The Blackhawks get the luxury of 3 days in between their next game. They will have to sit with that abysmal loss on Tuesday night to the Nashville Predators.
I didn't take too much from the LA win on Sunday because, well, sorry Kings fans, but it's LA. They aren't a very good hockey team.
However, the Hawks needed that win in the worst way and they cruised to a 5-1 victory. Yay.
Heading into Nashville was going to be tough but I didn't expect that.
The last 3 times Chicago has entered the Bridgestone arena, they have given up 50 shots or more. That's insane!
Next time, maybe just take a forfeit and save your goaltender some grief.
Speaking of goaltenders, Robin Lehner is a good one. Stan Bowman – for now – has appeared to hit a home run with this signing.
Lehner was the only positive from last night's game.
Ok, moving on; let's see where the Blackhawks sit after 11 games: 3-6-2 (8 points) 6th in Central 13th in Western Conference 30th in GF (25) 10th in GA (34) 30th in PP% (8.8%) 22nd in PK% (77.1%) 20th in SF/G (30.5) 28th in SA/G (34.5) The above is not a pretty picture. Other than the Hawks trending in the right direction in terms of goals against and penalty kill; the only thing is that they were supposed to maintain their scoring level from last year.
If that were the case so far this season, this would be a very different blog today.
I am going to finish this article off with 3 questions:
Do the Blackhawks – as currently constructed – have a roster that is capable of making the playoffs?
According to Moneypuck.com, the Blackhawks have a 30.3% of even making the playoffs.
As we know things can change quickly and as I see this team on paper and what I think they are capable of, I believe they are better than what we've seen to date.
I think this team could still challenge for a playoff spot. I would need to see a lot more… and very soon though. What do the Hawks need to fix on the ice in the short-term?
That seems like such a loaded question at this point because there isn't much that is working for them right now.
As I mentioned about though, if the Blackhawks could get a more consistent offense, this team would be in a different spot.
They need to re-evaluate the power play and potentially their defensive zone coverage. Those would be areas I would be focusing on. Should the Stan Bowman be looking to make a big shake-up in terms of trades?
Right now, no.
What Bowman needs is for Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome to come back to planet earth and start producing.
If these 4 begin to generate more offence, it will give confidence to this entire team.
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That's all I have for now from my end. I am going to do a Mailbag Blog on Friday though so get your questions in today and tomorrow.
If you have questions, please DM me as that's the best chance to get it into the blog.
See ya out there!
TC
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