INSTANT ANALYSIS: Blackhawks Dominant Start Spoiled Late in Home Opener

The Blackhawks were a much better team for the majority of Tuesday's home opener than they were in the opening three contests of the season, but the result unraveled in the third period as the New York Islanders took a 4-1 victory to spoil the first full-crowd game a 1901 W Madison St. in over 19 months.
"We probably didn't deserve to come out on top in any of the first three games, but today if a couple of those go our way early on we feel it's a different game," captain Jonathan Toews said after the game.

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI vs. NYI
RECAP: Blackhawks Drop Home Opener to Islanders
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks Fall to Islanders, 4-1 
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Islanders
"Before the game, we said to the team, 'The result is really important, we need these points. The result is secondary to how we play,'" head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "I think certainly the first two periods, we played pretty good and we didn't score. We had our chances. I thought we were pretty good defensively, managed the game well… I'm not saying we were a perfect team tonight, but it was a much better performance and one that, if we can repeat and build on, it'll lead to points."
MacKenzie Entwistle spoiled the visitors' shutout bid with a final-minute goal -- his first of the season -- and Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves in his third start of the year.

OUT OF THE GATE

Over the course of the first three first periods of the season, the Blackhawks totaled 17 shots on goal. On Tuesday night, they hit that mark in just over 18 minutes of play.
If not for a late-period Islanders power play that yielded four shots, that number would've been the visitors' total for the entire opening frame.
The Blackhawks led the first period in scoring chances 12-2, dominated the majority of action, played a physical game and, most importantly, played defensively sound, even when a blueliner jumped into the action at the offensive end of the rink. Chicago, though, didn't get the momentum-grasping first goal (or more) in the opening frame that had proved the difference in the opening road swing one that would've made it a perfect 20 minutes of play at the United Center.
"We needed that boost," Colliton said after the game. "The first goal would've helped us a lot."
"Overall we played a lot better," Toews said. "We did a bunch more to create offense and we had chances around the net, just couldn't find the back of the net."

TURNING POINT

After the strong opening 40 minutes, including the steady level after a regrettable opening goal against, things changed quickly in the third period for the home team.
A cross-ice breakout pass in the opening minute was picked off at the Blackhawks blue line, springing Oliver Wahlstrom in essentially alone to take a 2-0 lead just 48 seconds in. A short time later, Mike Hardman -- who was having a strong performance in his first game of the season -- was sent dangerously into the boards, drawing the ire of his teammates and a skirmish between Jujhar Khaira and Matt Martin. The Islanders struck 34 seconds later at 5-on-5 to make it 3-0, and again 2:15 after that for a 4-0 lead.
"Obviously the second goal was one we didn't want to give up and then I thought at that point, our level dropped," Colliton said. "They go to 4-0 which is tough to watch based on how good we played early on."
"I think we competed hard tonight, but we kind of found a way to get away from our game for 15, 10 minutes and they seemed to capitalize on those opportunities," Kirby Dach said. "It's kind of the same story over and over. We've got to find a way to fix that and play a full 60 and I think we'll be alright."

FORWARD MOMENTUM

While the result reads as another lopsided loss for the Blackhawks, Tuesday's game was different for large stretches of the contest. Rather than chasing an early deficit as they've done in the first three skates, dominating the play early, staying in it for large stretches and building momentum before ultimately an poor stretch late proved fatal.
"We have to look at the positives here," defenseman Seth Jones said. "Tonight we built on it. We played 50-something minutes of good hockey tonight. Some of the plays in the third, we make a play and it's in the back of our net. It's something that can happen against a team like the Islanders that can are patient and make you earn everything you're going to get."
"You know, we'll find that consistency as a team, we'll settle in," Toews said. "I think every team goes through a spurt in the year where you're gonna have four, five, six games that don't go your way and nothing really feels like it's rolling downhill for you. It's frustrating, no doubt. But whenever you go through that you have a choice and the only choice for us is to keep working through it and to look for solutions to get better because of it, take advantage of it."
The next test comes Thursday as the Vancouver Canucks come to the United Center and the Blackhawks will look to take another step forward.
"We still have to, as a team, hold onto the good parts and build on it and understand that when you're not very good for the first three games, don't expect to just turn it on and play well and get the result and the bounces. It's just never how it works. That's what happened tonight."
"We need to get in the win column here on Thursday," Jones said.