The Blackhawks’ 3-6-0 start fits the reality of a rebuilding team, but it’s also a reminder that this season was supposed to feel like a step forward. Chicago wasn’t being measured purely by wins and losses. The hope was that the group could at least hang around the edge of the playoff picture.
Right now, the biggest reason that hasn’t happened is the power play.
Chicago’s man advantage ranks 30th in the league at 12.5%, and while that’s better than the Columbus Blue Jackets’ 8.7%, it’s nowhere near good enough for a team trying to push its way upward. The Blackhawks need that unit to give them a real boost if they’re going to turn this season into something more than another rebuilding slog.
The problem isn’t a simple one, either. Fixing it probably won’t come down to a single tweak. It feels more like a full-scale search for the right mix.
At the moment, Chicago’s top unit is built more out of necessity than design. The Blackhawks are using a five-forward look, a setup that usually works best when one of those forwards can handle two-way responsibilities at a high level. Toronto made that approach work for a while with Mitch Marner on the point, and Marner is one of the best two-way forwards in the league.
Chicago doesn’t have that kind of piece right now. More importantly, the group doesn’t have a true quarterback from the blue line at the moment, though that changes when Bowen Byram returns. When he’s back, he needs to be the one running the show from the back end.
Even then, there’s another issue waiting underneath it all: the Blackhawks don’t have a real shot threat from the point. Connor Bedard is getting to his one-timers, but that’s becoming easy to anticipate.
That’s the kind of issue that can make a power play feel flat, and the Avalanche have offered a similar example. They’re loaded with talent, but when opponents can force them wide, the man advantage can bog down. Even with Cale Makar capable of firing from the point, the lack of a force in front of the net makes it easier to take away the dangerous areas.
So Chicago still has to sort out what its identity is with the extra skater. The first and second units need to determine whether a true point shot, like the one Darren Raddysh had last season, is the answer or whether simply getting more pucks to the net is enough to create chances.
However it comes together, it has to look different. Right now, the setup is too predictable, and that makes it too easy to defend.
With this much young talent on the roster, the feeling is that the Blackhawks will eventually settle into something more dangerous on the power play. The only question is how soon that happens.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Rough Start Feels Even Worse After Another Flat Finish
Connor Bedard gave the Blackhawks an early lift at the United Center, but the rest of the night quickly turned familiar in all the wrong ways. Chicagos 4-1 loss to the Canadiens was its seventh defeat in 10 games, another step backward in a season that has already started with more frustration than momentum.
Montreal erased the opening goal and kept the Blackhawks on their heels as the game went on, with Jake Evans playing a central role in the comeback. Chicago did not take advantage of its chances on the power play, and the flat finish was the kind that leaves little room for comfort, especially when a game that starts with promise ends with the opponent controlling the final stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Used This Break To Address A Problem Fans Know Too Well
The Blackhawks used their time away from game action to try to clean up the kinds of issues that have been nagging them all season. After getting blanked in back-to-back losses, including a 4-0 setback against Dallas and a 4-1 loss to Montreal, the team stayed on the ice for extended practices aimed at tightening up weak spots and getting more out of the group overall. It was also a quieter week on the roster front, with Dominic Toninato reassigned to the Rockford IceHogs as Chicago continued sorting through its depth.
The break also offered a chance to keep a closer eye on the players who have drawn the most attention in recent coverage, from Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov to Ethan Del Mastro and Ian Cole. For a team trying to climb out of an uncomfortably familiar rut, the focus now is less on the last two games themselves and more on whether the extra reps can translate into something sturdier when the schedule picks back up. [Read more 🡒]