Ready, aim, fire! Kubalik believes he has answer to Blackhawks' sagging power play
Shoot. The. Puck.
That would be Dominik Kubalik's suggestion to fix what has become a crumbling, broken-down power play for the Blackhawks.
"Shoot the pucks to the net; don't try to find the magic pass," Kubalik said after the Hawks lost 5-1 to Dallas at the United Center on Thursday.
The Hawks' power play was absolutely magical during the first 20 games, going 21-for-63 for an eye-popping 33.3% conversion rate. Even over the next 14 games, there was nothing to complain about as the Hawks went 9-for-43 (20.9%).
In the last seven games, though, the power play has all but disappeared, going 1-for-20. Even worse, the Hawks have allowed 2 short-handed goals - 1 of which came on a penalty shot in a 3-0 loss at Nashville.
"One way to be better is to increase the tempo and get more pucks to the net," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "The thing is, if you do that, you've got to be there. Then you've got to work to recover it. That's something we can do for sure."
The Hawks were having a terrible time with entries for a while, but they worked on those during a recent practice and it seems to have paid dividends.
Now it's probably time they take Kubalik's advice and just let 'er rip.
The most egregious example of the Hawks' unwillingness to shoot came late in the second period against Dallas on Thursday. After gaining control in the offensive zone with 1:55 remaining, Kubalik, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Pius Suter and Mattias Janmark passed the puck nine times over a 32-second span.
The Stars did a decent job of keeping the Hawks to the outside, but Kane had two chances to fire from the point. Janmark had a possible look late, then turned it over.
"That's probably a great example," Kubalik said. "We had a power play, we were in their zone and we just didn't shoot how we should. For me, I think maybe just throw it there. You can hit someone, make something happen out of it.
"When things aren't going your way, that's how you're going to bring it back."
The Hawks have taken 25 shots on goal in 35-plus minutes of power-play time over the last seven games. Take out the 8 against Carolina on April 1, though, and it's just 17 shots in 29-plus minutes.
Another issue has been the Hawks' inability to win faceoffs as they've captured just 47.1% of them on the man advantage, which ranks 28th. Boston (65.1%) and Carolina (62.6%) lead the way. The Hurricanes rank No. 1 on the power play at 29.7%, while Boston ranks eighth.
Overall, the Hawks still rank sixth on the power play at 24.6%, but they've allowed 5 short-handed goals - 4 of which have come in the last 24 games. Using four forwards and one defenseman on the top unit may be one reason why, especially when you consider that Adam Boqvist isn't exactly a prime defender.
Interestingly, Colliton experimented with a five-forward look on the PP at practice Friday, using Kane, Kubalik, Philipp Kurashev, Vinnie Hinostroza and Carl Soderberg.
Special teams always play a big part in any game, but they have a tendency to be magnified in the latter stages of a season as teams lock down defensively. With that in mind, it's imperative that the Hawks - who are 5-10-2 when they don't score on the power play and 13-8-3 when they do - get this straightened out during a critical five-game road trip that begins in Columbus on Saturday.
"It's been the difference in a few games and we've got to be better," Colliton said.