Slow starts continue to doom Blackhawks

We've all heard the expression, it's not how you start but how you finish. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks this season, they've been starting poorly and finishing poorly and Monday night's game against the Calgary Flames was no exception.

A mere 22 seconds into the contest, Dillon Dube tipped one in past Kevin Lankinen to give the Flames a 1-0 lead before the fans at the United Center had a chance to sit down after the anthem.

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Dube's goal was the 44th time this season that the opposition scored first against the Hawks in 76 games. After the Flames' three tallies in the first, the Blackhawks have now given up 75 goals in the opening stanza and Monday was the 9th time this season that they have surrendered three goals or more in the first and the 12th time they have given up a goal in the game's opening four minutes.


As bad as their starts have been, their finishes haven't been much better and they have now given up a whopping 95 third period goals, including three or more, 10 times.

For comparison's sake, league-leading Colorado has only allowed 57 goals in the first and 80 in the third while bottom-dwelling Arizona has given up 81 and 94 goals respectively.

Not a lot has gone right for the Hawks this season and if you look at the numbers, it's not surprising.