The Grinch Is A Blackhawks Defenseman
Table of Contents
Intro
Merry Christmas.
I'm going to start things off on a good note. Connor Bedard scored an insane goal that you have probably seen a million times. Guess what. You can watch it a million more times in the game recaps below.
The Hawks won 1 game in three this week, which is one more win than last week.
Things are still looking bleak around here. Philipp Kurashev was out with a sickness but returned on Friday. Wyatt Kaiser and Filip Roos were sent down to the AHL on Friday, which meant Kevin Korchinski was back in the lineup. Tyler Johnson was put on the injured list, which is a Christmas mystery.
Fans are upset over the performance of the Hawks. I hate being that guy, but I'm going to be that guy. It's a rebuild. The Hawks' shallow roster has zero talent outside of Bedard. The blue line has children on it. Look, I know you're sick of hearing it. But it's so true and so important to keep in mind.
With that said, below are your game recaps. Scroll to the bottom if you want to learn about defensive zone entries. The Sick Bay with all the injuries is at the bottom.
Happy Holidays to all.
The Games
All games go back to last Monday (12/19). Stats are from Natural Stat Trick. A glossary of advanced stats terms can be found here.
Hawks vs Avalanche 12/19 7:30 PM
3-2 Hawks Win
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. The Blackhawks have gifted the city of Chicago with a win over the Avs. It was their best win of the season thus far.
Overall, a solid effort by the Hawks. The young defensemen showed up. Lukas Reichel scored a goal and looked like his old self. And Colin Blackwell showed that he was excited to be back on the ice.
Possession numbers for the Hawks weren’t horrible, but they were outplayed by the Avs. The 1st period had 26 shot attempts for the Avs and 15 for the Hawks, despite that, the Hawks still put up two goals.
Bedard’s game was on one tonight. He had two assists and created the play that led to the third goal. Bedard is figuring things out and it’s terrifying. He had 6 shots on goal, 7 shot attempts, 5 scoring chances, and 3 high danger chances.
Reichel scored a goal off of a beautiful Bedard pass. Reichel looked solid tonight. While I hope this game is the spark he needs, I will hold my judgment until we get a solid sample size. He had 1 shot on goal, 2 shot attempts, and 2 takeaways. His Corsi For % (CF%) was 53.33, meaning the Hawks had the puck slightly more than the Avalanche when he was on the ice.
For the sake of this week’s Playbook topic, the Hawks’ defensive zone entries were solid. Kaiser even stood up Nathan MacKinnon towards the end.
Powerplay entries, a recent Playbook topic, improved mid-game. With 6 powerplays the Hawks scored on 2. The third period saw a change in how the Hawks entered the zone. Some clips are posted below.
Blackwell looked solid in his return since February last year. I love his mustache.
The line matchups were good. Richardson put the Jason Dickinson line up against MacKinnon and friends. This freed up Bedard and his linemates to do their thing.
This was a fun game. The atmosphere in the UC looked awesome. Who cares if this “hurts the tank.” Enjoy the wins when they come.
Lukas Reichel scores his first goal since Nov. 30 and third of the season pic.twitter.com/qzpjCpTmo6
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) December 20, 2023
Hawks vs Canadiens 12/22 7:30 PM
5-2 Hawks Lose
The Hawks stayed true to form in this one. Why would they win back-to-back games? Why would they win against a bad team?
Truth be told, this was actually a fun one to watch. The atmosphere seemed vibrant and put me in holiday cheer. Korchinski was back and I was hoping for a win for him. The Hawks had a 2 goal lead, which was promising. However, the lead was blown with 5 unanswered goals.
Ryan Donato scored the first goal and it was sick. Bedard drew defenders, which opened up Donato who scored from the high slot. Another example of Bedard learning the game.
The second goal was scored by Dickinson. But. It’s Blackwell who I want to point out. Not only did he have the breakaway, and not only did he bust out a spin-o-rama. He had an opportunity to shoot, which I and everyone else thought he would, but he passed it to Dickinson. Blackwell is making his case for the player spotlight.
