Blackhawks continue to struggle as they navigate life without Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar

United Center will undoubtedly be packed in the coming weeks. People will be using the tickets they received as holiday gifts. Families will have planned months ahead with their children out of school. Some fans might have jumped on tickets after the Chicago Blackhawks’ early-season success.

The Blackhawks are amid four out five games at home, a stretch that began Tuesday and ends Jan. 1. Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers drew an announced crowd of 20,256. Similar numbers are likely.

Fans have likely been hoping to witness Connor Bedard play in person. He’s been worth the price of admission most nights this season. And if they weren’t coming for Bedard, then Frank Nazar provides another draw. While Bedard jerseys largely outnumber any other current Blackhawks player, Nazar has made up some ground this year. His popularity has grown exponentially.

Of course, neither player was on the ice for the Blackhawks on Tuesday and likely won’t be for some time due to injuries. Gone with them are the flash and a lot of the Blackhawks’ ability to produce offensively. But does their absence have to mean the Blackhawks will lose games?

Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill doesn’t believe that.

“Certainly there are times where you have to kind of play a different style and honestly, even through my time when I first got to Detroit, after a few years, we had lost a number of good players through retirement, basically and you stop playing a certain style and you have to look at a different way to play,” Blashill said before the game. “It’s just simplifying things and playing a little more direct. Honestly, for us, (in) the long term, it’s still part of the solution, too, in being predictable to each other that way. Then you do that with Connor and Frankie back in the lineup at some point, then you’re still dynamic, but you’re more predictable.”

The Blackhawks did that against the Toronto Maple Leafs last week and probably should have won. Tuesday felt similar to that. The Flyers were better than the Leafs but you could make the case that the Blackhawks were better than both. The Blackhawks had a 53.94 expected goals percentage Tuesday, according to Natural Stat Trick. But they still extended their losing streak to six games.

Creating enough offense is the Blackhawks’ biggest hurdle right now. In four of the five games since Bedard went down, the Blackhawks have scored two goals or less. Ryan Donato provided the lone goal Tuesday with a shot from the high slot, snapping a 12-game goalless streak. Donato had the most consistent quality chances, and getting him going would benefit the Blackhawks.

“I think all of us have to step up,” Donato said. “I think it’s a next-man-up mentality. You hear that a lot, but it’s the case here. We lost two of our best players. Guys who are consistent and hard-working guys, definitely create a confident energy in the locker room. You lose those, it’s tough. But I think we’re a confident group in here and guys are willing to step up. We just got to get the job done.”

A few others had decent looks Tuesday, but there weren’t many scoring opportunities generated.

“In the end, we had more chances than they did,” Blashill said. “We didn’t score. I thought even on the power play there at the end, we generated chances. That was probably our best power play. Gotta keep grinding, find a way to score.”

With two young offensive players out, this would seem like a prime opportunity for Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis. Both 20-year-olds produced at high rates in the AHL before being called up this season. The first step is earning trust to get enough NHL ice time. On Tuesday, Lardis had the third-lowest five-on-five ice time at 7:02 and Moore was fourth at 7:25.

Blashill explained after the game how he views both players’ development right now.

“Moorsey’s a very, very hard worker, wants to be great, so I think some of that, at times you’ll be hard on yourself, too,” he said. “He just has to be careful, stick with it and play and not necessarily stress about every play. He’s going to make some good plays. He’s going to make some mistakes. He’s going to get coached, and that’s OK, just stay with it and find a way to make sure he keeps his confidence.”

As for Lardis, Blashill said it’s a matter of figuring out how to translate his scoring to the NHL.

“I would say finding space at this level,” Blashill said. “He’s not really fast and he’s not really big. He’s a good skater. He’s not going to separate himself with his speed. So, I think he’s got to find the right spacing. On the power play, he tends to drift outside the dots and shoots the one-timer. It’s probably not going in in this league unless you’re one of those elite, elite, elite shooters, so he has to find the right areas of the ice to get that same shot from where it can be more dangerous.”

Lardis has one goal and four shots on goal in his first five NHL games. He attempted one shot and had none on goal Tuesday.

The pairing of Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier had one of their best games of the season. In 12:48 of five-on-five play, the Blackhawks had a 19-5 advantage in shot attempts, 7-2 in shots on goal, 12-0 in scoring chances and 3-0 in high-danger chances.

The Blackhawks’ top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev had a great game as well. In 10:31 of five-on-five play, the Blackhawks had a 14-2 advantage in shot attempts, 4-2 in shots on goal, 9-0 in scoring chances and 3-0 in high-danger chances.

“Trying to find guys who play alike, and I just thought Mickey does a good job transporting the puck up the ice,” Blashill said. “Thought they could be a good line in the O-zone, thought we could match them against that (Trevor) Zegras’ line. They’re all good defensively. Thought we needed to change it up a little bit, and I thought their line played really good. I don’t know if I’ll do it on the road or not, but that was kind of the approach we took for tonight. I thought it was a good line.”

The Blackhawks, like the rest of the NHL, will take the next three days off. Could it be good for them?

“I hope so,” Donato said. “I think we’re a young team, it’s a long season, a couple days with family and friends can definitely create a positive energy change. Hopefully, we can come back buzzing after the break.”

Blashill agreed.

“I think probably with where we’re at, it’s probably a good thing,” Blashill said. “I love Christmas, I love seeing my family, I love that, and I’m sure a number of guys are the same way. So, whether we were humming or not, this break was coming, and I think the fact that we are in a grind right now, that might be a good thing. We have a hard schedule coming out of it, flying to Dallas that first day coming out is a hard thing, but we’re going to have to find a way to grind.”

Nick Foligno could be back with the Blackhawks for that Saturday Dallas game. He’s been out since taking a puck to the hand on Nov. 15.

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