Will floodgates really open for the Blackhawks’ Jones?
Before the Blackhawks left on a daunting four-game road trip, forward Jason Dickinson made a rather bold prediction about teammate Seth Jones.
“The floodgates are going to open for him now,” Dickinson said after Jones scored his first goal of the season in an 4-3 OT win over the Islanders on Jan. 19. “It's hard mentally to go through a stretch like that.”
That “stretch” was a 33-game drought between goals for Jones, who carries a $9.5 million cap hit until the 2029-30 season. Only three times in his 11-year career has Jones gone longer without scoring.
His reaction to the game-winner said it all as Jones simply skated to a sidewall and wore a wry smile as teammates engulfed him.
“Nothing was going in, but it's nice that I remember how to score,” Jones said.
So here's the question: Why does Dickinson believe the goals will start coming?
“The strongest of guys in the league are gonna get down on themselves; they're gonna start beating themselves up,” Dickinson said. “He expects a lot from himself. When he's not producing he's definitely taking it to heart. He's not gonna sit there lightly and think he's doing a great job. …
“Now that he's got one … he's gonna be confident.”
Easy to say that. But will that really be the case?
Let's see how Jones fared after the worst droughts of his career:
∎ In 2015-16, after 45 games without scoring, Jones had 1 goal and 7 assists in Columbus' final 19 games.
∎ In 2014-15, after 43 games, Jones did manage 5 goals in the next 22 games for Nashville.
∎ In 2021-22, after a 35-game drought, Jones closed that campaign with 1 goal and 10 assists in 20 games.
Just for fun, let's cheat a bit and go back to last season when Jones scored just once in the first 26 contests. After that the floodgates did indeed open as he scored a whopping nine times in the next 27 games.
“It kind of feels like last year a little bit,” Jones said. “So I’m hoping that’s the same.”
It won't be easy on a team that was averaging 2.17 goals ahead of Wednesday's contest at Seattle. Only San Jose — at 2.08 — is worse.
To his credit, Jones has been firing at will since returning from a shoulder injury that forced him to a month. He averaged 5.8 shot attempts and 2.6 shots on goal in five games, both above his previous season average of 5.25 and 2.22.
“Been shooting the puck a little bit more on the half wall there,” Jones said. “It's a new spot for me so I'm just trying to get used to it. But trying to get pucks to the net when I can.”
Mrazek signs extension:
The Hawks signed goaltender Petr Mrazek to a two-year, $8.5 million extension Wednesday. The 31-year-old has had one of his strongest seasons with a .907 save percentage and 3.01 goals-against average in 32 games (30 starts). He's been particularly strong over the last seven games, going 3-4-0 with a .925 save percentage and 2.15 GAA.
“Petr is a strong goaltender who continues to display the athleticism and calming style of play that has made him so successful in this league,” GM Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “He’s had an immense impact within our group, and we’re excited to have Petr back.”
Mrazek, a fifth-round pick of Detroit in 2010, has played for the Red Wings, Flyers, Hurricanes and Maple Leafs. He is 162-141-35 with a .907 save percentage and 2.78 GAA overall. He's been to the postseason six times.
Kraken 6, Blackhawks 2:
Seattle scored twice in the first 7:12, went ahead 4-1 after two periods and went on to send the Hawks to an 18th straight road loss Wednesday.
Nick Foligno brought the Hawks within 4-2 at 0:39 of the third period when he scored on the power play off a perfect feed from Philipp Kurashev. Ryan Donato had a chance to make it 4-3, but his backhand shot on a breakaway was staved off by Seattle goaltender Joey Daccord. The Kraken's Tomas Tatar then raced the other way and beat Arvid Soderblom on a wrist shot. Tatar added a second goal at 16:22 to complete the scoring.
Joey Anderson had the Hawks' other goal. He scored by tipping in a blast from Seth Jones, who had 2 assists.
The Hawks play Thursday at Edmonton against an Oilers squad that has won 14 straight, three shy of the all-time NHL record. The Hawks haven't won on the road since November 9.