Blackhawks' gut-punch overtime loss to Bruins spoils 'best game of the year'

BOSTON — Connor Bedard believed the Blackhawks' performance Saturday against the Bruins was their best of the season, and with good reason.

But they didn't get a win out of it.

The Hawks' 5-4 overtime loss came as a excruciating gut punch considering they led 4-2 with seven minutes left in regulation and clung to a one-goal lead until Bruins sniper Morgan Geekie tied the game with 12 seconds left.

"That was probably our best game of the year, the way we were battling, not shying away from anything, taking hits, getting in the fight," Bedard said. "It sucks, the result and how it ends. We've got to find a way to win. But for most of the game, [we] played pretty well."

Moving forward, the Hawks have potentially given themselves another opportunity to build some momentum and establish some identity. This opportunity comes mere days after they squandered their last such opportunity (created by their 2-1 win Tuesday against the Kings) with a horrible effort Thursday against the Red Wings.

And the fact this opportunity doesn't come with two points attached — it instead dropped the Hawks to 4-9-1 overall and 0-5-1 on the road — could decrease the odds it sticks.

Coach Jeff Blashill has frequently accused the Hawks of "beating themselves" instead of getting beat by their opponents outright.

The Bruins, off to a hot 10-4-1 start this season, did some of the latter Saturday — particularly on David Pastrnak's first-period goal and on Geekie's tying goal, which came after a minute of furious pressure with the goalie pulled. The former was a brilliant play by a superstar, the latter a tenacious team effort.

But the Hawks also made a few more of the costly, untimely, self-inflicted mistakes — mistakes that cancel out stretches of solid play — that have haunted them this season.

Wyatt Kaiser's flubbed breakout pass to Bedard enabled the Bruins' second goal, and Oliver Moore's blown coverage in overtime — Bruins center Elias Lindholm slipped open behind him after a center-ice faceoff — enabled the Bruins' fifth and final goal.

"[Moore] knows he’s got to stay above him," Blashill said. "That won’t bother anybody more than him. He cares a ton."

Otherwise, the Hawks looked dramatically better than they did Thursday. They dominated portions of the second period, rolling lines in the offensive zone, and they stayed on the attack in the third, getting rush goals from Ryan Greene and Bedard that gave them the ill-fated lead.

They even avoided sitting back once gaining that lead. Andrew Mangiapane and Bedard both had looks that could've pushed it to 5-3.

The Hawks recorded 41 shots on goal, miles above their previous season high: a measly 28. It was their most in any game since March 2024 against the Coyotes. They were also credited with a 14-6 advantage in high-danger chances during five-on-five play (per Natural Stat Trick).

Anton Frondell scored twice as part of his best NHL performance to date, and Moore's line with Frank Nazar and Patrick Kane continued to demonstrate chemistry.

There were genuinely a lot of encouraging signs. Theoretically, it's possible the Hawks could look back on Saturday as the turning point of their season, especially if they can suddenly cut down on untimely mistakes and develop maturity quickly in high-stakes moments.

"[With] our compete level, that's the standard we need to play at, and that's how we've got to play moving forward," Mangiapane said. "We'll win a lot of games."

But the same things could've been said — and, in fact, were said — about the Kings game before the Red Wings game happened.

And the Hawks' upcoming schedule suggests it's more likely than not Saturday's bright spots will be forgotten as quickly as Tuesday's were. Their next four opponents are all clear Stanley Cup contenders: the Avalanche, Panthers, Lightning and Hurricanes.