The first two periods were pretty close in terms of shot attempts. 18-19 (Hawks-Habs) and 19-22 (Hawks-Habs) respectively. Although the third period looks close on paper with 18-20 shot attempts, the Hawks started the period sluggishly. It took a disallowed goal to wake them up.
Defensive zone breakdowns are what ultimately buried the Hawks. It’s a pretty simple system to follow and when you don’t follow it, things go bad at a rapid pace. Korchinski did a lot of puck-watching. It’s a young team and it showed defensively.
On the offensive side of things, the Hawks looked good and even solid at times. There were moments of decent puck possession as they worked the Habs in their own end. Unfortunately, the Hawks had a couple of pucks bounce off the post. Otherwise, it would’ve been a much closer game.
Blackwell had a scare in the third period when he took a weird spill. Nothing serious and he was back on the ice. He finished the game with 3 shot attempts and 2 shots on goal.
Reichel had some decent flashes again with his skating and speed. However, he was quiet on the stat sheet with only 1 shot attempt.
I wish this game ended with a W, but we can’t all have our cake and eat it too. Defensive structure continues to be an issue and we all must remember, this is a young team.
Be patient Hawks fans. Rebuilds suck.
SHEESH, COLIN BLACKWELL!! 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/dxXOtsud95
— NHL (@NHL) December 23, 2023
Hawks @ Blues 12/23 7:00 PM
7-5 Hawks Lose
If you have never experienced a disappointing Christmas morning, this game is exactly the same feeling.
I have never been genuinely pissed at the Blackhawks for losing a single game this season. Until now. None of these games matter. The team is so bad that losing should be anything but a surprise. It's a rebuild with no talent on the roster. But tonight? Tonight, we get teased with a Bedard goal and a 5-2 lead. Sure, things looked bad when Arvid Soderblom gave up a goal on the second shot of the game. But Connor Bedard answered and gifted us with a beautiful Michigan goal. All fans can relate to screaming in disbelief at the TV when it happened.
When the Hawks scored 5 minutes into the 3rd period to make it 5-2, I believed we were about to get one hell of a Christmas gift.
You don’t need to think hard about how disappointed I was when the Hawks only ended up putting 2 shots on net to the Blues' 22 in the third period. With every goal the Blues scored, I clawed to some hope that the Hawks would turn it around.
Then Soderblom would let in the weakest goal of my life to make it 6-5. That’s when I knew. This team was going to lose.
While it’s effortless to point the finger at Soderblom, the Hawks players don’t get a free pass. The defensive zone breakdowns were pretty horrid. They looked gassed and careless.
Soderblom was bad. We get it. But the real core of the problem was the defensive breakdowns. Blaming Soderblom is like trying to mop a puddle while the faucet is still flowing water.
Maybe the strategy was to protect the lead, but that does not work in today’s NHL. The Golden Knights proved that last year. If you have a big lead, keep attacking with aggression. Realistically, this team does not have the talent to effectively press on with a lead or even protect a lead.
I wasn’t a fan of the line juggling either. Reichel was moved down to the 4th line and he ended up only seeing 1:16 minutes of ice time in the third. That's a coaching decision I don't agree with. If they were trying to protect a lead, wouldn't you want your 4th line out there to help tire out the Blues? Don't you want Reichel to get as many minutes as possible despite his play being absolute boo-boo?
The positives include the Hawks sharing nearly the same amount of puck possession as the Blues during the first 2 periods. 50 CF% and 51.72 CF% for the 1st and 2nd periods respectively. The PP looked okay. They utilized the slingshot entry when Korhcinski was leading the PP, which I didn't like because it was too slow. But hey, Foligno scored a goal on their first PP.
Remember the goal, forget the rest.
OH MY CONNOR BEDARD pic.twitter.com/WUzWhEraJp
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 24, 2023
Player Spotlight
I don't think I need to say much about him this week. It's an obvious win.
Stats
1 Goal, 3 Assists, 11 shots on goal, 15 shot attempts
Playbook
This week, we are going to look at defensive zone entries. It’s not sexy, but it’s something that I wanted to dig into.
The Hawks’ defense is pretty heinous, and we already took a look at their defensive structure. Defending the rush and making solid defensive zone entries was something that the Hawks struggled with a lot to start the season. Surprisingly, they’ve gotten better at it. Most of their defensive struggles really do come down to breaking out, winning puck battles, and staying structurally sound.
