3 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 6-5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers: A ‘crazy’ number of penalties and a game that got away

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There were so many mistakes Thursday, it was almost perfect.

Twenty penalties, 11 goals, one dazzling maneuver by Connor McDavid and a stunning comeback by Patrick Kane.

But in the end, it was one mistake too many that cost the Chicago Blackhawks in a 6-5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at the United Center.

While trying to protect a 5-5 tie and the standing point that would come with it, the Hawks paid too much attention to Evander Kane and didn’t mind the back door, where Leon Draisaitl sunk their hopes with 38 seconds remaining in the game.

Just 2½ minutes earlier, it appeared that Kane had saved the day with a wrister off Jake McCabe’s rebound.

“You tie it with three minutes left and you think you’re giving yourself a good chance at a point and (Draisaitl) finds those open areas,” Kane said. “That’s what he’s so good at, that’s why he scores so many goals. It seems like that’s his spot, when he gets himself open he gets a lot of shots over there and buries them a lot too.

“It would’ve been nice to get a point at least.”

Said Hawks center Max Domi: “I mean that’s just how hockey works, right?. Greatest game in the world but it can suck sometimes.

“I think that’s just a great play by them. It’s an emotional game and overall I thought we did some good stuff and could’ve gone either way. … I think we could’ve won that game and that should build confidence in this group, knowing we just have to clean up a few things and then we close that game out, it’s a different story.”

The question put to Hawks coach Luke Richardson: What’s the message after a game like this?

“I think we deserved some points, fight back at the end and we’ve got to make sure it’s a lesson we know: You can never let that happen in your own building — or on the road, but especially in your own building,” Richardson said. “We worked hard, we were in a spirited game physically, we hung with them, we skated with them, special teams were pretty close to what their special teams were. …

“We didn’t have the finish they had. They had that killer instinct at the end and we have to learn to have that, whether it be protecting the lead or trying to get ourselves to overtime to get a point or doing like they did: There was a breakdown, make them pay.

“We have to take that lesson tonight and implement that going forward.”

Here are three takeaways.

Ironically, before the game Richardson said the key was to “really keep those penalties down.”

How’d that work out?

The game featured 20 penalties between both teams, 11 by the Oilers and nine by the Hawks.

“That was a lot for sure,” Richardson said after the game. “They were calling the rules really tight tonight and we put ourselves in a position that we shouldn’t have. It doesn’t matter if it was accidental or someone knocks your stick up, you can’t hit someone high, high-sticking; you can’t slash on the hands in the league anymore.”

Richardson likened the game to a playoff atmosphere.

Fourteen penalties were called during what felt like a marathon second period. Here’s how the penalties broke down:

Oilers: Four cross-checking, two delay of game (puck over the glass and an unsuccessful challenge), interference, hooking and an unsportsmanlike penalty by Evander Kane. (Kane also was responsible for four minutes of cross-checking.)

Blackhawks: Two slashing, interference, hooking and tripping.

According to NHL Stats and Information, Tampa Bay versus Toronto on April 21 was the last game to have at least 14 penalties in one frame — there were 17 in the third.

The last time a Hawks game had at least 14 penalties in a period was March 29, 2009, when the Hawks and Vancouver Canucks combined for 18 in the third.

“It just seemed like it was going back and forth as far as who had the power play,” Patrick Kane said.

The Oilers had three power play goals and the Hawks had two.

“That was obviously pretty crazy,” Domi said. “For the most part, there were so many penalties, goals are going to be scored on both sides.

“The penalty kill did a great job and the power play was able to connect on a couple, but that one hurts.”

The Hawks’ recent success is heavily invested in special teams, including its second-ranked power play (33.3%) entering Thursday night. It fell to seventh place (28%) after going 2-for-10.

The unit took a hit when it lost Tyler Johnson to a left ankle injury during Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. Johnson was placed on injured reserve Thursday.

The Hawks went with Kane, Jonathan Toews, Domi, Taylor Raddysh and Seth Jones on the top power-play unit.

The Hawks power play still looked potent without Johnson, with Toews and Domi scoring goals.

But the Hawks wasted several opportunities, losing possession to the penalty kill on some chances, dancing around the perimeter too often or failing to cash in on some good looks, such as when Jones couldn’t convert on a centering pass in the second period.

“I thought our power play did well, I thought they moved around well, and obviously had chances to score,” Richardson said. “Our entries on the power play were good at times, and at times we just didn’t use our speed in the neutral zone, so they cuffed us up at the blue line.”

Meanwhile, the penalty kill ranks 21st (76.5%) after giving up three goals on seven chances.

Said Richardson: “The penalty kill, you’ve got to respect players like that, but I think we respect them too much in certain areas and let them have too much time.”

Certainly Jones could see the logic, right?

He’s signed through 2029-30, so if anyone on the Hawks stands to benefit from the Hawks drafting a generational player like Connor Bedard, it would be him.

But during camp Jones seemed uncomfortable with the question.

“I can’t comment on it because I’m not worried about it,” he said at the time. “I’m worried about the guys that are in this room this year and doing the best job we can to lead them and put our best foot forward every night.”

So if Jones feels that way, certainly some of the short-timers — including eight veterans whose contracts expire this season — could give two hoots about #TankForBedard or #TankHardForBedard, or whatever hashtag campaigns you can come up with.

The Hawks had a four-game winning streak going before losing a barnburner to the Oilers.

Jack Johnson, one of several veterans on a one-year deal, praised the Blackhawks’ mindset.

“We’re going out with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, and it’s extra fun motivation to prove people wrong,” he said. “That’s really it. But we also believe we can win.”

Even at the expense of a top-three pick from a class — Bedard, Adam Fantilli or Matvei Michkov — that a lot of teams are coveting?

“Hey, getting great players in the draft, certainly that’s awesome,” Johnson said. “That’s what organizations want and that’s what everyone wants, but, the guys in here want to win. Coaches want to win. We’re going to do everything we can to do that.”

It could be that the Hawks will regress to the mean, or worse, and then draft positioning will take care of itself. Or general manager Kyle Davidson could get another trade offer he can’t resist.

Until then, the horse is out of the barn, and you’re not going to convince someone like Kane that that’s a bad thing.

“We’ve got good structure in here, good atmosphere, guys work hard,” Kane said. “We could have all the excuses in the world to not play hard and just could’ve packed it in this year, but guys are playing hard, guys want to win, guys want to prove people wrong.

“It’s impressive.”