Breaking down the Chicago Blackhawks' preseason blunder against the Detroit Red Wings

It was an embarrassing display and by far one of the worst hockey games the Blackhawks have played in years, losing 3-2 to the Red Wings AHL team.

The Blackhawks sent out all their top young guns; Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and more.

All of that against a Detroit team who threw out mostly prospects and AHL-ers, and they still got dominated.

Now, a little sloppy is understandable, because it's the first game under entirely different coaches and systems.

But to be that sloppy- turning the puck over all the time, unable to break the puck out, getting zero shots on goal during the empty netter, and especially the penalty kill.

All of it just looked rough, and it was against Detroit's B team.

The only bright spots from the game were the two goals and the goaltending.

The first one being on the power play (already better than last year in that respect) with a feed from Rinzel and a Bedard one-timer.

You can get used to that, because it's going to happen a lot. The second being a phenomenal screen by Oliver Moore and Wyatt Kaiser, fresh off signing a two-year deal, sniping it top left.

The Red Wings goalie couldn't see it. Lastly, Arvid Soderblom had a heck of a game, saving 40 of 43 shots and making sliding saves.

He kept the Hawks in the game. Everything else? Horrendous.

The boys, for the most part, went out there with no idea of what they were trying to accomplish.

They were flying for the first few minutes of the game, beating out icings and looking lively, broadcasting Kyle Davidson's draft focus since he became General Manager of the Hawks: speed.

But, by the time the game settled in, they just looked tired. Maybe bag-skating them into oblivion a couple weeks before an 88-game season starts (including preseason) during training camp isn't the best idea. What were they doing in practice the last couple weeks? It's clear they didn't scrimmage.

Jeff Blashill completely revamped the penalty kill and how the team plays in the defensive zone in general, and it was not good.

They're too aggressive on the penalty kill, which leads to open lanes and leaving the front of the net wide open.

The PK was one of the only bright spots last year. It's normal for a new coach when he comes in to switch things and do it his way, but why go and change things that didn't need to be changed?

In 5-on-5 play, the defensemen just throw the puck around the boards and chip it around with no direction, which leads to turnovers, which leads to long shifts, which leads to them getting hemmed in the zone, which then leads to quality scoring chances for the other team.

The players you'd want good games from- Levshunov, Korchinski, Dach, and Del Mastro all had terrible performances.

Levshunov especially after a not-so-great camp; he had one good shift the whole night that happened to lead to a Kaiser goal. Korchinski's going to the AHL, no doubt about it, but his time is running out and the patience is dwindling, fast.

Lastly, shots on goal. 43 to 17.

After last season and more prospects coming up, there was a light at the end of the tunnel that maybe the Blackhawks had passed this phase where they get out-shot every game. Apparently, that was crazy to think, because in the offensive zone, they still don't shoot.

Every time someone tries to be too cute and makes one extra move or pass, the Moore-Nazar-Thompson line is the culprit of that multiple times last game. To add a cherry on top, on a nice cross-pass from Moore to Nazar, they thought the puck had gone in for the game-tying goal. It didn't cross the goal line.

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take- get pucks on net- good things will happen.

Could this all be labeled as an overreaction because it's September? Sure. But there's also no way you can't call action to these things, either. Everything was new and it's the first game of the year- they were going to be discombobulated to start. But to be that discombobulated?

This is a problem, and it has to be addressed over the next two weeks before they play the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers in the home opener in Florida, where the banner will be raised as well; it'll be a hot crowd and environment.

We could be in for a long season.