Let’s get into the basics.
What are Defensive Zone Entries?
Simply put, defensive zone entries are when the attacking team’s players cross the blue line into the defensive zone.
The defensemen and the low-forward (the F3) must be able to read the play and make a decision in a matter of seconds.
The defenders (defensemen and F3) must be able to call out if it is a two-on-one, two-on-two, or three-on-two. The defenders should signal to the two high forwards who they should pick up. The two high forwards, F1 and F2, must enter the defensive zone with speed up until they hit the top of the circles (generally).
As you can see, this is something that happens very fast. Backchecking, neutral zone play, and defensive zone structure are all tied by this concept.
From Mike Johnston’s book, if there is a rule for defensive zone entries, it is this: “Hold mid-ice position, take a few more seconds to sort it out, and then when you are sure, move to outside areas to challenge the puck carrier.”
Types of Entries
I won’t be going through an exhaustive list of every defensive zone entry. I’ll list common scenarios below and then show a few clips of examples from the past week.
Two-on-One
Stay mid-ice
The lone D can commit to blocking the passing lane and leave the goaltender to take the shot.
Slide to take the passing lane away and force a bad shot.
Sliding must be timed well
Two-on-Two
As with all defensive plays, tight gaps are a must.
D1 can stick with the puck carrier and leave the other attacker to D2. Think man-to-man.
D1 takes the puck carrier on the drive or delay and releases the puck carrier to D2 if he crosses the ice. Think zone coverage where each D stays in their lane.
Three-on-Two
Both D-men should stay in the middle and delay the attack
If there is a backside drive, the strong side D takes the “2-on-1”
If there is a mid-lane drive, the weakside D takes the 2-on-1 while the strongside D takes the puck-carrier
If the backchecker cannot reach the attack, it is a 3-on-3
Three-on-Three
The backchecker needs to identify who they are covering. They can cover the mid-lane option or stay wide
The Hawks typically have the backchecker stay wide
OR, the backchecker will take the high option and leave the driving players to the D.
Below I am going to share some clips of how the Hawks looked when defending against the attack.
Here is a good example of miscommunication. Blackwell (43) isn't in a position to support Phillips, who decides to engage the puck carrier anyways. MacKinnon (29) passes to Nichushkin (13) for a good high danger chance.
Here we have Phillips (41) commit to a puck carrier. He gets outside the dots and leaves Murphy (5) to fend a 2-on-1. Murphy commits to taking the pass, which goes through, and Soderblom is already anticipating the shot and makes a save.
Here's another good 2-on-1. Zaitsev (22) commits to taking the passing lane with his body and Mrazek is already committed to the shot.
Here's a good example of a 2-on-2. D1 (Zaitsev) takes the puck carrier. As soon as the puck carrier crosses the ice, Zaitsev releases him to Tinordi (25). Both defensemen stay in their lane. Gaps are somewhat tight which prevents the attackers from having too much time and space.
Here's a bad example of a 3-on-2. Habs player Josh Anderson (17) creates confusion in the slot. Zaitsev (22) hesitates and Kurashev (23) is too late to do anything. Habs had a lot of options on this play too.
Finally, we'll finish with a good defensive zone entry. Blackwell (43) communicates with Phillips (41) as Murphy (5) takes on the puck carrier with Dickinson (16) coming in for support. Hawks already outnumber the attackers at the blue line. Go figure, the success here comes from the veteran line.
Sick Bay
Taylor Hall – Knee/Out for season
Andreas Athanasiou – Lower body/week
to week
Samuel Savoie – Femur/Out for the season
Lukas Philp – Achilles/6 months
Seth Jones - Upper Body/unknown recovery time
Joey Anderson - Shoulder/unknown recovery time
Alex Vlasic - Upper Body/unknown recovery time
Tyler Johnson - Unknown
Week Ahead
Hawks vs Jets 12/27 8:00 PM
Hawks @ Stars 12/29 7:00 PM
Hawks @ Stars 12/31 7:00 PM
Let’s Go Hawks.
Dirty Third