The Blackhawks wrapped up a brutal five-game road trip with a pretty gruesome loss last night, but it was a solid stretch of games in many aspects. Scheduled to open the season against five of the toughest outs in the NHL, Chicago surprised many by coming away with a pair of nice wins. Players like Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic proved they belonged while seasoned veterans like Nick Foligno and Corey Perry showed that they have more to offer this young team than just off-ice leadership. Despite all the positives from the Blackhawks’ road trip, the team will undoubtedly look to improve in three main areas before they take the ice in the United Center for the first time this year.
Faceoffs
At this point in the season, the area the Blackhawks are clearly most deficient in is the faceoff circle. With 12 skaters who have taken a faceoff for Chicago, the team has won a measly 35.9 percent of their chances, good for dead last in the league. Last season’s worst percentage was 45.1, so the team has a lot of work to do to make that number more respectable.
With the amount of young players on the team, Chicago expected to struggle at the dot, especially to open the season. Youngsters simply don’t perform as well as their veteran counterparts, and that’s been obvious so far this year. Most notable among them is Connor Bedard, who has won 32.3 percent of his chances, but only Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall find themselves above 40 percent. It’s sure to become less of a concern over time, but for now, the Blackhawks will likely be taking a few extra reps at the dot in practice.
Power Play
Another issue that has notably plagued the Blackhawks so far this season has been on the power play. The unit started slow in the preseason, then looked to have figured it out in the last few games. To open the regular season, though, they’re now 1-for-22. The icing on the cake came last night when they allowed a breakaway shorthanded goal, the second of its kind on the year. It’s a shifting unit, especially with Hall moving in and out of the lineup, but it’s also a group that has definitely stumbled out of the gate. Will we see changes soon, or can they right the ship?
Bedard Goals
With all eyes on Connor Bedard to begin the season, he’s had the puck on his stick often. Before yesterday’s game, he had logged 20 individual scoring chances at 5-on-5 over the year. After a performance in which he didn’t get a shot on the net, he’s still five chances better than the next-highest NHL player.
But so far, those chances haven’t translated into pucks in the back of the net. With one goal through five games, Bedard is more frustrated than anyone. However, he’s such a talented player that those shots will eventually turn into goals, and his offensive production will come to life. Bedard doesn’t necessarily need to make any changes to his game after the five-game road trip, but he’s certainly due.
