The Blackhawks are still searching for a lineup that sticks, and on Nov. 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Jeff Blashill is trying something new with the second line.
Chicago has shuffled its combinations all season, with a few brief bright spots along the way. The fourth line of Ryan Greene, Jordan Greenway, and Cole Smith has worked.
A second-line mix of Teuvo Teräväinen, Anton Frondell, and Tyler Bertuzzi also clicked for a stretch. But the overall picture remains unsettled, and the offense has lagged behind at 2.18 goals per game.
Now Blashill is turning to a different look: Oliver Moore, Anton Frondell and Frank Nazar.
That setup is notable because Frondell and Nazar have mostly been kept in center roles, and the Blackhawks have barely used them together at all. According to Natural Stat Trick, they have shared the ice for just 57 seconds this season on a line with Bertuzzi. In that tiny sample, they posted a Corsi for and against of 1-1, with shots for and against of 1-0.
It’s not much to go on, but it is something the Blackhawks have not really explored yet.
Blashill explained the thinking before the game.
"I just think that’s obviously three skilled players. Gives some speed to Anton, too.
A little different look that way for him. With Kaner out of the lineup, our kind of forward group is a little bit different, and so we just see if we can, you know, give us a little bit of spark.
With that said, Frankie’s line created offense last game, so it’s not necessarily a knock on that. I just think this might give that group a little bit of spark.
So, we’ll see."
He also addressed why Nazar was listed on Frondell’s wing rather than the other way around.
"At the end of the day, to be honest with you, on the left side, Frondell’s going to take faceoffs; on the right side, Frankie’s going to take faceoffs, and whichever guy’s low is gonna play low. So it’s not really one guy’s a center, one guy’s a wing.
We listed Frank as the wing, but could have done it either way. I mean, I coached Pavel (Datsyuk) and (Henrik) Zetterberg, and they were both centers, and whichever guy’s low plays low."
There is some evidence the Blackhawks could get something out of this. Moore and Nazar have already spent a fair amount of time together this season, and based on ice time, the Moore, Nazar and Ryan Donato line has been the fourth-most used combination on the team. Add Frondell’s scoring instincts to that mix, and it is easy to see why Chicago wants to test it.
The timing matters, too. The Blackhawks enter at 4-12-1, and they are facing the NHL’s best team in Carolina. The Hurricanes bring the league’s third-best offense at 3.83 goals per game, so Chicago will need to score to keep pace.
There is at least one encouraging sign up front already. Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov have found real chemistry on the top line, with Bedard piling up 12 points in nine games and Kantserov riding a seven-game point streak that has produced seven points. If the Blackhawks can get a second line going behind them, it would go a long way.
For now, this is a gamble. But it is the kind of gamble Chicago may need.
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