Demotion fails to light fire under Chicago Blackhawks' Saad
Joel Quenneville's decision to move Brandon Saad to the fourth line for Saturday's game against St. Louis raised plenty of eyebrows.
Even more shocking, though, was the decision to staple-gun Saad to the bench during an overtime that lasted four minutes, 51 seconds.
"Decisions are made based on performance over the course of a game, and that's what we elected to do," Quenneville said after Alex DeBrincat's goal lifted the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory.
Saad played just 10 minutes and 14 seconds - second lowest on the team - and saw just four shifts in the third period, one of which lasted six seconds.
The one positive?
Saad did register the primary assist on Artem Anisimov's first-period goal after Anisimov pounded home a rebound.
For somebody with a $6 million cap hit, Saad's offensive production over the last 82 games has been less than ideal. His 13 goals over that span ranks sixth on the Hawks behind DeBrincat (33), Patrick Kane (30), Jonathan Toews (22), Anisimov (20) and Nick Schmaltz (19). Patrick Sharp, who is retired, ranks seventh with 9.
Before the win, Kane was hoping Saad's play on the fourth line would help balance out the team's offense.
"He just needs one to go in," Kane said. "I think that'll help. I remember doing this plenty of times when I was a younger player where if you're not producing or 'Q' doesn't like something, he'll move you down the lineup. …
"He'll get back up and hopefully for the time he's down there he can produce and play well with that line."
Warding off shots:
Among goalies with at least 120 minutes of ice time, Cam Ward ranks 29th out of 33 in save percentage (.879) and goals against average (4.07).
While those are some disturbing numbers, the fact is the Hawks (3-0-2) have 8 out of 10 possible points with Ward in net and are tied with Nashville (4-1-0) atop the Central Division.
Ward's performance in overtime in a 4-3 victory over St. Louis on Saturday was particularly impressive as he:
• Soaked up a Vladimir Tarasenko blast just five seconds in.
• Kicked away a Brayden Schenn breakaway attempt with 3:58 remaining.
• Turned away a David Perron shot with 53 seconds left.
"He's given us the ability to stay in games and (is) giving us a chance to win," Duncan Keith said. "That's all we ask from a goalie. … It's been a huge addition for us this year."
Slap shots:
The Blackhawks' 23 shots on goal in the first period Saturday were the most by the team since the NHL began tracking the stat by period in 1997-98. … Patrick Kane (5G, 4A) has 9 points, tying his career high through the first five games of a season. Kane has 55 shot attempts - 33 on net - to lead the league in both categories. …
Henri Jokiharju led all Hawks D-men with 24:04 time on ice against St. Louis. The rookie also has played a combined 7:56 on the power play the last two games.
He said it:
"What I like about him is he just loves the game and he'll do anything to get better."
- Duncan Keith on Alex DeBrincat