After an embarrassing 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, Blackhawks’ head coach, Jeremy Colliton, called out his players and questioned their manhood.
When your coach questions your manhood… #Blackhawks #CHIvsWPG #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/5HzBW7EaU5
— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) December 12, 2018
Surprisingly, I think it may have actually worked. Last night, the Blackhawks played a strong game and a full 60 minutes which led to an impressive 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The win was desperately needed, as it ended an 8-game losing streak. The Blackhawks are no longer the worst team in the league — for now. The Los Angeles Kings reclaimed the 31st spot in the league-wide standings and have temporarily secured the top spot in the Jack Hughes sweepstakes.
Jeremy Colliton Picked His Poison and It Worked
Each coach has their own way of communicating. They all try tons of different methods to see which one helps them get their message across to their players. Upon being called up from the Rockford IceHogs to replace the legendary Joel Quenneville, Jeremy Colliton initially tried the nice guy approach and it’s safe to say that it didn’t pan out as he hoped.
For those who claim the #Blackhawks would be better if Coach Q was still around… I beg to differ. The numbers are basically identical, but the Blackhawks have been playing tougher teams lately.
In the last 6 games, they played against VGK (twice), WPG, NSH, CGY, and ANA. pic.twitter.com/GeIVKt1k49
— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) December 7, 2018
After another 8-game losing streak, Jeremy Colliton finally said, “Enough’s enough,” and dropped the good cop act and dove headfirst into the bad cop act — it worked. The Blackhawks FINALLY found themselves back in the win column with a 6-3 win.
The Blackhawks’ 4th line made a case for being the best line on the ice last night. John Hayden, Marcus Kruger, and Andreas Martinsen routinely outworked their matchups and made it look easy. Martinsen would go on and have himself a game. He was named the 1st Star of the Game with 2 points (1G, 1A). Martinsen’s 1st period goal put the Blackhawks in unfamiliar territory. They finally grabbed a 1st period lead.
Carl Dahlstrom out here making things happen in his 1st game with the #Blackhawks this season! Andreas Martinsen redirects Dahlstrom’s shot and the Blackhawks have the lead… IN THE 1ST PERIOD 👀 #CHIvsPIT pic.twitter.com/GpmtPW5ZuU
— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) December 13, 2018
Overall, it was a great all-around team performance from top to bottom. Here’s the stat sheet from last night’s victory over Pittsburgh. As you look through the stat sheet, you may notice some new names, Carl Dahlstrom and Dylan Sikura.
Scor Scor Scor Goal Goal Goal Goal Assi Assi Assi Player G A PTS +/- PIM EV PP SH GW EV PP SH S S% SHFT TOI Carl Dahlstrom 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.0 30 22:34 Alex DeBrincat 1 0 1 -1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 50.0 24 21:02 John Hayden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 9:02 Henri Jokiharju 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 29 19:56 Dominik Kahun 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 25 16:35 David Kampf 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 15:32 Patrick Kane 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.0 23 22:05 Duncan Keith 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0.0 31 22:49 Marcus Kruger 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 50.0 16 9:55 Brandon Manning 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 24 13:20 Andreas Martinsen 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 100.0 11 7:21 Connor Murphy 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 29 22:38 Brendan Perlini 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 17 10:51 Brandon Saad 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 33.3 27 18:01 Brent Seabrook 1 1 2 -1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 33.3 27 16:25 Dylan Sikura 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 14 9:33 Dylan Strome 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 19:43 Jonathan Toews 1 2 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 100.0 27 18:38 TOTAL 6 9 15 4 5 1 0 29 20.7
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Jeremy Colliton Caught the Captain’s Attention With Tough Love
Jonathan Toews heard Jeremy Colliton’s message loud and clear. Toews had a really solid showing last night. He tallied 3 points (1G, 2A) which also brought his career points total to 700.
With the empty net goal and 2 assists earlier in the game, #Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, now has 700 points in his career. What a career it’s been. #CHIvsPIT #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/SEsyedG9Jf
— ✶ ✶Tony Gianares✶ ✶ (@Certified_TonyG) December 13, 2018
Jonathan Toews’ impressive resume jumps up to yet another level. The best part is that he’s nowhere close to being done with hockey, as he is only 30 years old. I think he has another handful of productive years left in the NHL. As Toews collects more and more accolades, he only makes his case as a future Hall of Famer that much more obvious.
What’s Next for Jeremy Colliton and the Blackhawks?
Going forward, the best thing the Blackhawks can do is to take it one game at a time and focus on winning each individual period. The reason the Blackhawks have been playing so poorly this season is due to poor starts every game. It’s really hard to win games when you have to constantly try to come back from an early game deficit.
First and foremost, Jeremy Colliton has to make these players believe in themselves. If they can throw together any kind of winning streak, team morale will go through the roof and he will gain the players’ respect. I think last night’s win over the Penguins was a big step in the right direction.
The Blackhawks take on the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow at home. Let’s see if Colliton can finally get these guys to buy in and build off of a great team performance, and also, avoid being embarrassed by the Jets for the second time in four days.
For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author on @Certified_TonyG Twitter.
