At 4:52 of the second period, Mikko Rantanen scored his first goal as a member of the Hurricanes. One minute later (5:59), Jaccob Slavin made it 3-1. For a team as offensively challenged as the Blackhawks, that felt like a hill too steep to climb.

"We have star players, too, that don’t seem to be protected as well as some of the other teams’ stars," Blackhawks captain Foligno said.

Earlier in the week, the Blackhawks traded Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes, and Connor Bedard is now reacting to the move.