Chicago Blackhawks' power play needs some work
Before this season began, we ran a story on why the Chicago Blackhawks' power play should rank near the top of the NHL on a yearly basis.
After all, with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad, Richard Panik, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, it stands to reason the Hawks ought to be better than most teams when skating with a man advantage.
That hasn't been the case early on - especially so the last two games against Nashville and Minnesota. The Hawks went 0-for-6 vs. the Predators in a 2-1 overtime victory Saturday and 1-for-5 vs. the Wild in a 5-2 loss Thursday. And the goal against Minnesota was a meaningless one by Jonathan Toews with 56 seconds remaining.
"The power play has to get better," coach Joel Quenneville said. "And will."
So what's the problem?
"More of the boring quotes that we're going to give you," Patrick Sharp said. "They're quotes because that's what works.
"Quick puck movement, more shots, traffic to the net. We feel like we're entering the zone OK, but we're breaking out too many times. We're not sustaining pressure and generating a whole lot of scoring chances."
Brandon Saad believes the Hawks are trying to get too cute, and that may be the case. The Hawks have been working on a play in which a winger tries to zip the puck to a teammate standing just outside the goal crease. That player then attempts to redirect the puck past the goalie.
When it works, as it has a couple of times, it's a thing of beauty. But it's not easy to execute, especially against a disciplined team like the Predators.
"For us, it's just simplifying it," Saad said. "When you have so much talent, sometimes you just try to do too much. And teams are good at clogging up the middle."
It's early, but teams are being awarded far more PP chances than last season when Philadelphia led the league with 3.38 per game. Through Saturday, teams were averaging 4.06 with Colorado (7.25) and Ottawa (5.6) leading the way.
The Hawks were tied for seventh at 4.5 and are 4-for-27 through six games.
They absolutely must do a better job with the man advantage. They had three late chances in a 14-minute span while trailing the Predators 1-0 on Saturday.
• The first opportunity was a disaster, with Seabrook putting the only shot on net - and that came from center ice with six seconds left in the second period.
• The next one early in the third featured lazy passes and the Preds stripping pucks from Saad and Panik in the offensive zone. Seabrook did put a good shot on net, but Pekka Rinne stopped it and Artem Anisimov wasn't quick enough to slam the rebound past a sliding Rinne.
• Ryan Hartman had a good look on the Hawks' final chance, but he misfired with 8:45 remaining. Duncan Keith also let one rip, but P.K. Subban blocked the shot.
The Hawks have two days of practice to fine tune this before traveling to St. Louis on Wednesday and hosting Edmonton on Thursday.
Slap shots:
• Going into Sunday's games, Brandon Saad was tied for second in goals scored (6). "It's been fun so far," he said Saturday. Washington's Alex Ovechkin leads the league with 9.
• Corey Crawford leads the league in save percentage (.960) and goals-against average (1.39). He has allowed 1 goal in four of five starts. …
• Cody Franson has an assist in both games he has played. He recorded one Saturday on Sharp's third-period goal. …
• Toews won 19 of 27 faceoffs against the Predators.