DeBrincat trying to break out of scoring drought
It's been a rough season thus far for Alex DeBrincat.
The Blackhawks' forward, who poured in an eye-popping 69 goals during his first two NHL seasons, had managed just 12 through 53 games heading into Wednesday's home contest against the Boston Bruins.
Still, coach Jeremy Colliton hasn't sense an abundance of frustration coming from the third-year pro.
"Considering, he's handling it pretty well," Colliton said. "But he puts high demands on himself, he wants to score, he wants to help the team win."
The biggest issue seems to be DeBrincat's shooting accuracy. A perfect example came when he fired high and wide on a backhanded breakaway attempt against Minnesota on Tuesday.
DeBrincat connected on 15.5 percent of his shots as a rookie and 18.6 during last season's 41-goal campaign.
This year, DeBrincat can't seem to buy a goal.
Before Wednesday, he was 1-for-27 in the last eight games; 4-for-65 in the last 23; and 12-for-153 for the season. Those percentages: 3.7, 6.2 and 7.8.
If there's good news for DeBrincat, who did get the Hawks on the board against Boston with a second-period power-play goal, it's that he is on pace for a career-high 237 shots on goal.
"If you look at how he's playing, I think he's maybe even playing better than last year - as far as generating chances and his play away from the puck," Colliton said. "It's just not going in. ...
"It'll even out for him if he just sticks with it. We want him to not get frustrated. Just believe in what he's doing. Keep working.
"And he's the type of guy that can score 12 goals in two weeks."
Boqvist injured:
Rookie defenseman Adam Boqvist injured his right shoulder during the second period of the Hawks' game against Boston when he was hit into the boards by David Krejci. Boqvist did not return.
Krejci received a boarding penalty, and Alex DeBrincat scored on the ensuing power play.
Slap shots:
Matthew Highmore and new defenseman Nick Seeler were the Hawks' healthy scratches against Boston. ... Patrick Kane registered his 40th assist against Arizona on Saturday. He has hit that number 11 times, second best in franchise history behind only Stan Mikita's 15. Kane passed Denis Savard and Steve Larmer, who both did it 10 times. ... Heading into Wednesday's games, the Hawks ranked second on the penalty kill since Dec. 5 (86.1 percent). They trailed only Tampa Bay (90.2 percent). ...
The Bruins have outscored opponents 57-35 in the first period this season. ... Boston registered a power-play goal in a franchise-best 14 straight games from Dec. 14 to Jan. 13. ... David Pastrnak scored his 30th goal in Boston's 42nd game, the fastest Bruin to accomplish that feat since Cam Neely did it in 27 games in 1993-94.