The Blackhawks have a small margin for error. They struggle to score without injured forwards Connor Bedard, Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou.
The Hawks entered play Friday against the Rangers having scored a combined three goals in their last five games and had scored two goals or more only once since Jan. 19.
It appeared to be more of the same for most of the game before the Hawks’ Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson scored in the last 6.5 minutes of regulation to tie the score and force overtime. But Mika Zibanejad scored midway through the extra period to lift the Rangers to a 4-3 victory and hand the Hawks their sixth loss in a row.
‘‘We battled back pretty well,’’ defenseman Alex Vlasic said. ‘‘They’re obviously one of the better teams in the league, and to get that second and third goal is good for us.’’
The third-period success is emblematic of the gritty way coach Luke Richardson has wanted the Hawks to play.
‘‘We finally got a good tip-in [from Dickinson] at the end, so it’s coming,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘I’m just trying to let them know that we’re with them, believe in them and see some good things coming. ... Doing it the hard way sometimes should give us a little bit of confidence that we can do it.’’
With the margins razor-thin, the Hawks have to minimize their mistakes. Against teams such as the Rangers, who are flat-out more talented, miscues get amplified.
After the game, Vlasic said the Hawks took more chances in the third period while facing a two-goal deficit. They have to play with that urgency throughout the game.
‘‘We have to find a way to play like that right from the start, no matter what the score is,’’ Vlasic said. ‘‘When we get down a couple of goals, we take a few more risks. Sometimes those pay off, and we play a little bit more on our toes.’’
Chelios retirement
The Hawks will celebrate the storied career of defenseman Chris Chelios on Feb. 25 against the Red Wings. The team announced the jersey-retirement ceremony will begin at 3:10 p.m. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m.
‘‘Chris Chelios is one of the greatest American-born players who’s truly ‘Chicago’s own,’ ’’ business president Jaime Faulkner said in a statement. ‘‘He’s not a traditional guy, so of course we had to go the non-traditional route in honoring him, which is why we announced his retirement at the Pearl Jam concert.
‘‘This is how we envision bringing jersey-retirement ceremonies to life moving forward — through unique and creative executions.’’
Injury updates
Defenseman Jacob Tinordi missed the game with a lower-body injury and was replaced in the lineup by Louis Crevier.
Meanwhile, rookie Connor Bedard (broken jaw) remains on the same timeline despite skating before practices in a green non-contact jersey, putting his return likely a couple of weeks from now.
‘‘That’s a doctor’s decision,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘He’ll have his doctor’s appointment next week — it’s a weekly appointment — and we just defer to that.
‘‘The cage [on the helmet] doesn’t really protect the jaw. It’s going to have impact against it, even in practice, if someone turns the wrong way. That’s why he’s got the green jersey for a while.’’
