Soderblom Hung Out To Dry in Blackhawks 6-1 Tank Loss To Rangers

For the second time in as many nights, the Chicago Blackhawks (27-33-13) were on the wrong end of a blowout result, losing 6-1 to the New York Rangers (29-35-9), the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Over a 24-hour stretch, the Blackhawks were outscored by a wide 11-2 margin, providing nightmarish flashbacks of the brutal early December back-to-back, where they lost 6-0 to the Los Angeles Kings and 7-1 to the Anaheim Ducks in consecutive days. The combined total from this two-game set wasn’t quite as lopsided, but it was another pair of crushing defeats where not much went right offensively or defensively.

Considering the Rangers’ position in the league-wide standings, being one of two teams below the Blackhawks entering the game, Friday’s performance was about as embarrassing as it gets. After grabbing a 1-0 lead via Nick Lardis’ eighth tally of the season at 17:35 of the first period, New York responded with six unanswered goals over the final 42 minutes. Once again, Arvid Soderblom was hung out to dry in between the pipes, facing 39 shots on goal, 42 scoring chances, and 21 high-danger opportunities.

During his last three starts, Soderblom has now seen 135 combined shots, stopping 123 of them for a . 911 save percentage. Two of those outings have resulted in losses by more than three goals, even with his sharp outings.

The lone win during that stretch was also the result of his own spectacular effort on Tuesday against the New York Islanders, where he turned away 21 of 23 shots in the third period to hold off a late push. Soderblom has held up his end of the bargain lately, but his teammates haven’t even come close. While the Blackhawks lineup is now filled with six of GM Kyle Davidson’s first-round draft picks, it was the Rangers who found all the success from their rookies on Friday.