Can DeBrincat rediscover his scoring touch?
If the Blackhawks have any chance of upsetting the Edmonton Oilers next month, it goes without saying they're going to need contributions from Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad, Dominik Kubalik, Duncan Keith and Connor Murphy.
It will also be a big plus if Kirby Dach, Alex Nylander and Adam Boqvist can take their games to the next level.
Of everyone on the roster, however, it may be most imperative that Alex DeBrincat rediscover his scoring touch when the puck drops for the best-of-five series on August 1.
DeBrincat, who was coming off a 41-goal campaign, managed just 18 goals in 70 games in 2019-20. Only 8 of those scores came at even strength. (The year before that numbers was 28).
He also scored multiple goals just twice - and those didn't come until Games 61 and 67.
It was the roughest of his three pro seasons, and for multiple reasons.
• His confidence took a hit early on when too many shots flew off target. Just 5 of 77 attempts (6.5%) found the back of the net in the first 27 games.
• Admittedly second-guessing himself in November, DeBrincat started whiffing or misfiring on power-play one-timers and fumbling the puck at times in all zones.
• Always a shoot-first player, DeBrincat actually began hesitating to fire the puck on net.
"I feel like at the beginning of the season I wasn't really playing the game I'm used to," DeBrincat told me in late November. "I don't think I was playing well at all. I was a little panicked with it and then I started holding onto it a little bit longer."
With time, of course, comes perspective. Given a four-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic, DeBrincat was able to go back and watch some of his performances. And what he saw gave him plenty of reasons to believe he can be a difference maker against Edmonton.
"The points and goals didn't necessarily come, but I felt like I still brought a lot to the table," said DeBrincat, who has been skating on the top line with Toews and Saad during this second training camp at Fifth Third Arena.
"Obviously I had some bad games. But overall it wasn't as bad as I had in my mind. When you go back and watch games, I did a lot of good things.
"It was a little bit different for me mentally ... trying to get over not scoring as much and things not going my way. This past season's going to be big for me in my development, and hopefully I can come out here and get hot right off the bat."
That would obviously be a huge coup for the Hawks, who face long odds if Corey Crawford is unable to face Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the Oilers.
One part of DeBrincat's game that definitely improved was his passing as he dished out 21 assists during one 42-game stretch. He also plays solid defense for an undersized forward.
All in all, coach Jeremy Colliton remains pleased and expects the 22-year-old's scoring touch to eventually return.
"When ... you start to build packages to show our guys how we want to play, he's all over those packages," Colliton said. "I often see he's an example when we're showing the team: 'This is how it should be done.' We've tried to communicate that with him; make him feel better about himself.
"He's an offensive player and when you don't score, it wears on you. but I feel great about his game going forward. We'll see the benefit of those bounces evening out.
"Hopefully it happens this playoff."
By the numbers
By the numbers
Alex DeBrincat's statistics
Season GP G A Pts. SOG S% ATOI
2017-18 82 28 24 52 181 15.5 14:48
2018-19 82 41 35 76 220 18.6 17:42
2019-20 70 18 27 45 207 8.7 17:30
SOG: Shots on goal; S%: Shooting percentage; ATOI: Average time on ice
Source: Hockeyreference.com