The Chicago Blackhawks are in a hole early, and the biggest problem is easy to spot: they’re getting beat at both ends of the ice.
Chicago is 0-3-0 and has been outscored 15-5, a start that includes a 6-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth. The last game against the Buffalo Sabres was more competitive, but the larger picture hasn’t changed much. This group was never projected to chase a playoff spot, but there was still an expectation that it would look better than it did a year ago.
That improvement hasn’t shown up yet, especially in the offensive numbers. Connor Bedard’s absence has clearly hurt, and the lineup has been forced into some uncomfortable looks.
Frank Nazar has been handling the first-line center role, while rookie Anton Frondell has been centering the second line, with Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene both in full-time center spots. That was not the original plan.
Even with those changes, five goals in three games is a thin return. And when the scoring dries up, the rest of the team has to hold the line defensively. Right now, that part is breaking down too.
Chicago has already allowed 97 shots in three games, which works out to about 32 per night. That is simply too much traffic for any goalie to handle for long.
Spencer Knight has been the stronger of the two goalies so far, posting a 4.04 GAA and an .875 SV% in his two appearances, while Arvid Soderblom has also been in the mix. Still, the shot volume makes it hard to separate goaltending from the team’s larger problems in front of them.
The underlying numbers tell the same story. The Blackhawks sit 31st in the league with a 32.97% Corsi, and their -4.21 expected goals differential points to an offense that isn’t creating enough. On the other side, they’ve given up eight high-danger scoring chances, the third-most in the league behind only Vancouver and Philadelphia, and they’ve also committed the fourth-worst 27 defensive zone giveaways.
One more stat drives the point home: Chicago’s save percentage on unblocked shots is 92.65%, which ranks 12th-worst in the league and sits 0.49% below the expected mark on those shots. That gap may sound small, but over the course of 32 shots a game, it adds up fast and helps explain why the Blackhawks have already allowed 15 goals.
There’s no reason to hit the panic button this early. But there is a clear need to tighten things up, especially in the defensive zone, before the goalies are asked to absorb this kind of workload every night.
Chicago gets its next chance to steady itself Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues.
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The Islanders provide a different kind of test, with a 1-2-0 start that has been uneven but still includes plenty of established talent. Bo Horvat is expected to be in the lineup, and Ilya Sorokin gives New York a stabilizing presence in goal, while the Blackhawks will again be trying to see how their emerging core handles a tougher road assignment without letting one good result soften the larger challenge ahead. [Read more 🡒]