The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday night. They were not beaten by a slim margin, either. The final score was 4-1, but the game wasn't even that close based on how each team played.
Chicago was outshot 35-15. One of Montreal's goals was an empty netter, so Spencer Knight made 31 saves on 34 shots. He was excellent, but even he couldn't overcome the lackluster performance that the team put forth in front of him.
This game was tied 1-1 after two, despite how badly they were outperformed. The third period got away from them on the scoreboard, and that's now four straight regulation losses for Chicago.
After the game, Jeff Blashill was not quick to torch his team. He said that they had a chance to win after two but blamed the bad third period for the loss. In a vacuum, he is correct because of the scoreboard, but the team had not played well and was bailed out by the goalie through the first 40 minutes.
There were three goals waved off in this one, so the score could have been even worse for the Blackhawks if the video replay coaches had a bad night. One was a Chicago goal canceled for goalie interference, and two for Montreal due to off-sides.
Despite the bad loss, Knight isn't the only Blackhawks player who is going to walk away with something positive about their game. Frank Nazar scored Chicago's only goal, and it was a big one for him personally.
This was Nazar's first goal in 21 games. It was on October 28th when Nazar last scored for the Blackhawks. When he skated to the Blackhawks bench after claiming the goal, he made the gesture of getting the monkey off his back.
Now that Nazar has this goal drought behind him, especially without Connor Bedard for a little while longer, he is going to be relied on to step up. The Blackhawks are sliding, and someone must take control offensively. Nazar is the most likely to do that due to his skill.
When asked about Nazar after the game, Blashill said that he continued to discuss the process with his young forward. He said that playing the right way would eventually lead to his offense coming back. He was right.
Watch Every Chicago Goal
28 ➡️ 48 ➡️ 91 ➡️ 🚨 pic.twitter.com/sTKoEI6vcW
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 19, 2025
What’s Next For The Blackhawks?
Next for Chicago is the final game of this eastern Canadian road trip. They will finish off on Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators. This matinee matchup will be at 2 PM CT.
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