The Blackhawks are finding something they badly needed last season: help everywhere.
Chicago came into this year expecting more across the board after adding Roman Kantserov, Cole Smith, Patrick Kane, Jordan Greenway, and Bowen Byram. Eight games into the season, that promise is starting to show itself. The offense is no longer leaning on one line to drag everything along.
That matters for a team that opened the year in rough shape. With captain Connor Bedard sidelined, the Blackhawks stumbled to a 1-5 start.
Since then, they’ve won two straight with Bedard back and Frank Nazar returning from a two-game suspension. Chicago scored 12 goals over its first six games, then followed that with nine goals in its last two.
The difference has been spread-out production.
Last season, depth was the area that never fully came together. Andre Burakovsky, Ryan Greene, and Bedard were the team’s most effective top line, but offense elsewhere was a problem. The Blackhawks were banking on younger players such as Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, and Anton Frondell to grow into bigger roles, and now some of that production is starting to arrive.
Kane pointed to that balance after practice on Oct. 16 when asked what was flying under the radar with the group. “I just think, obviously, we're a pretty young team.
Pretty fast team. But I think coming into the year, I wouldn't have thought that we'd have like this much depth to be able to say we had like four good lines.
So, I mean, you look at the lineup last night [against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 15].
It's a pretty good lineup to move forward with. So, I think that's probably the biggest thing right now is just the depth throughout the lineup has been surprising.”
The results back that up. In a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, 10 different Blackhawks players recorded at least a point. In the 4-3 overtime win against the Jets, eight different players did the same.
Blashill said on Oct. 16 that the kind of balance Chicago is showing is what usually travels over the long haul. “I think it's the really best way to be a good hockey team, and ultimately the teams that are so-called consistent are the teams that have the most depth because not every line is like humming at their best every night.
So, for example, last night, Bedsy's [Bedard] line didn't create as much five-on-five as they did the night before, but Frankie's [Nazar] line stepped up, and they created a bunch five-on-five. And Anton's [Frondell] line stepped up the game before and created five-on-five.
"Nobody is ever at their best every single day. And so when you have depth, that I think we are starting to work towards once we got everybody healthy and off the suspension list, then I think we can be a dynamic team that way.
You know, where you could have kind of four lines that all have identity and can create and [we've] done a way better job with creating opportunities over the last stretch of games. We just have to still work on making sure that we're not giving up as many opportunities."
Chicago’s recent surge has come with players across the roster contributing, and with Bedard and Nazar back, the timing could not be better. Kane also believes the offense is settling into the kind of rhythm that makes a team hard to handle.
“We got a couple on the power play, which is nice. I think that's going to be huge going forward- to be good on the special teams.
Power play and penalty kill probably can both be a lot better the rest of the year, so that's going to help. And then I think just production throughout the lineup is the biggest thing.
I don't think anyone is really feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders to go and produce right now and score. It's just kind of flowing through the lineup, which is huge because I mean, that's how you win in this league.
That's how our teams won in the past. We had so much depth, so much production throughout.
I think that's kind of what I'm seeing right now with this team.”
In Other News...
Anton Frondell Is Giving Blackhawks Fans Hope They Desperately Needed
The early weeks of the Blackhawks season were a grind, with Connor Bedard sidelined for the first six games and the team trying to steady itself around a thin margin for error. In the middle of that uncertainty, Anton Frondell has given Chicago something it badly needed: a young forward who looks comfortable handling real responsibility, not just flashes. He has already become a notable part of the Blackhawks effort on faceoffs and the penalty kill, the kind of usage that says the coaching staff trusts him in situations beyond the usual rookie runway.
Frondells rise has fit neatly alongside the return of Bedard, whose presence has helped the team string together consecutive wins and ease some of the pressure that had built during the rough start. For Chicago, the encouraging part is not just that Frondell has produced, but that he has done it while looking like a player who can be leaned on in a variety of roles. The Blackhawks are still sorting out what this season can become, but a rookie earning that kind of trust gives them a much better reason to believe. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Finally Have A Real Chance To Build On This Start
After a rough opening stretch, the Blackhawks have started to look more like a team with some direction, and a big reason is simple: the forward group is finally getting healthy. Connor Bedards return earlier than expected from shoulder surgery gave the lineup an immediate lift, and the recent reinforcements have helped stabilize a group that needed more skill and more options up front. The difference has shown up in the results, with the team playing better hockey as the roster has filled back in.
Jeff Blashill has talked about what it means when the forwards are available and contributing, and the confidence level around the team has clearly changed with that fuller group on the ice. Frank Nazars return from suspension, along with Patrick Kane and Anton Frondell being back in the lineup, gives Chicago more speed, more depth and more ways to attack. The bigger question now is whether this stretch can become something more than a brief reset, because this is the first real chance the Blackhawks have had to see what this version of the roster can actually build toward. [Read more 🡒]
Roman Kantserov Is Giving Blackhawks Fans A New Reason To Watch
Roman Kantserov has started to look more comfortable in a Blackhawks sweater at just the right time, and his recent run has given fans a fresh reason to tune in. After settling in through his early games, he has found his footing on the first line with Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane, a spot that can accelerate a young players growth in a hurry. The result has been a burst of offense, highlighted by his first career goal and a multi-goal night that showed why the organization has been eager to see what he can do.
The bigger question now is how much of this stretch can carry over as the season goes on. Playing alongside Bedard and Kane gives Kantserov a chance to learn from two of the most influential players on the roster while also giving the Blackhawks another developing scorer to watch closely. For a team looking for signs of progress, his recent production has been one of the more encouraging developments, and it may only be the beginning of a much more interesting rookie year. [Read more 🡒]