Blackhawks hold players-only meeting after loss to Devils
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The Chicago Blackhawks held a players-only meeting after Sunday's 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The Blackhawks were outshot 40-34 in the defeat, which dropped Chicago to 4-7-0 on the season with losses in five of their past seven games. The team has just a 1-3 record on home ice.
“Essentially, just being accountable and playing with the system we’ve installed through training camp and through the first few games of the season,” veteran forward Corey Perry said of the meeting. “We do it in spurts, but we’ve got to do it for the full game. We had a good heart to heart, and we’ll move on.”
Perry is one of several new faces on the rebuilding Blackhawks, along with Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and first-overall pick Connor Bedard.
Chicago is looking to take a step forward this season after finishing with the third-worst record in the league last year in their first season under Luke Richardson.
“I wasn’t in on it, and that’s good,” Richardson said of Sunday's post-game meeting. “I think they hear enough from me before and during the game. If they feel there’s something that needs to be said, it usually goes a longer way when the leadership guys and whoever feels a need to speak speaks up.”
The Blackhawks have just three games in the next 12 days, two of which will come against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Chicago will visit the Lightning on Thursday before staying in Florida to play the Panthers on Sunday and then enjoy more time off before hosting the Lightning the next Thursday.