Chicago Blackhawks veterans disclose players-only meeting details after loss to Devils

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Nov 06, 2023 06:03 GMT

The Chicago Blackhawks dressing room remained closed for 20 minutes following their 4-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, which was later revealed to be due to a players-only meeting.

Hawks veterans Seth Jones and Corey Perry addressed the media about their conservation inside the closed dressing room.

Jones revealed that the team had a players' meeting excluding HC Luke Richardson to clear some doubts. Accountability and playing as a team to achieve their goals this season seemed to be the key points of the meeting.

"We have a few words we came up with as a team this year that we want to live by, so we want to live by those.” Jones said about the message of the meeting. “You want to hold each other accountable. You’re not in there ‘Mother-effing’ guys, but if you make a mistake, your teammate should be able to tell you you’re wrong and vice versa.”

"Be accountable and play within the system that we’ve installed through camp and the first few games of the season,” 19-year-vet Corey Perry said following the meeting. "We had a good heart-to-heart…We’re not putting anyone down. That’s not the message. It’s more about being brothers, being able to talk about it and figure things out as men.”

The Chicago Blackhawks are in the middle of a rebuilding phase. The Hawks are steadily advancing toward their goal, led by a new core that includes young, talented players on the roster who expect to play a key role in the Hawks franchise when they return to contention.

The meeting early would serve as a motivator for the young players of the Blackhawks team. The Chicago Blackhawks (4-7-0) are 8th in the Central Division with eight points.

How did the New Jersey Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks?

On Sunday, the Blackhawks hosted the New Jersey Devils (7-3-1) at the United Center. The Devils were without their leading goal scorer, Jack Hughes. Meanwhile, this was the second back-to-back game of the night for the Hawks.

The Blackhawks got off to a great start, with Taylor Hall putting the team up 1-0 at the 1:51 mark. At the halfway mark, the Devils capitalized on the powerplay, and Dawson Mercer's goal equalized the game 1-1. Max Williams later put the Devils up 2-1 before heading into the second period.

Following a goalless second period, in the third, Curtis Lazar's goal gave the Devils a two-goal advantage. Ryan Donato trimmed the Devils' advantage to 3-2 at 15:14. However, with just over 40 seconds remaining before the final buzzer, Michael McLeod scored the Devils' fourth and winning goal, propelling them to a 4-2 road triumph.

The Chicago Blackhawks next face the Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3-3) on Thursday, Nov. 9. The puck drops at 6 p.m. ET.