Blackhawks' Anders Sorensen doesn't mince his words over "unacceptable" defeat against Rangers 

The Chicago Blackhawks rebuild has yet to show any signs of improvement. On Sunday afternoon, their struggles were on full display as they lost 6-2 to the New York Rangers, who have been struggling themselves. Players like Connor Bedard, Nick Foligno, and Taylor Hall shared their displeasure with the team's performance after the 6-2 loss to the Blues at the Winter Classic. This time, it was coach Anders Sorensen who called out the team.

Sorensen, not pleased with the performance, shared his thoughts in his postgame press conference on Sunday.

“We were off to a good start, and then our puck management was not good at all. Unacceptable. Then we get stuck in our own zone because we’re tired and we can’t get out… Nothing good comes out of that," Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sorensen said. [0:16 onwards]

Sorenson, who took over as interim head coach after Luke Richardson was fired in early December, has coached 14 games with 5-9 record to begin his coaching stint. .

The Hawks are having another tough season in 2024-25. They're currently stuck in last place in the NHL with a 13-25-2, having accumulated only 28 points. This has them on pace for 57 points, which would only be five points more than their 52 points during the 2023-24 season.

The Blackhawks' play has been especially poor of late. They've gone 1-6-0 in their last seven games, having been outscored by a whopping margin of 35-18.

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The Blackhawks could be headed for another first-overall draft pick in 2025

All signs point to the Chicago Blackhawks being at the top of the draft order again in 2025. With the worst record in the league, if the season ended today, the Hawks would have a 25.5% chance of securing the first overall pick in June. While there's still plenty of season remaining, Chicago sits four points behind second-last place San Jose, and five points back of third-last Nashville.

Chicago selected second-overall in 2024, picking defenseman Artyom Levshunov, and first-overall in 2023 when they drafted Connor Bedard. If they land another top-three pick in 2025, it would mark the third straight year the Blackhawks are drafting in that range, certainly not a position they want to consistently be in. However, another first-overall draft pick to pair with Bedard for the future could be the key to turning around their rebuild.

The Hawks are back in action on Wednesday night at the United Center, where they'll host the Colorado Avalanche. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST.