Jeff Blashill is still holding Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro in reserve, even after the Blackhawks managed just 15 shots in a 6-0 loss in Utah.
Karel Vejmelka barely had to stretch for that shutout, and the Hawks fell to 0-2-0.
Asked whether it's time for Korchinski or Del Mastro, Blashill didn't bite. "I'm not there, probably. We'll see."
But he didn't close the door either. "We consider everything, so we'll look at it and see if we think the two other options are better than the options that played."
The issue goes beyond defending. A blue line that can't move the puck up ice cleanly leaves forwards chasing, and Chicago's attack looked stuck in mud all night.
The Blackhawks' defencemen combined for just five shots on goal in Utah.
Kyle Davidson's young blue line is learning the hard way
The kids are taking their lumps. Sam Rinzel, 22, and Artyom Levshunov, 20, are both on the wrong side of the rating column through two games.
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Bowen Byram, the highest-paid defenceman of the group at $6,250,000, sits at -4. Experience isn't saving anybody right now.
Blashill is being too patient. Two games in, with this little coming from the back end, a lineup change is a message the whole room needs to hear.
Waiting on the change is like refusing to swap a flat tire because you've only driven two miles on it.
The Hawks visit Buffalo on Saturday, then come home to face St. Louis on Tuesday. Blashill, hired in May 2025, has a chance to reset before the United Center crowd sees this group.
"We'll look at it, for sure," he said. Saturday will show whether looking turns into doing.
Is Jeff Blashill being too patient with the Blackhawks blue line?
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