The Blackhawks are trying to stop the slide the old-fashioned way: by shuffling the deck.
Chicago hit practice Saturday with a revised set of forward lines and defensive pairings after dropping to 3-7-0 through 10 games and losing its last two by a combined 8-1. That’s the backdrop Jeff Blashill is working with as the team heads into Sunday’s matinee against the Florida Panthers, and the coach has drawn plenty of scrutiny as the losses keep piling up.
Up front, the top line stays intact with Roman Kantserov, Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane. Blashill briefly altered that look in the third period against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, Oct. 23, putting Tyler Bertuzzi with Kantserov and Bedard while moving Kane down with Anton Frondell and Teuvo Teravainen. But after the game, Blashill said, “Not enough, so I flipped them back.”
The biggest change comes behind that group. Bertuzzi, Frondell and Teravainen are no longer together, and Jordan Greenway has moved into the second-line spot. Blashill explained the move after practice by saying, "Greenway can bring a little bit of size that I think we need tomorrow up in the lineup a little bit.”
That fits the opponent. Florida brings a physical, heavy lineup, and the Blackhawks appear to be looking for more grit in the middle of their forward group.
Teravainen slides into the third line, where he replaces Moore. Blashill wasn’t eager to lay out the full reasoning for that decision, saying, “You know we got 13 NHL forwards in my opinion, and so there's reasons behind what we do for sure. But again, that's probably between us.”
Moore’s night against Montreal was quiet. He logged 11:07 overall, including 2:46 on the power play, which left him with just 8:21 of five-on-five ice time - the lowest total among Chicago forwards. He didn’t have a shot on goal and was charged with two giveaways, though he wasn’t on the ice for any of the goals against.
Earlier in the week, Blashill laid out what he wants from Moore: “He's going to have to be a puck-pursuit guy. He's going to have to use that tenacity both on the forecheck, on the backcheck to create pressure and turnovers.
He's got enough skill to make plays, and he's just got to learn how to balance that. I think when you're young, you want to make every play, every shift.
And the reality is, you might get three chances a game to actually make a real risk-reward play. And so he's just learning the balance of that risk-reward, and you just got to kind of live it.”
On the fourth line, Mangiapane is back after being activated from injured reserve Friday and takes Greenway’s place. Blashill praised what he brings, saying, “Mangiapane brings energy, really good energy,” and added, “He's a guy who's competitive.
So hopefully he can come in, give us that competitiveness. Obviously, against a team that plays really hard in Florida, competitiveness will be at a premium, for sure.”
Blashill also noted that the depth forwards are in a competition for ice time, so this may not be a permanent setup. Mangiapane, who had been sidelined since getting hurt in the Blackhawks’ first game of the season, will have to show he can hold onto a spot.
The blue line got its own adjustment, too. Alex Vlasic and Ian Cole remained together, Wyatt Kaiser paired with Artyom Levshunov, and Kevin Korchinski replaced Ethan Del Mastro in the third pairing alongside Sam Rinzel. Bowen Byram, who has upper-body concerns, and Del Mastro were the extras.
Korchinski has played just once this season, against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 3, when he finished minus-2 and skated 11:21. After that game, Blashill praised Del Mastro but didn’t even mention Korchinski when asked about the pairing.
The seventh overall pick in 2022 has had a bumpy start to his NHL path, and the Blackhawks’ roster situation hasn’t helped. With eight defensemen on the roster and both Korchinski and Del Mastro needing waivers to go to the AHL, there’s been a lot of sitting and not much development time. This appears to be Korchinski’s chance to get back in, though it remains to be seen whether he gets more than one game.
Blashill said he wants quick, calm decisions from the young defenseman: “We want to get Korch in there, give him an opportunity as well. My thing to Korch was make sure he makes quick decisions with the puck, but he doesn't panic with the puck. When he handles the pressure he's going to face tomorrow, he's got to make sure he's not throwing it around, that he knows he has great intent of what he's doing with the puck every time he touches it.”
Byram’s status adds another layer. He skated with the team Saturday in a non-contact jersey after being out since Oct. 13, but Blashill said, “Yeah, it's good to see him on the ice,” and noted, “He took part in a decent amount of practice, so we’ll see how he does.
I can’t really give any further timeline. He won't be available tomorrow (Sunday, Oct.
25).”
Chicago’s stretch doesn’t ease up after Florida. The Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Oct. 27, then head on the road to face the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 29 and the Boston Bruins on Oct. 31 to finish the month.
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