midair.

Petr Mrázek got the hook and Arvid Söderblom got the nod.

He didn’t emerge unscathed either. Marchment bagged his second and third goals of the night in the final 5 1/2 minutes.

The Hawks played a dismal first period, allowed 35 shots, committed three penalties and generally looked worse after getting a second crack at the same team.

And they gave up a hat trick to Marchment, just like they gave Roope Hintz a hat trick on Friday.

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So what did they learn?

“We have to get stronger mentally and learn to play a little simpler, to the game plan, and getting pucks behind the team, forecheck them well, and then we have to be on top of our checks everywhere,” coach Luke Richardson said.

“We can’t hang behind them,” he said. “We don’t have the wheels for it, the strength for it yet, as individuals or as a team, to play loose run-and-gun hockey.

“We just got to be stronger to sit with our game plan for 60 minutes, not 15 or 45, which has happened lately.”

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Tyler Johnson left in the second with an apparent leg injury.

“He’ll probably be out for a little time,” Richardson said.

Here are four takeaways.

Foligno often gives animated postgame gut-check whenever the team has a bad performance, but he was practically apoplectic after an 8-1 beating.

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“That is really, really disappointing,” he said. He expected the same “compete” the Hawks showed Friday and didn’t get it.

“My only hope for a game like today is we just finally hammer it through our thick heads how we’re going to need to play, and that is not it. That is just not who we are, not who we can be. That’s not what we expect in the room, that’s not what our fans should expect.

“That’s what pisses me off. That’s not a winning team, that’s just a team hoping. Hoping, ‘Ah, maybe it’s an easy night. Maybe the other team doesn’t have it.’ Are you kidding me? That team’s record, and we’re going to play like that? I’m sorry, just that one is really, really frustrating with the strides we think we’ve been making.”

Foligno mentioned “easy” again: “Tonight it was just like we were hoping to have an easy game. Who are we to have an easy game right now?”

So what does he mean by “easy”?

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“Just the compete,” Foligno said. “You watch our puck battles, our battles in front, our changes, the way we change.

“Things that sometimes you can get away with here and there, but when a team like that is playing against you that’s structured, that’s older, that has had winning habits and understands the game, you’re going to get picked apart, and that’s what it was tonight.”

Kevin Korchinski broke the puck out, drop-passed to Bedard in the neutral zone and made two Stars defenders bump into each other as Bedard passed to Kurashev.

Kurashev hit Cole Guttman and drifted backward, Guttman passed to Bedard, and Bedard threaded a backdoor pass to Kurashev for the goal.

Richardson said the execution on the power play hadn’t been great to that point, “so Derek Plante talked to them and kind of fine-tuned it a little bit.

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“But that was more their individual skill, making that line rush on that goal and it was a nice goal,” he said. “But a little bit too late for us to play with that kind of fire.”

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Söderblom and defenseman Isaak Phillips defend as Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz shoots in the third period on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in Dallas.

Tinordi was benched Friday after a terrible night culminated in him getting turnstiled on a third-period goal.

It was worse for Phillips.

He was on the ice for six of the Stars’ eight goals.

He got caught flat-footed by Steel before Steel backhanded a roof shot past Mrázek. Mason Marchment whipped in a power-play goal from the low slot while Phillips wasn’t scrambling to find the puck between his legs.

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Richardson said he told Phillips that he had a strong game on Friday.

“And then tonight, just on the wrong side of guys and not aware,” Richardson said. “I think when things start to go bad, kind of like what we talked about with Tinordi last game, it seemed to go like that with Philly.

“I think he started to guess a little bit instead of just playing and doing his job and trusting everybody else, and when teams and individuals start doing that, it breaks down.”

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic shoots against the Seattle Kraken during the second period on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Seattle.

It’s the much-maligned plus-minus rating.

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Sure, there’s some fluke factor baked into the stat. But that can’t totally explain away Vlasic’s team-leading plus-10 rating entering Sunday’s game, especially because he’s not exactly a big contributor on offense.

“I was not aware of it,” Vlasic said about the stat. “You know, there’s going to be times where you get lucky and you’re on the ice when your team scores. And then there’s going to be times when you get unlucky and you’re on the ice and the other team scores.

“It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault or whatever, so it’s not always an accurate representation of how people are playing. But I like to take pride in just shutting down things defensively and then trying to contribute a little bit offensively.”



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Dallas, TX

Dallas weather: Severe storms bring hail and tornado threats | See timing

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Dallas weather: Severe storms bring hail and tornado threats | See timing


Severe thunderstorms are forecast to return to North Texas late Tuesday, bringing threats of damaging hail, high winds and localized flooding. While the primary concerns are wind and hail, a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out.

Tuesday Forecast

Scattered showers and storms are expected to develop as a dryline to the west moves into the region. Storm conditions are expected to intensify as the day progresses.

The greatest concerns remain damaging winds and large hail. The leading edge of the storm front will likely be the most intense, with the potential for straight-line winds and brief spin-up tornadoes.

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LIVE Radar: Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas Storms: Timing and Impact

The highest potential for severe weather in the Metroplex is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., though lingering activity could continue until 2 a.m. Wednesday. Residents are advised to seek shelter immediately if a warning is issued for their area.

7-Day Forecast

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A final round of storms is expected Wednesday, primarily between noon and 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. These storms carry a threat of half-dollar-sized hail and damaging winds. 

Behind this system, North Texas will dry out and briefly cool off. Sunny skies return Thursday with a high in the mid-60s. Temperatures will then warm into the upper 70s on Friday before a sunny weekend with highs in the low 80s.

The Source: Information in this article comes from the National Weather Service and FOX 4 forecasters.

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Dallas, TX

How a women-led nonprofit is helping South Dallas residents stay in their homes

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How a women-led nonprofit is helping South Dallas residents stay in their homes




How a women-led nonprofit is helping South Dallas residents stay in their homes – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth



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Dallas weather: Storms return this week with large hail and tornado threat

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Dallas weather: Storms return this week with large hail and tornado threat


North Texans will enjoy a brief break today before the next weather system arrives, bringing multiple rounds of storms. A warmup is on the way, with temperatures climbing back into the mid-80s by the weekend.

Monday Forecast

Following a few morning showers in the eastern counties, expect a warm and breezy Monday. High temperatures will climb into the low 80s under partly cloudy skies.

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Tuesday Forecast

As an upper-level low-pressure system moves to the west, scattered storms will move into the region Tuesday afternoon. Some of these storms could become severe, with the primary threats being large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes.

Simultaneously, storms are expected to develop ahead of a dryline to the west. While the tornado threat remains low in this area, any storms that form could produce large hail and damaging wind gusts. 

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7-Day Forecast

Those overnight storms should push out to the east by Wednesday morning, but don’t put the umbrella away just yet. As the main weather system moves directly over us Wednesday afternoon, we’ll likely see another round of scattered storms that could still bring with some hail. Once everything finally clears out Wednesday evening, we can look forward to some drier, much more comfortable air moving back into the area.

Thursday will be noticeably cooler, with high temperatures settling in the mid-60s. However, sunshine and a quick warmup are expected by the weekend. Temperatures will rebound into the 80s on Friday and Saturday.

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The Source: Information in this article comes from the National Weather Service and FOX 4 forecasters.

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